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Episode Description
World-renowned psychotherapist Esther Perel returns to The Oprah Podcast to share her brilliant relationship insights with a live audience. Esther has incisive advice for Gen Z women who’ve given up on dating, a mother of five struggling to heal old wounds in her marriage and a single mom who put her dating life on hold to focus on raising her son. Plus, Esther reveals what she learned during her first-ever therapy session between a man and his AI chatbot girlfriend. She also reflects on the 20th anniversary of her groundbreaking book Mating in Captivity — and why, in today’s age of disconnection, its message is more crucial than ever.
BUY THE BOOK!
The 20th anniversary edition of Mating in Captivity, published by HarperCollins and written by Esther Perel, is available wherever books are sold.
https://www.estherperel.com/mating-in-captivity
00:00:00 - Welcome Esther Perel
00:03:00 - Desire in long-term relationships
00:05:12 - Relationships in 2006 vs. 2026
00:08:45 - We’re more connected and less accessible
00:10:32 - 3 most common sex challenges today
00:13:00 - Esther’s dating advice
00:17:30 - One person can’t be everything
00:21:05 - The love myth we learned
00:22:50 - What to look for in a partner
00:25:30 - Relationship ambivalence
00:29:40 - Relationships with chatbots
00:36:36 - Chatbot relationships are here
00:37:57 - When couples therapy took off
00:39:00 - Healing from relationship ruptures
00:42:00 - Importance of repair
00:46:00 - How to date again
00:48:28 - Healing from heartbreak
00:54:50 - How Esther understands people
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