What can a reality TV experiment where strangers get married teach you about choosing a partner, creating emotional safety, and knowing when to stop trying to make a relationship work?

A LOT.

In this episode of Share the Pants, Nicole and Joel break down the MAFS Season 20 finale and the relationship lessons hiding underneath all the drama, questionable decisions, and one hell of a pickleball obsession.

We’re talking about:

• Why Cameron and Michelle were the only couple who seemed to understand what makes a relationship actually feel safe
• The difference between asking your partner for what you need and trying to change them into the person you want
• Why you cannot coach someone into being your person
• How criticizing and nitpicking your partner can make emotional vulnerability almost impossible
• The difference between high standards and unrealistic expectations
• Why dating is a dojo: sometimes you don't know what matters to you until you experience what doesn't work
• How self-abandonment can sneak in right when you're about to choose yourself
• When a lack of attraction is a mountain you can't climb and when it's just a hill
• Why talking shit about your partner to other people can quietly sabotage your relationship
• And what Nicole learned about herself when predicting which couples would make it

Plus, we revisit the couples we got right, the ones we got wrong, and the MAFS moments that had us yelling at the television.

Full spoilers for MAFS Season 20.

If you watch reality TV for the drama and love dissecting what the hell is actually happening underneath it, this one's for you.

Got a dating, relationship, or marriage question you want Nicole and Joel to answer on the podcast?

Submit your listener question and you might hear it answered on a future episode of Share the Pants. We love getting into the messy, complicated, hilarious, and occasionally unhinged relationship questions you’re actually dealing with.

Send us Fan Mail

Want more dating advice between episodes?
Follow Nicole on social media
Facebook & Instagram: @iamnicolepowers
TikTok: @datingpowers