[PREVIEW] Reality TV Men Are Melting Down About Postpartum Intimacy

About this episode

The episode discusses the problematic portrayal of postpartum intimacy in reality TV, focusing on male partners' expectations and societal responses.

During the season 3 premiere of "The Valley," there is a scene that lit us up with rage. Kristen Doute's fiancé Luke Broderick is having a heart-to-heart with fellow castmate Jesse Lally about his relationship. “Our relationship is completely lacking intimacy, which is tough,” he says. “[Kristen] shuts down every advance. At what point do you stop trying?” On its face this seems like a normal thing to express frustration to your friend about... until you realize that Luke is whining about not getting enough sex from his partner who is just THREE MONTHS POSTPARTUM . The man legitimately wants a gold star for not pressuring Kristen for physical intimacy before she has been medically cleared by a doctor. This scene also made us think about similar conversations we've seen between Jace Terry and Mikayla Matthews on the latest season of "The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives." And then, in episode 2, not only did Luke bring these "issues" up again, but we saw a similar exchange between Danny and Nia Booko! Three makes a trend, so we knew we had to discuss. We got into why so many men seem unable to grasp that their partners might need some physical space after a traumatic medical…

People in this episode

Host: Emma Gray

Topics covered

• postpartum intimacy
• reality TV
• male partners
• weaponized incompetence
• Bravo community
• relationship dynamics

Keywords

• postpartum
• intimacy
• reality TV
• male expectations
• relationship issues
• Bravo
• weaponized incompetence

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: The Valley, The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives

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