Dee Salmin Went ‘Boy Sober’ For Three Years. This Is What She Learnt

Dee Salmin Went ‘Boy Sober’ For Three Years. This Is What She Learnt

From No Filter by Mamamia Podcasts

April 26, 2026 · 1h 5m

About this episode

Dee Salmin discusses her experience of going 'boy sober' for three years and the lessons learned about love and relationships.

Dee Salmin has spent years talking to other people about love, sex and relationships as the host of triple j’s The Hook Up . But behind the mic, her own dating life was far more complicated than you might expect. In her early twenties, Dee found herself stuck in a pattern — chasing men who were hot and cold, accepting behaviour she now knows she deserved better than, and constantly seeking validation that never quite stuck. So she made a radical decision. She stopped dating entirely. For nearly three years, Dee went “boy sober”, stepping away from apps, relationships and even casual flings to figure out who she was without men at the centre of her life. In this conversation with Kate Langbroek, Dee opens up about what that time taught her, the therapy that helped her understand her patterns, and the moment everything shifted. She also shares what it’s been like to find love again — this time in the public eye — and how she’s approached building a relationship on her own terms, without losing herself in it. And beyond her own story, Dee reflects on the reality of modern dating, why so many women feel like the bar is on the…

People in this episode

Host: Kate Langbroek

Guest: Dee Salmin

Topics covered

  • dating
  • self-discovery
  • relationships
  • therapy
  • modern dating
  • validation

Keywords

  • boy sober
  • dating patterns
  • self-worth
  • modern relationships
  • validation
  • therapy

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: triple j, Mamamia

Books & works: It’s Not Love, Actually

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