Honey

What happens when a long-time Sarah Paulson fan meets a woman who looks just like Sarah Paulson on OKCupid? They fall deeply in love, that’s what! Jess and Elena are engaged, and they fight about the religious upbringing of the baby they’re never going to have, Jessica’s oversharing about stuff she bought and loves, and… money. Jess has always been thrifty, and Elena is now out of debt, and addressing their own issues with money has helped both of them grow in this relationship. Visit Honey on Facebook to see lots of cute stuff, including Jess’s Sarah Paulson doppelganger picture and their engagement video!

Craig and Dahlya are exes! They met on Bumble, dated for ten months and broke up about four months ago. They didn’t really fight, but they did break up, and we find out exactly why. Julia was so excited to talk to exes but it actually makes her brain short-circuit because she’s so used to talking to couples who are in it to win it. How does the knowledge that a relationship is going to end affect how you deal with its problems? We also talk about when one person in the relationship is feeling successful and happy and the other person... is not. It's hard!

Nick and Muriel are MARRIED PEOPLE! They’ve known each other since they were just small street artists in Seattle! They’ve known each other for over half of their lives. We talk a lot about how their relationship has changed. Muriel is historically a caretaker, and a crisis in her family led her to realize she needed to stop doing that. She and Nick describe how they continue to navigate this change in their relationship.

Jordan and Kylee met acting in a production of Beauty and the Beast at Utah's Pickleville Playhouse, and now they are engaged!!! Their disagreement is pretty dramatic - Kylee thinks Jordan should tell his family that he is no longer a practicing Mormon, Jordan thinks it's best to let sleeping dogs lie. Kylee has 13 siblings, Brady Bunch style, and Jordan is from a smaller family (listen to hear how he handles it when his sister accuses him of thinking her unborn baby doesn't have a soul!). These two are such a perfect, complementary pair and a great case study of handling conflict when dealing with each other's families. The tumblr we mention that showcases absurd theater publicity photos: https://prisdifficult.tumblr.com/

David and Becca are MARRIED PEOPLE who got engaged after dating for only one month. I can’t resist asking them about this craziness so we hear a lot about how they’re so smitten with each other (sorry). Their big fight is about the board game Epic Spell Wars. Becca corrects David about a rule and alleges that he blows up at her. David alleges that this "blow up" was obviously joking mock anger. We get a witness to weigh in! Additionally, Becca is a great organizer and sometimes can cause tension by throwing away something of David's, but he always comes to realize he didn't need it anyway. Lastly, please check out David's podcast, Growing Up.

"What makes a healthy relationship? Two healthy people that come together as independent people and then evolve as partners.” Justin and Isley are two Long Island badasses who have been married for 45 years! Their arguments have changed in many ways – Isley is now retired, the kids are grown up, and their arguing has evolved the way they have evolved as people. Justin is a therapist so we get a lot of real solid actual advice instead of the ramblings of some crazy single chick! We talk about the five stages of marriage (hint: if you get to stage four, you’re gonna go the distance), and the importance of working on your relationship by working on yourself. Justin and Isley are Rachel's parents! Check out their episode to see how Rachel and Matt are similar and different from Justin and Isley.

Kim and Ben are engaged! This episode is bookended by the story of their elaborate proposal (on stage at the Fonda, where Kim works as a bartender!). Kim is a brassy New York broad and Ben is literally a champion debater, so they know what they’re talking about here. Kim is fully able to ice someone out if she’s mad at them, and Ben won’t let her do it. A lot of fights come from the fact that Kim is an optimistic, fearless, and possibly magically lucky person…?? And Ben is the opposite. So their different worldviews cause some conflict – we really dig into a fight about handling raw chicken. They both agree that the most important part of a fight is the communication afterwards – they do NOT agree about who is a more dangerous driver. So for the first time ever on Honey, we call in a witness to settle the thing.

Ashley and Mike are MARRIED PEOPLE!!! They have been together for 11 1/2 years! Mike gives this brilliant description of fighting: “When you’re emotionally opposed in whatever way, when you want different things and you either can’t communicate it properly or your interests are so conflicted that it spills into other things.” Ashley doesn’t like to communicate and Mike LOVES IT! Their common fight stems from Ashley being annoyed, Mike not knowing why, and him pestering her about it. This is because Mike was raised by all women and therefore he loves feelings and he loves chatting -- Ashley not so much. Their other fight is a SEX FIGHT! Learn all about how Ashley wants to have sex more than Mike does and the drama it creates (just kidding it doesn’t really create drama). We also talk about Matt and Naomi’s episode (Very Fast and Very Appropriate) check it out!!! The three of us also spend a significant amount of time fixing WHAT’S WRONG WITH THE INTERNET.

Pete and Jen are married people! They’ve been together for 17 years. They grew up 10 minutes away from each other in Massachusetts. How great! They can go home and see both of their families at the same time! Guess again! They both come from very tight loving families and they fight over them when they go home to Boston. Also find out why you should run far far away from someone who says loyalty is important to them. For the first time ever (I think?), the guests give ME advice about a fight (a political one, buckle your seatbelt). We also talk about the difference between not trusting someone and wanting to protect your relationship.

Allison and Jimmy are AN UTTER DELIGHT. They have been together for about two years, but it is unclear because while they were initially dating, Allison fully just DISAPPEARED. I believe the term the kids use is “ghosting.” Jimmy was undeterred, though, and continued to message Allison for months with no response. It all worked out for them, but guys, I cannot emphasize this enough -- DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME. We also discuss the logistics of supporting your partner in a conflict with someone else, touch briefly on vegetarian vs. carnivore, and learn that Jimmy and Allison’s grandma text each other regularly (for God’s sake).

Katie and Wayland are newlyweds and they are very similar, which makes it very easy to understand each other and be empathetic when fighting! They both enjoy debating and are willing to have their minds changed, which -- what a dream! But it also means they both struggle with making decisions, as exemplified by how Wayland decided when he was going to propose, which, I have to say, is one of the craziest pieces of behavior I’ve ever heard on Honey. As with many couples, they tend to fight when they are tired and hungry, But it also makes it easier to call each other out on what’s going on under the surface. When they fight it lasts for half a day max. Some hot discussions we get into: banks vs. credit unions! What is the purpose of the dictionary? How much Christmas music is too much Christmas music? Is Michael Buble’s Christmas album good? We have a very WOKE discussion about Baby, It’s Cold Outside.

Claire and Basil live together and have been together for four years! They met on OKCupid, jeez doesn’t that feel like a million years ago?? I love them as a couple because they are both so calm and respectful of each other. They’re very different people but are totally admiring and appreciative of their differences. One time they had a minorly neutral-negative conversation about doing the dishes, so I try to really stir up some shit about them. But the biggest conflict in this episode is between me and Basil and the challenges of having a creative career. At one point Claire does a half-hearted Trump impression. This is a great episode for couples who live in totally different worlds but still love each other a lot! This is a great episode for someone who is trying to make it in a tough career! This is a great episode of someone who wants to be a supportive partner to a person like that! Everyone go vote!

Chris and Rebecca have been dating for two years and they moved in together way too fast! Fight #1 is that Chris likes to say there was some... impropriety when they got together and Rebecca hates when he says that. Now here’s the thing - when they got together, Rebecca was adamant that she did not want to date anyone, so Chris had to be extremely stealthy about expressing interest in her, so fight #2 is about whether or not Rebecca was being dense about Chris expressing interest. Fight #3 is about the term “greengrocer.” But fight #4 - the big one - is that Rebecca wants to get married but not have kids and Chris wants to have kids but not get married!! Good lord!!! This is a PICKLE! We also accidentally create a great starter guide to Mormonism. We get into Chris’s divorce, Rebecca’s fear of pregnancy, and my insane hormones. Also here’s the insane Buzz Bissinger story.

Jonny and Jacki are engaged and guess what? They don’t fight! Jacki has an extreme -- EXTREME -- aversion to raised voices of any kind in any situation, and both Jonny and Jacki are used to being the peacemakers in their families so they are naturally very accommodating to each other. They’re very worried about this episode being boring and you know what? It honestly might be. The only source of any minute conflict between them is changing the kitty litter, if that’s any indication. So guess what they’re getting married and they’ve never been in a fight! So we kind of plan out how they will fight, because they presumably will at some point over the next 100 years that they’re married to each other (when they get divorced; millennials aren’t going to die). Also, this is a kiwano melon.

Talia and Kristen have been together for about ten months, they met in an improv class. We talk about national coming out day and gay stuff, reminisce about high school, spend QUITE A BIT OF TIME describing a bad improv scene they were both in (this is podcast greatness you guys) which served as a kind of in-the-trenches bonding experience. They have “communication-based tiffs” based on their differing love languages - Kristen speaks Quality Time, Talia speaks literally every love language. We also learn that we all love gossip, and that some of us are culturally Jewish. The three of us also weigh in on how a couple should mix their friends, whether you should text to tell someone you can’t come to an event at which they would not have noticed your absence, and the circumstantial move-in. Also New York is a garbage island

Unlike the majority of our guests on Honey, Jen and Louis are NOT REAL! They are characters improvised in the moment by the extremely talented and hilarious Peter Banifaz and Michelle Thompson. Lou and Jen are FASCINATING people - they’re a youth group leader and a dog walker, former scooter owners, and swingers. They are AMAZINGLY forthcoming about their sex life. Their big fight stems from Jen saying the wrong name during a certain sex act. Lou and Jen are just a reminder that relationships are incredibly complex, and when you can get all the moving parts to click into place, it can be really magical. That may or may not be the case for the two of them. See Peter perform at UCB: http://ucbcomedy.com See Michelle’s weekly improv show Purgatory: http://www.clubhouseimprov.com

Recently engaged couple Mary and Matt would get married at a late night bit show under the right circumstances. Find out why Matt was legitimately concerned with the optics of not seeming like a rapist on their first date. Mary only asks Matt to be cleaner, pay attention to her, and get off his computer. But they also have a philosophical disagreement about the concepts of loyalty and justice. This goes all the way from merging into a crowded lane to capital punishment and we talk about it all! When do you speak up about the injustices in the world? Matt is mostly an introvert and Mary is mostly an extrovert and we get back into the good ol’ introvert/extrovert dilemma. Malcolm Gladwell’s Revisionist History episode Article about the Obamas

Danny and Emily are engaged and they go to Catalina Island every single weekend! Danny: may or may not be a foodie. Does not know the word “maraschino” as in “maraschino cherry.” Does not eat bacon. Is a neighborhood councilman. Likes to pretend his unborn child is named “Glitch.” Uses finishing salt. Emily: Disapproves of the way Danny utilizes cruise control. Feels sorry for overworked machines. Sits in the middle back seat when Danny’s driving. Can’t be tamed. Makes good banana bread. Does not like seafood. Grew up in a house without a lot of cheese. Has difficulty waiting in lines for trendy restaurants. Leaves detritus around the living room late at night. Lies sometimes?!?! Julia: Met a baby wearing glasses immediately before recording this. Also in this episode, an update from Molly and Yael (go check out their episode “The Bigger Better”)! They are now engaged, and guess what, their engagement post on Facebook got over 1100 likes.

Bethany and Michael have been together for two and a half years! They met at work, they live together, they love video games, and they have their own YouTube channel, FreshPlays. Their big fight is over the creation of their most recent episode, wherein Michael gets heckled by their friend while playing a video game, and when Michael gets frustrated, things get very dire very fast. They also fight about dishes, and piles of laundry, and Beth and I reveal ourselves to be dirty disgusting people and Mike reveals himself to be neat as a pin. Then, just as I try to wrap up the episode, they bring up a fight they once got in about GETTING MARRIED oh god so just stay tuned till the end because it gets really serious. I also make a lot of very gender normative observations, but you know what, stereotypes are pervasive and they influence the way we think, okay???

Ali and Andrew have been together for four years (ish? They don’t celebrate anniversaries!). They met in college and fight very infrequently. They’re very calm people! They only fight when they’re hungry, which is a problem because Ali had her jaw wired shut for months. They also fight because Andrew thinks Ali is a reckless driver. They also once got in a fight because Andrew’s ex-girlfriend kept staring at Ali across campus in a girl-from-the-ring kind of way and then Andrew, thinking he was being a hero, told the girl to stop, when really Ali didn’t want her to know she even cared, obviously! They also have a fight about the timeline of moving in, getting engaged, yadda yadda yadda. No more discussions of The Night Of, but some hot takes on Stranger Things and the Fast and the Furious franchise.