Latest news with #relationships
ABC News
6 hours ago
- Entertainment
- ABC News
Celia Pacquola: I'm As Surprised As You Are
Celia Pacquola: I'm As Surprised As You Are SPECIAL Stand-Up & Sketch Comedy Australian Relationships Watch Duration: 1 hour 4 minutes 1 second 1 h 4 m Article share options Share this on Facebook Twitter Send this by Email Copy link WhatsApp Messenger This is Celia's first new stand up hour since 2018 and a lot has happened in her life, including making a quiche for the first time and also a baby. Come and have a catch up with Celia. She's got a lot to tell you.
Forbes
6 hours ago
- General
- Forbes
3 Signs You're ‘Too Understanding' In Relationships, By A Psychologist
In a loving relationship, being understood is one of the most powerful emotional experiences. To feel truly seen and still accepted is a cornerstone of emotional safety. It allows individuals to expose their flaws without fear of rejection, creating a sense of belonging that many describe as feeling deeply loved or even 'at home.' But when that understanding is never met with reciprocatory effort or reflection, it stops being a connection and starts becoming harmful. Over time, what often begins as compassion becomes concession. Harmful patterns are excused, boundaries are blurry and one partner begins to carry the emotional weight for two. The desire to be understanding can unintentionally harm the person offering it as well as the one receiving it. There's a dark side to being too understanding. Here are three beliefs that are signs of such behavior, and how to steer clear of it. When someone brings up their trauma, their past or the pain they've carried for years, the obvious compassionate response is to listen and to understand. But for those who lean too far into empathy, understanding can become a reflex rather than a choice. A 2017 study published in The Family Journal examined 374 couples living together and found something fascinating: empathy, especially when shown by women, was a strong predictor of not only how much love individuals felt for their partners but also how much love their partners felt in return. The researchers found that men's empathy tended to enhance their own experience of the relationship but had a limited effect on how their partners felt. In contrast, women often carried out the bulk of emotional labor, supporting not only their own well-being but their partner's as well. This reflects a deeper imbalance. When empathy flows mostly in one direction, the emotional health of the relationship often relies on the more understanding partner. That imbalance can go unnoticed for months, even years, until the emotional strain begins to show. So the next time you hear yourself saying: Ask yourself: 'Is this empathy being met with responsibility?' Because while compassion creates space, it cannot sustain a relationship without accountability. In some relationships, empathy starts to look like compliance. One partner adapts; not just to support but to survive the dynamic. They make small adjustments, avoid sensitive topics and lower expectations. All to preserve peace and avoid hurting their partner. So when someone says, 'I understand that loving you is difficult, but I'm still here,' it's often less about connection and more about endurance. It's a situation where they are trying to fit into the narrative that the other person has built. Over time, their needs begin to disappear. Not because they stopped having them, but because those needs didn't fit into their partner's world. A 2021 study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology explored the effects of expressive suppression — the act of hiding one's negative emotions — on both individuals and their romantic partners. Across three dyadic studies, researchers found that greater suppression was consistently linked to lower relationship satisfaction, reduced feelings of responsiveness and higher emotional threat during conflict discussions. While some suppression may be intended to preserve harmony, the study found that when this behavior becomes habitual, especially for those low in attachment anxiety, it undermines both partners' well-being. In other words, when one person excessively suppresses their negative emotions, like walking on eggshells and staying silent to not upset the partner, it leads to emotional burnout and relationship dissatisfaction, especially when it's chronic. Empathy becomes self-abandonment when you start slashing away parts of who you are to accommodate a relationship that doesn't align with your emotional needs. One of the most overlooked signs of being too understanding is the slow realization that you're always the one who gets it. You understand their moods, their past and the way they treat you when they are hurt. You make excuses for their behavior, justify their outbursts and try to de-escalate conflict before it even starts. But when the relationship becomes emotionally one-sided, that understanding no longer brings connection; instead, it enables imbalance. You're not meeting halfway. You're meeting them where they are, every time. This kind of emotional labor is rarely acknowledged because it doesn't look like effort. It looks like patience, tolerance, even compassion. But underneath, it's a form of relational overextension, where one person handles the regulation, the empathy and the repair work while the other becomes passive in the emotional life of the relationship. Over time, this dynamic reshapes the expectations within the relationship. The more you understand them, the less they feel the need to understand you. Not because they're cruel or incapable, but because you've trained the system to run without their effort. A 2016 study published in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships examined 315 unmarried couples and found that in relationships where one partner was significantly more committed than the other — what the researchers called 'asymmetrically committed relationships' — the more committed partner reported greater emotional distress, more conflict and even higher rates of aggression. What makes this finding especially striking is that it held true even when the more committed partner had high levels of emotional investment, suggesting that commitment without reciprocity doesn't protect against burnout. This is what makes asymmetrical empathy so hard to detect. It feels generous. But it removes the expectation that you should be heard too, or that your emotions deserve the same care and curiosity. In emotionally healthy relationships, empathy flows both ways. There's space for both partners to be vulnerable, to misstep and to repair. But when you're the only one making sense of things, you also become the only one holding the relationship together. Take this science-backed test to find out if you're staying true to yourself — or just keeping the peace in your relationships: Authenticity In Relationships Scale
Entrepreneur
11 hours ago
- Business
- Entrepreneur
5 Lessons I Learned the Hard Way About Business Success
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. I've been through it all — companies that soared, companies that sank, deals that looked like gold and turned out to be sand and partnerships that either multiplied value or silently killed it. If there's one brutal truth I've learned after decades of building, buying, selling and sometimes burying companies, it's this: Relationships — not ideas, capital or even timing — are the ultimate determinant of success. It's a lesson that no spreadsheet will teach you and no pitch deck will fully convey. But it's the one thing every founder, CEO, investor and partner needs to internalize if they want to build something that lasts. Let me explain through five unfiltered truths I learned the hard way — some through exits, some through bankruptcies. Related: How to Build and Sustain Deep, Meaningful Business Relationships (and Why It's the Key to Long-Lasting Success) 1. Bad partnerships are more expensive than bad products A bad product can be fixed. A misaligned partner? That's a cancer in the system. I once co-founded a company with incredible potential — strong unit economics, great early adoption and even some early buzz in the media. But internally, the leadership team was fractured. One partner prioritized short-term revenue. Another obsessed over product perfection. And I, caught between the two, tried to play referee. Guess what happened? We burned cash arguing. We stalled decisions. Morale tanked. Ultimately, the company died — not because of the market, but because we couldn't get out of our own way. Looking back, I now ask this before every deal: Do I want to be in a foxhole with this person when things go wrong? If the answer isn't a hell yes, it's a no. 2. Bankruptcy is a leadership failure, not a market failure Yes, markets change. Yes, industries shift. But most of the bankruptcies I've seen — including my own — weren't because of the economy. They were because we made poor decisions, delayed hard conversations and ignored red flags. We had a company that seemed unstoppable — fast-growing, flush with investor interest and scaling quickly. But internally, management was siloed. Sales leadership was misaligned with operations. Decisions were made based on ego instead of data. We ignored tension because things were "good enough." Until they weren't. When it collapsed, it was easy to point fingers at external market conditions. But the truth? We failed ourselves. That experience forever changed the way I build. Now, every leadership meeting starts with alignment. If leadership isn't rowing in the same direction, I don't care how good the boat is — it's going nowhere. Related: Want Strong Business Relationships? Avoid These 3 Mistakes. 3. Buyers don't buy products — they buy people When I've successfully exited companies, there's a pattern that shows up every time: We were aligned with the buyer on values, vision and execution style. One of our best exits came not because we had the best tech, but because the acquiring team said, "We want to work with you guys." They knew we had strong relationships across departments, high employee retention and a culture of transparency. Deals get done when there's trust. Period. It doesn't matter how great your EBITDA is if the buyer doesn't believe in your leadership or your people. If you're preparing to exit, ask yourself: Would you buy this company if you didn't know the numbers, but just knew the people running it? If the answer is no, you've got work to do. 4. Decision-making is a muscle — train it or lose it Poor decision-making doesn't show up all at once. It's a slow erosion — a hundred little moments when you defer, delay or delegate decisions you should own. One business I led started slipping when we over-delegated key choices to mid-management without ensuring those managers were aligned with the company strategy. Over time, execution drifted. Product launches missed the mark. Marketing lost focus. And we didn't notice until revenue plateaued. Strong companies don't just have good leaders — they have good decision-making systems. Now, in every company I touch, we prioritize decision hygiene. Clear frameworks. Accountability. Retrospectives. You can't outsource judgment. You have to train it. Related: 8 Strategies for Building Long-Lasting Business Relationships 5. The exit isn't the end — it's the mirror When you sell a company, the terms of that exit reflect everything you did right — or wrong. Great exits happen when: You have strong internal processes Your financials are airtight Your leadership team is trusted Your reputation precedes you Bad exits — or worse, failed exits — happen when: You patched things together just for the data room Buyers smell desperation You can't clearly explain how the company runs without you I've lived both sides, and I'll tell you: Nothing haunts an entrepreneur more than realizing they killed a great business by not focusing on the fundamentals early enough. So, what's the takeaway? If I could give one piece of advice to any founder building a startup today, it's this: Invest in relationships before you invest in features. Build trust before you build scale. Fix your internal operating model before you chase more revenue. Money follows alignment. Buyers follow leadership. Teams follow purpose. And if you get those right, the next big thing might just follow you.
The Sun
17 hours ago
- General
- The Sun
We're swingers, people think it's all fun and games, but it's so expensive and there are loads of rules to follow
MANY people see swinging as a free-for-all where you can do whatever you want between the sheets with whoever you want. But Belle and Jase, who have been swinging for years, reveal swinging isn't all fun and games. 2 Taking to social media, the US couple gave a glimpse as to what full-time swinging is really like. The couple say they have dabbled in swinging house parties, cruises and even hotel takeovers. And while on these sex excursions, the couple have found it has some downsides. Taking to their podcast 4ourplay, Jase asked Belle: "What is one downside to swinging?" And Belle didn't hold back as she revealed the lifestyle was very pricey. She said: "I think a lot of people don't know that it's super expensive to be in this type of lifestyle. "So not only going to the clubs, having to pay membership to be a part of it and paying door fees to get in, that's just to a club. Hotel takeovers are really expensive." Jase added: "If you're going to try a vacation, it's like way more expensive than a normal vacation because of the type of activities that they allow there and how they have to charter the whole thing out." They also said dressing up for the events can quickly add up as well as keeping groomed. The couple also revealed that there were lots of boundaries and rules put in place for swinging. I'm a Mormon wife and 'soft swinger' but I fear being thrown out of the church The two have their own set of rules and Belle revealed a few they keep to when sleeping with other people. She said protection was an absolute must, and that the pair never go off on their own, preferring to stay together while they 'play'. And when they are playing with others, the two have vowed not to get too 'intimate' and refuse to cuddle with the people they have intercourse with. Jase added: "We don't do any intimate cuddling like that. That personally feels too intimate for us and we don't do any pictures, videos during the play sessions." What is Swinging? SWINGING, also known as partner swapping, is a sexual activity where partners in a committed relationship engage in sexual activities with other people. All parties involved must give explicit and enthusiastic consent. Open and honest communication between partners is crucial. Many swingers engage with a community or attend events specifically for swinging. Such activity can enhance intimacy and trust within the primary relationship. It provides an opportunity to explore sexual fantasies and desires. But it is not suitable for every relationship and requires a strong foundation of trust. Jealousy and emotional challenges may arise and need to be managed. Clips of the podcast have gone viral on its TikTok account @ 4ourplaypodcast with over 579k views. People were quick to share their thoughts on swinging. One person wrote: "Omg I thought I was the only one who thought this. I'm a unicorn and WHEWWWW swinging alone is expensive as hell." Another commented: 'It CAN be expensive, but you don't have to be rich." "Yes, it is but it's totally worth it," penned a third. Meanwhile a fourth said: "Sooooo expensive."
Washington Post
a day ago
- General
- Washington Post
Asking Eric: Partner doesn't greet neighbors
Dear Eric: My partner and I (35 years) are fortunate to have multiple residences. We have always 'lived together apart.' It's unconventional, but it works for us. My primary residence is in a large urban condominium building and his is rural in a small town. We're always together on weekends (we alternate the destination) but apart during the week.
