You're listening to Well Now,

You're listening to Well Now,

Slate's podcast on Health and Wellness.

I'm Maya Fowler, and I'm Kavita Patel. Love is in the air or at least that's what the business is hoping to cash in on Valentine's Day like to tell us.

And whether you're watching a romcom...

I hate the way you talk to me and the way you cut your hair. I hate the way you talk to me and the way you cut your hair I hate the way you

drive my car I hate it when you stare reading a romantic novel you have bewitched me

body and soul and I love and love you or listening to a ballad. We just can't seem to get enough of a good love story. You know what kind of story we're talking about?

You're just out there living your life, minding your own business, and suddenly you meet the one.

The person who completes you in every way, emotionally, spiritually, and of course physically.

And sure, maybe there's some obstacles along the way,

but none of them stand a chance against you and your true love, your soulmates after all.

And I love that you are the last person I want to talk to before I go to sleep at night.

And it's not because I'm lonely, and it's not because it's New Year's Eve.

I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody,

you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.

And while these narratives are filled with passion and drama,

they rarely offer a realistic view of what romantic partnership looks like.

Let's be real. In Ramcom's Finding Love is the Destination. We don't get to see what happens to the happy couple, five, ten, twenty years down the road.

Now the interesting thing is that healthy long-term partnerships like marriage can lead to better health

and wellness outcomes like living longer and reducing risk for cardiovascular

diseases and on the flip side unhealthy love can lead to negative outcomes for your health,

...