I Tried Everything to Escape My Heartbreak. Only This Worked.

I Tried Everything to Escape My Heartbreak. Only This Worked.

From Modern Love by Seleman

May 20, 2026 · 46 min · Episode 446

About this episode

Lauren Bans shares her experience of using escape rooms as a unique way to cope with heartbreak and regain her decision-making abilities.

Lauren Bans was seven months pregnant when she realized she needed a divorce. Suddenly, she found herself heartbroken, terrified, and completely unable to make decisions or think about the future. One day, her sister suggested they visit an escape room. As the door locked and the countdown began, Bans found herself enraptured by the puzzles, forgetting her reality for a moment and feeling like herself again. She was hooked and went back to escape rooms over and over. This week on the “Modern Love” podcast, Bans tells Anna Martin about her unique cure for heartbreak, and how making decisions in a fictional puzzle room helped her feel capable of making them in real life again, too. Read Lauren’s story in The New York Times Magazine . We want to know: How has A.I. changed your relationships? Send us a voice memo. How to submit a Modern Love essay to The New York Times How to submit a Tiny Love Story Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher . For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at…

People in this episode

Host: Anna Martin

Guest: Lauren Bans

Topics covered

  • heartbreak
  • divorce
  • escape rooms
  • decision making
  • personal growth

Keywords

  • heartbreak
  • escape room
  • divorce
  • decision making
  • personal growth
  • puzzles
  • New York Times

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: The New York Times Magazine

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