Love etc.

What do you wish you could tell your 20-year-old self if you had the chance? What wisdom would you impart if you could go back in time? Today, for our last episode of season three, we’re talking about all the things we would tell our 20-year-old selves about love. From romantic love to friendship to ourselves, we wrap up a season all about love and relationships and sex and mistakes by sharing some lessons of our own. Thank you so much for your support throughout season three of Love etc. - we’ve absolutely adoring putting these episodes together. If you’re new to the show, we have plenty of episodes in our back catalogue for you to check out. Some of our favourites include cheating from all sides, broken hearts club, swinging in your 20s, forbidden romance, and hating sex. Keep up to date with Bumble Australia via their Instagram, @bumble_australia. Sign up to Bumble Australia today, the social networking app where women make the first move. Love etc. is a production of Shameless Media.

Is your friend in a kind-of-shitty relationship and you don’t know what to do about it? Or, have you told a friend before that their relationship isn’t what they deserve? Today, we’re talking about your friend’s crappy relationship. You know, the kind that may not be completely toxic, but a kind that makes them unhappy, that makes you feel like they’re settling, that makes you wonder if you should ever say something to them about it. After all, is it your place to tell someone their relationship isn’t what it should be? Keep up to date with Bumble Australia via their Instagram, @bumble_australia. Sign up to Bumble Australia today, the social networking app where women make the first move. Love etc. is a production of Shameless Media.

Do you believe the age-old idea that before you fall in love with anyone else, you first must love yourself? And do you believe that you need to actually love your body, rather than just accept it? Today, we’re talking about a different kind of love… body love. It was Caroline Caldwel who once said: “In a society that profits off your self-doubt, liking yourself is a rebellious act.” Today, we speak to three women - Jess, April, and Olivia - who have three very different experiences with their bodies. And, through these conversations, we asked them: When was the moment the world them their body was wrong? Is loving your body possible, let alone necessary? And how do the women listening enter a new year where their body is something to appreciate, not admonish? Keep up to date with Bumble Australia via their Instagram, @bumble_australia. Sign up to Bumble Australia today, the social networking app where women make the first move. Love etc. is a production of Shameless Media.

How do you recover from an experience that completely changes your perspective on the world? How do you pick yourself up and heal when someone has tried to steal your agency, your freedom and your sense of self too? Today, we’re talking about reclaiming your power after sexual assault. It’s a heavy one, but a story that is so important to tell. We know that almost 2 million Australian adults have experienced at least one sexual assault since the age of 15. Today, we’re talking to two women - Tegan and Gabby - who have both decided they want to tell their story of assault in order to reclaim power over their own story. A trigger warning for this one: This episode details experiences of sexual assault and trauma and may be triggering for some listeners. Keep up to date with Bumble Australia via their Instagram, @bumble_australia. Sign up to Bumble Australia today, the social networking app where women make the first move. Love etc. is a production of Shameless Media.

Have you fallen into the dangerous trap of assuming those that are bisexual are actually just gay? Have you blindly accepted the stereotype that perhaps it’s just a phase? And have you spent much time considering how bi-erasure damages our discourse around sexuality? Today, we’re talking about bisexuality. To do that, we’re talking to two people - Jane and Isaac, who both explained to us their confusing path to fully understand and appreciate their own sexuality. Keep up to date with Bumble Australia via their Instagram, @bumble_australia. Sign up to Bumble Australia today, the social networking app where women make the first move. Love etc. is a production of Shameless Media.

Do you believe the saying “once a cheater, always a cheater”? If someone has been unfaithful before, does that mean they’re destined to do it again and again? Or are humans more complicated - more capable of change - than that? Today, we’re talking about taking back a cheater. How do you move past the fury? How do you ever trust them again? And how do you process the shame that society tells you you should feel? For the answers to those sticky questions, we’re turning to two women who have been there and done that - who were told the awful news that their partners had strayed but decided to stay; to stick it out and see what happened next. Keep up to date with Bumble Australia via their Instagram, @bumble_australia. Sign up to Bumble Australia today, the social networking app where women make the first move. Love etc. is a production of Shameless Media.

This is a bizarre time for the world. COVID-19 has been incredibly detrimental to the health of people right across the world, and has had massive impacts on the economy and job stability, too. But what about love? Relationships? Sex? What has this pandemic done to the way to relate to each other? That's precisely what we're exploring today. In this final episode of Love Etc season two, we share stories from YOU guys - and they're far more uplifting than we first imagined. Then, we hear from Lauren - a woman who found love on the cusp of it all. Thank you so much for listening over the last three months - it has been such a joy to bring you all this podcast and telling your stories. Keep up to date with Bumble Australia via their Instagram, @bumble_australia. Find Mich and Zara on Insta too, they're at @michelleandrews1 and @zamcdonald. Sign up to Bumble Australia today, the social networking app where women make the first move. Love etc. is a production of Shameless Media.

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to work in the sex industry? Have you ever wondered how that work would read when it was eventually turned into a memoir? Today, we’re interviewing the powerhouse that is Rita Therese. Here’s the thing about Rita - she’s widely renowned for being one of the most in-demand sex workers in Australia, yes, but she’s also regarded as one of the country’s rising artistic talents. Because as Rita’s profile under her alias Gia James has grown, so too has has her profile as a prolific artist and writer. This interview is actually from a couple of months ago - before the world turned weird and what we consider “normal” changed drastically. We still wanted to share it though, not only as an escape from what’s going on, but to have a much-needed conversation around sex work and feminism, from a woman who isn’t just an expert in the field, but in philosophy too. At 26 Rita has just published her first book - a memoir called Come - which details her time in the sex industry as well a life of significant personal tragedy and trauma. Here, she tells us what sex work is actually like - even when she has struggled with what she calls “debilitating social anxiety” in the past. If you loved this chat with Rita Therese, please do buy her new memoir Come. It’s an arresting read, and unlike anything you’ve probably come across before. We can’t recommend it enough. You can also find her on Instagram @rita_therese__. Want to follow Michelle and Zara? They're on Instagram @michelleandrews1 and @zamcdonald. Sign up to Bumble Australia today, the social networking app where women make the first move. Love etc. is a production of Shameless Media.

Have you ever questioned your sexuality? Is there a possibility that your attraction to other people doesn’t fit into a neat box? Or, maybe - just maybe - have you walked away from a great love in search of who you really are, and what you really want? Today, we’re talking to one woman about the experience of discovering her sexuality in the midst of a committed relationship to a man. Here’s Livv. A woman who fell madly in love with a man named Jason, only to learn that deep down she’d always yearned for something he couldn’t offer. Want to follow Michelle and Zara? They're on Instagram @michelleandrews1 and @zamcdonald. Sign up to Bumble Australia today, the social networking app where women make the first move. Love etc. is a production of Shameless Media.

Have you ever been in a secret relationship? Have you ever felt like if you told the world who you were dating they would instantly judge you? Or, have you always been intrigued by love that seems so much more dramatic than your own? Today, we’re talking about forbidden love. To do that, we’re bringing you three stories from three very different women who all have remarkable tales of keeping their relationship a secret. Want to follow Michelle and Zara? They're on Instagram @michelleandrews1 and @zamcdonald. Sign up to Bumble Australia today, the social networking app where women make the first move. Love etc. is a production of Shameless Media.

Are you one of the four million Australians who has, or has had, an STI? Do you have an STI that is with you for life? And does that fact make you feel isolated and lonely in the dating game? Today, we’re talking about dating with an STI. To do that, we’re going to hear from Bethany, a woman in her twenties who is living with one, and will be for the rest of her life. Don't forget to head to @bumble_australia to get your hands on some free Jonny Condoms. Want to follow Michelle and Zara? They're on Instagram @michelleandrews1 and @zamcdonald. Sign up to Bumble Australia today, the social networking app where women make the first move. Love etc. is a production of Shameless Media.

Have you had an open relationship? Have you gone one step further, and introduced swinging into the mix? Or maybe those ideas make you squirm with discomfort, but you can’t help but feel intrigued anyway. Today, we’re talking about swinging in your twenties. To do that, we’re going to hear from Eleanor, a woman who has a lot to say about opening up a relationship, having sex with someone who isn’t her partner in front of a room full of people, and navigating the jealousy that can come with shattering the lines of monogamy. Want to follow Michelle and Zara? They're on Instagram @michelleandrews1 and @zamcdonald. Sign up to Bumble Australia today, the social networking app where women make the first move. Love etc. is a production of Shameless Media.

You’re enough. But how do you truly recognise that? On today’s episode - the final episode of season one - we explore the radical idea that you don’t actually need… anybody. That you, as a vibrant and vivacious human, are already complete. So, in order to do that, we sat down with Julijana, who learned - far younger than she should have - that sometimes a romantic partner will fail you in ways you never thought possible. But it was through that that she found love elsewhere - in her friends, in her family, in herself. Want to follow Michelle and Zara? They're on Instagram @michelleandrews1 and @zamcdonald. Sign up to Bumble Australia today, the social networking app where women make the first move. Love etc. is a production of Shameless Media.