Columns

Recently I was talking to my 21-year-old boyfriend about how many sexual partners was considered “too many.” I told him how there was a 21-year-old guy friend who says he’s had over 20 partners but they had each meant something to him so he didn’t see a problem with it; only when you have meaningless sex does it become a problem, he said. Most of my other friends, especially my girl friends, only have had a couple partners, and I have always thought that was the norm for most people my age. When I asked my boyfriend how many he thought was “too many,” he said that if you lose count, then…

In a feature I call “Your Turn,” in which you, the readers, get to answer the question, I’m presenting the following letter without commentary from me: I’m 27 and I’ve been dating my 34-year-old boyfriend for three and a half years, living together for two. We get along fantastically, still love being around each other, have great sex, and have shared interests in terms of our future. I’m in no rush to get married, but I figured that we were comfortably moving in that direction. Unfortunately, I shouldn’t have assumed. He says he can’t imagine life without me, but a year ago, he started expressing doubts not in our relationship, but in…

I’m on vacation through May 13th, and in my absence Miles has offered to guest write a couple of columns. Here’s one of them: Dear Miles, Five years ago I stole someone’s purse. I was going through her wallet when I noticed the picture of her and her boyfriend. It caught my attention. I held on to the the picture and still look at it from time to time. The guy isn’t normally my type but there’s something about his smile I can’t get out of my head. I’m sure they’re broken up by now. I still have her info and could easily track him down but I’m afraid I’d only be…

New readers, welcome to Dear Wendy, a relationship advice blog. Read some of the most popular Dear Wendy posts here. If you don’t find the info you need in this column, please visit the Dear Wendy archives or the forums (you can even start your own thread), do a search in the search bar, or submit a question for advice at wendy(AT)dearwendy.com. My boyfriend of almost six years (now my fiancee!) is an aspiring photographer. He’s been into photography since high school (he’s 30 now). He shoots a wide range of subjects, but he talks about wanting to shoot nudes/scantily clad photos of women, and I’m just not comfortable with it. I…

It’s time again for Shortcuts. For every question, I’ll give my advice in three sentences or less, because sometimes the answer to a person’s question is so obvious and the need to hear it so great, being as clear and frank as possible is simply the best way to go. Today we discuss talking finances with a significant other, Facebook etiquette, and moving on to a new relationship too quickly.

I’ve been dating a young man for a little over two years, living with him since August. We didn’t the discuss the moving-in together very much — it sort of happened because his lease was up. Right now, I am finishing up my last three law school exams EVER. Let me preface the rest of this by saying that my brain does terrible things during finals, such as convincing me I had AIDS (bought a home test, negative) and that I was pregnant (twice, neither time was I actually pregnant.) That said, I think that this is not the guy for me. I am 28, highly educated and come from a close…

In a feature I call “Your Turn,” in which you, the readers, get to answer the question, I’m presenting the following letter without commentary from me: My boyfriend of a year and a half broke up with me about six weeks ago. It was mutual, but only because I knew he didn’t want to be in it anymore and, if he didn’t want to be, I didn’t either. It was pretty amicable — no one got angry or shouted — and I was actually almost relieved at the time (things had been going downhill for a while and I was getting tired of feeling insecure about his love for me all the…

For whatever reason, I seem to draw the attention of men who are either married or in serious relationships. The problem is that it doesn’t bother me that much. I have been the other woman to a married man (VERY short term — I ended things as soon as I found out he had children … I guess I found my personal limit?), an engaged man (this was longer, and I was very much in love with him — needless to say he broke my heart) right up until he got married, and currently a guy who is in a long distance relationship. I feel as though with the admittedly MAJOR exception…