Is This the Person I'm Meant to Be With?

Where Should We Begin? with Esther Perel

Esther Perel Global Media

Health & Fitness, Society & Culture, Education, Mental Health, Self-improvement

4.7 • 16.4K Ratings

🗓️ 20 April 2026

⏱️ 59 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

They arrive in Esther’s office at a crossroads. A year ago, they decided to de-escalate their relationship: to transition from romantic partners to live-in roommates. In their decade-long relationship, they had become stuck in dysfunctional patterns and toxic behaviors. But they didn’t want to force a complete separation: they still loved each other, and they couldn’t afford to move out on their own. A year into this platonic experiment, things feel better between them. Does this mean they should they get back together? Or does it mean that by continuing to live together, they are prohibiting each other from moving on? Are they meant to be each other’s lifelong partners or best friends? Producer’s Note: When our anonymous guests do a session with Esther for the podcast, it is an act of generosity for everyone who listens. These sessions are meant not only to support the people in the room with Esther, but all of us who learn from their stories. Our stories have many chapters, and what you hear is just one moment in someone’s journey. So even though the sessions are anonymous, please remember that real people are behind them and they may be reading your comments. My annual Sessions Live two-day live event is coming up next month! Through clinical, cultural, and creative perspectives, Sessions Live 2026: Cultivating Aliveness: Desire & Its Disruptions explores how relationships are evolving, and how we can translate those insights into practice. Whether you’re a practicing clinician or curious mind, you’ll discover fresh insights and takeaways to help you connect and thrive. Come see me live on May 15th and 16th in NYC! Podcast listeners get a special discount with the code FRIENDSLIVE to get $100 off an in-person ticket, or FRIENDSVIRTUAL for $50 off a virtual ticket at checkout on the Sessions Live ticket page. Also, please join me on Entre Nous, my new home on Substack for anyone who wants to live, love, and work with more connection and imagination. I invite you to sign up and become a free or paid member at estherperel.substack.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	None of the voices in this series are ongoing patients of Esther Perel.
0:05.0	Each episode of Where Should We Begin is a one-time counseling session.
0:10.0	For the purposes of maintaining confidentiality,
0:13.0	names and some identifiable characteristics have been removed,
0:17.0	but their voices and their stories are real.
0:29.1	You hear a lot of talk about AI replacing humans.
0:31.6	Curiosity invites a better question.
0:34.3	How will humans shape AI?
0:39.3	That's something SaaS has been working on for decades. They're celebrating 50 years in data and AI, and long before Responsible AI was trendy, they were building systems around
0:45.2	transparency, governance, and trust. If you're curious about what responsible AI actually looks like,
0:51.7	visit SaaS.com to learn more. That's sass.com to learn more that's s a s dot com when was the last
1:00.5	time you stopped and listened to your body here's a Holland and Barrett ad break to do
1:05.2	just that go on have a listen to your gut. Is that a gurgle?
1:12.2	A rumble?
1:14.2	Is it straining after lunch?
1:16.5	Or is it saying...
1:18.2	You've got to show me love.
1:21.8	We know what your body's asking for.
1:25.0	In store online on the app.
1:30.3	Back your body. Holland and Barrett. My partner or ex- partner right now, we were sort of out of crossroads in our relationship of 10 years,
1:39.3	trying to figure out where our paths are going and if our own individual paths make sense to keep together
1:47.8	or if it makes more sense to go our separate ways.
	...

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