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Send us Fan Mail Are you checking your phone 40 times a day? Re-reading his last message, trying to figure out what he really meant? Building a whole future out of three dates? That's not love. It's limerence. In this episode, I explain what limerence is, the signs to watch for, and why it can feel so much bigger than it really is. In this episode: What limerence means and why it's so often mistaken for loveThe signs: intrusive thoughts, over-analyzing everything he says, and a mood that depends on whether he's in contactFantasizing about a future with someone you barely knowThe physical symptoms, like your stomach dropping when the phone ringsWhy limerence runs hottest when the other person is inconsistentHow uncertainty keeps the intensity burningWhy a steady, available man can feel like the "lesser" choiceWhat real love feels like by comparisonThe intensity you're feeling is not proof that he's the one. It may only mean he's unpredictable. Real love is steadier. It's calmer. You're not wondering, you're not analyzing, and you're not having to build a case. So the next time it feels enormous, ask yourself: Is this intensity about him, or is it not knowing where I stand? How ready are you to find real, lasting love? Take my free quiz. It takes less than two minutes. Here's the new quiz, it's fun and funny and will let you know how ready you are for love  - quiz.dianebrandonmoody.com. Sign up here for the Simply Irresistible Priority List! It's free and no obligation. https://www.dianebrandonmoody.com

Send us Fan Mail I Was Roofied in 1982: How to Spot Drink Spiking and Date Safely (Encore) Content warning: This episode discusses sexual assault, rape, and drug-facilitated assault. How do you know if your drink was spiked? And how do you stay safe when you date? I wish I didn't have to replay this one. But women everywhere are feeling a lot of rage right now, and I'm feeling it too. In 1982, two very nice, very fun guys bought my college roommate and me a birthday drink. A few hours later, I was so sick I couldn't walk a straight line. It took me three days to recover. It took me decades to understand that I had been drugged. In this encore of Episode 60, I've added a new intro. I talk to the good men who can stop this from happening, and I share practical safety tips for women. Then you'll hear my full story. In this episode, I cover: Why consent is impossible when a woman is drugged or drunk, and why good men need to speak up Why it is never your fault, no matter what How self-defense training can help you move past the freeze response Why you should always go out with a friend and make a plan How to protect your drink, from the moment it's poured until you finish it Why to call a rape crisis center first if the worst happens My full roofie story, and the signs I missed for years Why I still believe in love, and how to date safely without giving up on it Chapters 00:00 A content warning and why I'm replaying this episode 01:23 The Giselle Pelicot case and the female rage happening right now 02:00 To the good men: talk about consent, and stop it on your watch 04:01 To the women: it is never your fault 04:27 Self-defense and the freeze response 05:42 Skip the fraternity parties 06:05 Always take a friend and make a plan 06:29 Never leave your drink unwatched 07:49 Call a rape crisis center first 09:00 My free Dating Safely and Scam-Free class 10:00 The original episode: I was roofied in 1982 14:33 Realizing years later that I had been drugged 16:35 Why I teach Dating Safely and Scam-Free 19:22 I still believe in love 21:00 My #1 drink safety tip Join my free class, Dating Safely and Scam-Free I've updated it with new information on AI scams and personal safety. If enough of you sign up, I'll teach it live again this year. 👉 dianebrandonmoody.com/safety See me live at Still Open to Love October 10 and 11 in Houston. I'll be there on the first night. 👉 stillopentolove.com If you need support If you have been assaulted, consider calling a rape crisis center before you call the police. In the US, you can reach the RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline 24/7 at 800-656-4673 or online.rainn.org. Originally aired as Episode 60. Here's the new quiz, it's fun and funny and will let you know how ready you are for love  - quiz.dianebrandonmoody.com. Sign up here for the Simply Irresistible Priority List! It's free and no obligation. https://www.dianebrandonmoody.com

Send us Fan Mail Can You Receive a Compliment? This episode is all about receiving, because it's in a woman's nature to receive, and I wanted to break it down in the simplest possible terms. Someone gives you a genuine compliment. What do you do? What you do next probably tells you more about why you struggle with receiving, whether that's compliments, money, raises, or attention. Most of us deflect. We say "oh, this old thing," or explain away why the compliment isn't even true. It isn't vanity, and it isn't modesty. Most of us were trained young that a woman who takes up space is too much, so we learned to shrink a little to stay likeable. That deflection costs something too. It's a small refusal, and the person offering the compliment feels it, even if they can't name it. Your practice this week When someone compliments you, say thank you. Then stop talking. No qualifier, no return compliment, no explanation. Just thank you, and silence. Watch the urge to fill it. That urge is the whole thing you're working with. Here's the new quiz, it's fun and funny and will let you know how ready you are for love  - quiz.dianebrandonmoody.com. Sign up here for the Simply Irresistible Priority List! It's free and no obligation. https://www.dianebrandonmoody.com

Send us Fan Mail I run this podcast for women over 50 who are still dating, or dating again after a relationship has ended. And today I want to talk about a question that quietly runs under so many of our beliefs, whether we've named it or not. What if I never find love again? That fear can be scary for reasons you haven't even put your finger on yet. In this episode, I break it down into three kinds of fear I see most often: financial, physical, and the simple, plain fear of being alone. All three are legitimate. None of them make you weak. Why does this fear matter if we don't name it? Because unexamined fear drives your decisions without asking you first. It's why some of us stay months past the point we knew something wasn't working. It's why we settle for "available" instead of "right." It's why we walk into a first date auditioning instead of observing. I walk you through the exercise I did myself: writing out 25 things I'd do if I never found love again. Not five. Twenty-five. It sounds strange, maybe even a little morbid, but here's what happens when you actually do it. A vague fear feels enormous. A specific plan feels manageable. This isn't giving up. It's a Plan B. And making peace with that Plan B is one of the most effective things you can do to get the life you actually want. Because desperation is the single least attractive thing any of us can carry into a room. When the fear drains out, so does the desperation, and that's when you get to go find the one you actually want. This might be one of the most controversial episodes I've done in three years of podcasting. I'd love to hear what you think. Here's the new quiz, it's fun and funny and will let you know how ready you are for love  - quiz.dianebrandonmoody.com. Sign up here for the Simply Irresistible Priority List! It's free and no obligation. https://www.dianebrandonmoody.com

Send us Fan Mail I dated for 41 years before I finally got it right. So believe me when I say I've been ghosted more times than I can count, and it took me way too long to figure out that ghosting just is the answer. Whether it's a rude answer or a fair one doesn't matter. It's still an answer. In this episode I'm reframing ghosting completely, because the story you're telling yourself about why he disappeared is costing you way more than he ever did. Why do we spend so much energy on "why"? Because we want closure. We want a period at the end of the sentence. But here's the truth, a lot of men treat ending the conversation as the end, full stop, and waiting around for a definitive answer that's never coming is only hurting you. What's the new rule? A yes is a yes. Everything else is a no. A waffle is a no. Dot dot dot on your text is a no. Vague plans are a no. I learned this the hard way after an eight month relationship disappeared the same week my dad died, and it took me years to get over what I thought was a betrayal. It wasn't a betrayal. It was an answer I didn't want to hear. So what do you do with the silence? You stop waiting for closure from a man who already gave you his answer. You take it, call it a no, and give yourself your Tuesday back. You walk away like the queen you are, not like a woman with a temper tantrum, because somewhere out there is a man who knows exactly how to close a conversation and open a relationship. Take my free Love Readiness quiz at quiz.dianebrandonmoody.com and find out what beliefs you might be dragging around without realizing it. If you've got a girlfriend who's still stuck on why he ghosted her, send her this episode. I'd appreciate it. Here's the new quiz, it's fun and funny and will let you know how ready you are for love  - quiz.dianebrandonmoody.com. Sign up here for the Simply Irresistible Priority List! It's free and no obligation. https://www.dianebrandonmoody.com

Send us Fan Mail Did you know the most famous feminist in the world didn't get married until she was 66? In this episode I'm paying tribute to Gloria Steinem and everything she did for American women, whether you realize it or not. Yes, that "a woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle" line. Yes, Ms. Magazine. And yes, the fact that women in this country couldn't even get credit in their own name until 1974. Why does this matter to you today? Because a lot of us are still carrying around old programming about what our worth is tied to. I'm talking about de-centering men, a concept from Cherise Taylor's book Decentering Men. It's not about giving up on love. It's about no longer obsessing over him, auditioning for him, or building your whole life around whether or not you find him. Can you want a relationship and still have a full life? Absolutely. I talk about what it actually looks like to want love without centering your entire existence around it, and why that's the version of you that men are actually drawn to. If Gloria Steinem can get married for the first time at 66, stop doing the math on your own age. I'm proof it can happen too. In this episode: The real story behind the "fish needs a bicycle" quote What de-centering men actually means (and what it doesn't) Why women's legal history until the 1970s still shapes how we think about relationships today How to want love without losing yourself in the search for it Here's the new quiz, it's fun and funny and will let you know how ready you are for love  - quiz.dianebrandonmoody.com. Sign up here for the Simply Irresistible Priority List! It's free and no obligation. https://www.dianebrandonmoody.com

Send us Fan Mail Signaling  I want to tell you about something men do every single day without realizing it, and it's costing them. You know the type. Angry on threads. Furious that nothing's working. Convinced women want a man who's six feet tall, has a six-pack, and pulls six figures. Blaming everyone but the signal he's actually sending. He's not unlucky. He's broadcasting. In this episode I get into: Why every male in the animal kingdom has been signaling since the beginning of time, and why men are no different The story men tell themselves about what women want, and why it's wrong What you're actually broadcasting when you're angry online instead of building something The real order of what matters: kindness first, not last The "who pays" debate, and what it reveals about both of you I dated for forty-one years before I got any of this right myself, so believe me, I've seen every version of this signal, sent and missed. Want to know what you're actually signaling right now? I built the Love Readiness Quiz. Ten questions, about ninety seconds, free. ⬇️ Here's the new quiz, it's fun and funny and will let you know how ready you are for love - quiz.dianebrandonmoody.com. Sign up here for the Simply Irresistible Priority List! It's free and there is no obligation. https://www.dianebrandonmoody.com Here's the new quiz, it's fun and funny and will let you know how ready you are for love  - quiz.dianebrandonmoody.com. Sign up here for the Simply Irresistible Priority List! It's free and no obligation. https://www.dianebrandonmoody.com

Send us Fan Mail Sharon Jenkins found me through ChatGPT of all things, reached out cold, and has been one of my favorite people ever since. She's back on the show today, and she's bringing an invitation. She's turning 70 this year, and she'll tell you so without flinching. She'll also tell you exactly why that's the point. Sharon has built a singles conference called Love On Purpose, October 9th and 10th in Houston, and I'm one of the speakers. What she's after isn't a room full of people hoping to bump into someone. It's something she calls being properly postured, and if you've ever bristled at the word "pursuit," her distinction is worth hearing. In this conversation we get into: Why so many of us give up on love without ever deciding to, and what Sharon means when she says make hope alive again The difference between pursuing and positioning, which lets you off a hook you may not have known you were on What I'll be teaching in Houston, and why my Dating Safely program looks different this year The two objections I hear more than any others from women over 50, and the question I'd like you to ask about both of them What actually happens over the weekend, including the exercise where somebody who loves you stands up and tells a room why you're a catch And Sharon's guarantee, which is bolder than most people would dare to make Also a conversation about what it costs to invest in love, and the number nobody adds up: what it costs to do nothing at all. Love On Purpose is October 9th and 10th, 2026, in Houston, Texas. Find everything at loveonpurpose.fun Wondering how ready you actually are? Take my free Love Readiness Quiz at quiz.dianebrandonmoody.com Reach me anytime at [email protected] Here's the new quiz, it's fun and funny and will let you know how ready you are for love  - quiz.dianebrandonmoody.com. Sign up here for the Simply Irresistible Priority List! It's free and no obligation. https://www.dianebrandonmoody.com

Send us Fan Mail The Man Goggles I want to tell you about a pair of glasses you might be wearing without realizing it. You know the scan. Walking into any room and running the assessment. Checking his left hand before you've checked his face. Deciding whether the hardware store was a good idea after all. You're conducting surveillance.  In this episode I get into: Why you started doing this in the first place, and why it isn't your fault The difference between being open and being on duty, which is a much bigger difference than it sounds What it does to your energy when you never get to clock out. I dated for forty-one years before I married for the first time at fifty-eight, so believe me, I wore those glasses. Want to know where you actually are right now? I built the Love Readiness Quiz. Ten questions, about ninety seconds, free. ⬇️ Here's the new quiz, it's fun and funny and will let you know how ready you are for love  - quiz.dianebrandonmoody.com. Sign up here for the Simply Irresistible Priority List! It's free and no obligation. https://www.dianebrandonmoody.com

Send us Fan Mail This week I get a little aggressive with well-meaning but very wrong people advising you that dating (and love) is just a dating game. That couldn't be more wrong.  If you date badly once, you are likely dating badly all the time.  You don't mean to! I'm not blaming you. It's the current dating culture that has everything wrong and no one told you what the problem could be.  Listen to this episode and share it with a friend who is just as confused and single as you are.  Here's the new quiz, it's fun and funny and will let you know how ready you are for love  - quiz.dianebrandonmoody.com. Sign up here for the Simply Irresistible Priority List! It's free and no obligation. https://www.dianebrandonmoody.com

Send us Fan Mail Are you ever confused with a date's behavior and wonder if it's worth continuing? Here's a hint: if you're confused by it, chances are you're better off not seeing him again.  Here's a list of some of my favorite green flags, yellow flags (questionable) and red flags.  I hope to see you in Simply Irresistible soon! Here's the new quiz, it's fun and funny and will let you know how ready you are for love  - quiz.dianebrandonmoody.com. Sign up here for the Simply Irresistible Priority List! It's free and no obligation. https://www.dianebrandonmoody.com

Send us Fan Mail The final episode of the marathon, and I'm not pulling punches. I'm naming the stories we tell ourselves about why love hasn't happened, and gently taking every one of them apart. You know the lies, because you've probably told yourself a few: The men are all bad. Too old, ship sailed. All the good ones are taken, married, gay, or gone. There are just no good ones in my town. Diane has an answer for each, including some Dallas-Fort Worth math that  demolishes the "no good men where I live" excuse. But the real moment in this episode is the question I asks near the end: why are you so committed to being right about this? Because here's the thing I've discovered after dating from 16 to 58: your brain is an order-taker. Keep telling it the good ones don't exist, and it will happily go find you more proof. There's a better thing to be right about, and that's where the gold is. This is the last of the twelve. If any of them shifted something for you, I would love to hear it. Enrollment for the founding cohort of Simply Irresistible closes Monday, July 13 at midnight, and the cohort begins Tuesday. Ready to stop clinging to the story and start finding the love? Join here: dianebrandonmoody.com/love-audit. And if you're reading this after the doors have closed, get on the waitlist for the next cohort at the same link. Here's the new quiz, it's fun and funny and will let you know how ready you are for love  - quiz.dianebrandonmoody.com. Sign up here for the Simply Irresistible Priority List! It's free and no obligation. https://www.dianebrandonmoody.com

Send us Fan Mail I've been inviting you to book a Love Audit all week, so today I'm telling you exactly what one is, and what it isn't. A Love Audit is a conversation between you and me to see whether you're a good fit for Simply Irresistible, and whether it's a good fit for you. And let me be honest about my heart here: I would love to have you in. But I won't put you in a program that isn't right for you, because three months of deep work you secretly hate helps no one. So we talk first. Here's what a Love Audit is not. It isn't a session to vent about men, and it isn't free coaching on everything else going on in your life. It's a genuine, warm conversation about fit, because the work inside Simply Irresistible is real, sometimes deep, and occasionally a little tender, and I want us both walking in clear-eyed. In this episode I also get into: The difference between the small-t trauma I work with, the old beliefs you may not even realize you're still carrying from childhood, and the big-T trauma that belongs with a trauma-informed therapist first. I know exactly where my lane is. The two things we actually do inside the program: settle your nervous system, and teach you real tactics, like reading green flags and red flags and handling the moments that used to trip you up. Why I call myself a dating transformation coach, and why you won't just be hanging out in here. We start Tuesday, and enrollment closes Monday, July 13 at midnight. If you want in, let's talk first. Book your Love Audit at dianebrandonmoody.com/love-audit. Already sure? Email me and I'll send you the link to join. Here's the new quiz, it's fun and funny and will let you know how ready you are for love  - quiz.dianebrandonmoody.com. Sign up here for the Simply Irresistible Priority List! It's free and no obligation. https://www.dianebrandonmoody.com

Send us Fan Mail If you've heard me mention Simply Irresistible all week and wondered what it actually is, this is the episode that lays it out. I built it, first, for myself. For the woman I was before 2018, the one who wanted love so badly, who was tired of being asked "why are you still single," who kept opening my heart and kept watching it not work out. What changed everything wasn't another dating tip. It was learning to metabolize the anger and grief she'd been carrying, and becoming magnetic on the other side of it. She built this so no other woman has to figure that out alone. In this episode, I'm honest about who it's for and who it isn't: If you're genuinely happy on your own, free, content, not aching for a partner, I'll tell you straight: this may not be for you, and that's okay. But if you're quietly scared you'll leave this life without a partner to laugh with in the dark, without someone to lean on when you're sick or scared, this is for you. I also walks through what changed since last year's beta: the program is now a full year for one price, twelve weeks of lessons plus nine more months of weekly coaching and community, real nervous system work alongside practical dating tactics, a Slack channel where I actually answers you, and a goal that might surprise you, teaching you to think for yourself so you don't need her forever. One honest note I make clear: I am not a trauma therapist, and I'll tell you kindly where her lane begins and ends. Enrollment for the founding cohort closes Monday, July 13 at midnight, and the cohort begins Tuesday. If this is you, join here: dianebrandonmoody.com/love-audit.  Please note that in the recording I said it closes on Tuesday, but it really closes Monday.  Here's the new quiz, it's fun and funny and will let you know how ready you are for love  - quiz.dianebrandonmoody.com. Sign up here for the Simply Irresistible Priority List! It's free and no obligation. https://www.dianebrandonmoody.com

Send us Fan Mail You meet him Thursday. By Sunday you've spent three days straight together and you're sure this is the one. Then, right after things get physical, he gets a strange look, mumbles something about not being able to handle a relationship, and disappears. If you've lived some version of that, this episode is for you, because the pattern is more predictable than you'd ever believe. I make the case for the one thing that reveals who a man actually is, and it's the very thing a whirlwind skips right over. Why the fast, intoxicating start is so often the setup for the vanishing act, and when that disappearance almost always happens. What time quietly exposes that a few dazzling dates can completely hide. The green flag worth waiting for, the one that tells you you've found a genuinely good one. And my clear, no-shame stance on all of it, because this was never about rules, it's about information. Let it marinate. Give it time.  Here's the new quiz, it's fun and funny and will let you know how ready you are for love  - quiz.dianebrandonmoody.com. Sign up here for the Simply Irresistible Priority List! It's free and no obligation. https://www.dianebrandonmoody.com