In this special Valentine's Day episode, David joins us for an honest, layered conversation about love, friendship, and the realities of being in a healthy relationship — especially when your relationship exists in the public eye.

We address the rumors head-on (no, we are not a throuple 🙄) and talk about why people are so quick to project narratives onto close friendships and romantic partnerships. From there, the conversation opens up into what David has learned about love through our relationship — the work it requires, the emotional accountability, and the intention it takes to build something real.

David shares how being in a relationship where strong friendships are valued has changed the way he sees connection altogether — how it's helped him appreciate friendship in a deeper way, while also awakening a desire for meaningful male friendships of his own.

We also talk honestly about what it feels like to "share" a partner with close friends, navigating boundaries, balance, and security without resentment. And we reflect on how witnessing healthy love can quietly raise the standard — Janai's understanding of what she deserves in relationships has shifted simply by seeing how Kelsi is treated.

This episode is about love in all its forms — romantic, platonic, and everything in between — and what happens when you choose to grow together instead of compete for space.

If you've ever questioned relationship dynamics, boundaries, or what healthy love actually looks like in real life, this episode is for you.

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🍒 @thekelsilee
🍒 @janaiiman
✨ @xo.upfromhere

In this episode, we look at the very first examples of love we ever witnessed — our parents — and unpack how those relationships quietly shaped our dating preferences, expectations, and blind spots.

Janai shares what it was like growing up with parents who had a fun, wild relationship — a rough-around-the-edges provider father and a working, playful mother — and how watching that dynamic, along with the softness and affection in her mom's later marriage, influenced what she thought love was supposed to look like.

Kelsi opens up about growing up in the aftermath of a volatile, messy divorce, and watching her mother enter relationships with abusive and emotionally immature men. She reflects on how chaos became familiar, and how that familiarity showed up later in the partners she chose.

We talk about how differently we were raised around boys and dating — Janai being taught that relationships were meant to end in marriage, and Kelsi having more openness and curiosity without that same expectation. And yet, despite those differences, we both found ourselves yearning for love and affection… and seeking it in the wrong places, with people who didn't value or appreciate us.

The conversation expands into the importance of dating — not as failure, but as education. Learning yourself. Gaining awareness. Understanding what works for you, not what you were told should work.

We also unpack how people — especially within relationships — try to keep women in boxes. How we're expected to be palatable, ladylike, quiet, agreeable, and "easy" in order to deserve good partners. And how those expectations shape who we pursue, how we show up, and how much of ourselves we're willing to shrink.

If you've ever looked at your dating history and wondered "Why do I keep choosing this?" — this episode is for you.

Follow us on Instagram:
🍒 @thekelsilee
🍒 @janaiiman
✨ @xo.upfromhere

In this episode, we talk about deconstructing what we've been taught masculinity and femininity are supposed to look like — and reconstructing them in ways that feel healthier, more honest, and more personal. We explore how these energies don't look the same for everyone, and how rigid definitions can do more harm than good.

Kelsi opens up about realizing her social media algorithm sometimes needs a reset — how being constantly fed certain ideologies can take ideas that originated within her and distort them through overexposure, misinformation, and extremity. What starts as self-reflection can quickly turn into confusion when too many voices start shaping your inner dialogue.

We discuss how necessary conversations around toxic hypermasculinity have become — but also how those conversations have, at times, pushed us toward seeing masculinity as a whole as "bad," instead of making space for the distinction between healthy masculinity and harmful behavior.

We also unpack how social media quietly creates invisible standards for who you should love, what that person should look like, and what kind of partnership is deemed acceptable or aspirational — often without us even realizing it.

If you've ever questioned your beliefs, felt overwhelmed by online narratives, or wanted to reclaim your own definitions of identity, attraction, and balance, this episode is for you.

Follow us on Instagram:
🍒 @thekelsilee
🍒 @janaiiman
✨ @xo.upfromhere