ArcaMax

Dear Anna,

I've been dating my boyfriend (36M) for five months, and recently, I found out that he had quite a reputation for sending unsolicited, borderline harassy messages to women online. A coworker of mine showed me some of his old DMs on Instagram — telling her how hot she was, and asking her out repeatedly, even though she never replied...Read more

“In your opinion, why am I still single? I want love to find me!!”

This is a text message I received recently from a frustrated client of mine.

I actually get this question more often than one might think. I replied, “This sounds like a question that can’t be answered over text. But I’ll start here: You’ve had relationships before,...Read more

Dear Eric: My husband doesn't live in the country in which he was born. Because of that, I've tried to connect with his family. We visited his family over the years and vice versa. He has a cousin who asked if we could stay in touch through the messaging app WhatsApp and her husband also requested to be included. Great!

Unfortunately, his wife ...Read more

Dear Eric: I’ve struggled with a mild autoimmune condition for the last three decades that would flare from time to time. Normal life is difficult during the flares, especially while raising a family and running a business with my husband. I did the best I could.

About five years ago, I got extremely sick, and it just got worse and worse. ...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- As a woman prepares to pitch her friend to an audience of roughly 200 eager singles, a few of their pals skip around the room, hold up cardboard signs that say "Team Jason" and hype up the crowd. A live band plays early 2000s pop music while the eligible bachelor makes his way to the stage and sits on a velvet blue couch under a ...Read more

Dear Eric: A few years ago, I noticed a change in a close friend of more than four decades. She is beloved, kind, supportive and generous and has been a great friend over the decades. Yet, she has become more strident in her opinions, almost to the point of bullying.

She wasn’t always like this. Her husband and I are the main recipients of ...Read more

Dear Eric: I sing as a volunteer in a church choir. Because I can sight-sing, was trained as a musician, and can sing alto, the music director likes it when I come.

For me, singing is "work", not "fun" but the music director is very nice, and the choir members are very warm and kind people.

What I don't enjoy is that one of the newer members ...Read more

Dear Eric: My partner and I just bought a house together and are settling in nicely. He and his ex were married for 10 years, and she was mentally and emotionally abusive toward him. It took a lot of strength for him to leave.

They do not have children, pets or any property together. It should have been a clean break; however, she still ...Read more

Dear Eric: During the process of our moving from a large house to an apartment in a retirement community, my daughter-in-law asked my son to leave their house. I had already arranged to give them many things, including my late daughter’s artwork, two antique Chinese wedding chests and a Turkish rug. I paid to have these things, as well as a ...Read more

Dear Readers: On Sept. 23, I published two letters from older adults experiencing loneliness (“Still Grieving” and “Wants a Connection”). I asked those of you who have successfully found connection at a later stage in life to write in.

And write in you did! I received so many wonderful letters, full of anecdotes and suggestions, that I�...Read more

Dear Anna,

I’m a 40-year-old newly divorced career gal, and dipping my toes back into the dating pool after a long marriage. I’m not looking for anything super serious just yet, but I also don’t want to waste time on people who aren’t genuinely interested or who have wildly different values or goals than I do. The idea of endless dates ...Read more