We all know at least one person who always has a significant other, even immediately after a breakup. Lately I’ve noticed that serial monogamy—leaping from one exclusive relationship to the next—has become a more popular and accepted dating trend among my friends and acquaintances. Why?

According to Psychology Today, serial monogamists usually believe in some kind of ideal love and in the importance of commitment to one partner, but keep a safe distance from the idea that true love should happen only once in a lifetime. Why chain ourselves to one Prince Charming when we can find a new one as … Read More

Like a plot ripped straight from a Nicholas Sparks novel, the BBC reports that a UK man finally married his ex-fiancee after a lost love letter he wrote to her 10 years ago was recently discovered behind a fireplace in her mother's villa.

Steve Smith met Carmen Ruiz-Perez in 1993 when the pair was both 25 and she was an Spanish exchange student living in Devon, England.

The two were briefly engaged, but the relationship fell apart after Ruiz-Perez moved to Paris to run a boutique.

Five years later, in 1998, Smith located the address of Ruiz-Perez's mother in Spain … Read More

While some women have trouble with breasts that droop or low-hanging butt cheeks, my heart has always been my least-resilient body part. Like Chet Baker once crooned, I fall in love too easily. And once it ends—especially when it's not my idea—I tend to have a little trouble getting back up on that passion pony. The worst time was after a six-year relationship went kibosh (translation: he dumped me). I didn't so much as kiss another man for two years. I know. It still makes me shudder.Sure, I was busy moaning, moping, sobbing, and sighing for the first … Read More

I have to admit, even after reading Still life With Woodpecker no less than about 5 or 6 times, I still have no idea how to make love stay. The most I gathered from the book, it has something to do with Camel cigarettes and since my relationship with smoking was a brief one, I'm afraid that tip is of no use to me. Thankfully, a new study published in the March issue of the Review of General Psychology found that a surprisingly high number of long-term couples, including some who had been married over 20 years, reported that they … Read More

Lemondrop's Bediquette column today discusses the comfort—and horror—of familiarity. According to a new poll, romance lasts exactly two years, six months and 25 days, after which time couples stop trying and start leaving the toilet seat up, hording the remote and ignoring their wedding anniversary.

Lemondrop writer Lauren Bohn points out that comfort is a type of intimacy; if you're relaxed enough to let your man see your shiny, makeup-free face, you're reached a mature stage in your relationship where you no longer need to continually impress your partner.

A good point, to be sure; there's … Read More

“Is your little brother still with his girlfriend?” my friend Sue inquired during a little cookout I hosted this weekend, her mouth twisted into a snarl.

“Ugh. Yes.” I replied, not because I didn’t like the girlfriend – she’s actually very sweet – but just because I’m perpetually the sibling that can’t sustain a healthy romantic relationship.

“Jeez. What has it been, three years? When are they going to give it a rest already?”

“Shut up, you ass monkey,” I poked her side. “You’re the biggest hypocrite ever. It’s been like four for you and yours.”

It’s just so easy … Read More

The Wall Street Journal recently reported on the science behind successful long-term relationships. Using brain scans and MRIs, researchers are investigating those who are just as giddy about their significant others 20 years into the relationship as they were at 2 months.

When showed images of their spouses, participants’ scans showed a strong reaction in the ventral pallidum, an area suspected to have links with long-term bonds. The subjects apparently enjoyed old love just as much as new.

The studies could dissect lifelong passion and even one day “lead to a restorative.” As in, bringing back that … Read More

For the best advice on sex, love, dating and relationships we ask two experts with personal experience. Cathi Hanauer is the author, most recently, of Sweet Ruin, a novel about love, marriage, and adultery. Daniel Jones is the editor of both the "Modern Love" column for The New York Times, and Modern Love, an anthology derived from the column. They've been married for 15 years, and together they provide a his and hers take on relationship questions. This round: should you date other people before marrying the one you love?

Question: I've been dating the same guy exclusively since high … Read More

He wasn't my type. We worked together, and he kept asking me to do things with him, in a collegial sort of way. But when my friends asked if he might be a romantic possibility, I assured them that he wasn't my type at all. I had always been attracted to powerful older men —the kind who charm the pants off every woman they meet. You can imagine how well this worked out for me.