Writing Heated Rivalry (w/ Rachel Reid)
Why Won't You Date Me? with Nicole Byer
Headgum & Nicole Byer
4.9 • 16K Ratings
🗓️ 15 May 2026
⏱️ 54 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Author Rachel Reid (Heated Rivalry) joins Nicole to chat about the wild, viral success of her steamy queer romance novels and the hit TV adaptation. She shares how she met her husband while performing a smelly, hockey-themed burlesque act, and the dynamic that keeps their 20-year one sided open marriage working for them. She discusses the creative process behind writing explicit romance between men, and exactly why she absolutely does not want to hear your glowing reviews of her work. Plus, Rachel opens up about navigating her recent Parkinson's diagnosis.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is a headgum podcast. |
| 0:05.2 | Want to watch this episode? Catch the full video on YouTube. Just hit the link in the episode. |
| 0:10.2 | We talk a lot about messy dating stories on this show, but you know what's making dating even messier? |
| 0:16.9 | Lawmakers across the country trying to strip away our access to sexual and reproductive health care. |
| 0:22.8 | Planned Parenthood believes your body is your business, and you deserve the freedom to make your own choices. |
| 0:29.9 | Whether you need birth control, STI testing, gender affirming care, or an abortion, their health centers are there for you. But right now, politicians are |
| 0:39.5 | actively attacking Planned Parenthood and trying to control our futures. Millions of people are |
| 0:44.3 | at risk of losing essential care, especially those in black, Latino, rule, and low-income communities. |
| 0:50.8 | Healthcare is a human right, which is why I'm so proud to support them. |
| 0:54.6 | Here is a fun behind the scenes fact about the pod. I pay all my guests for coming on, |
| 0:59.1 | but when they don't want to accept the money themselves, I ask where they'd like me to donate, |
| 1:03.5 | their fee instead, and Planned Parenthood is consistently the number one organization my guests |
| 1:08.6 | choose to support. And together with people like you, |
| 1:11.8 | me and the guests on this podcast, Planned Parenthood can fight every day to build the future |
| 1:17.2 | we deserve. Supporters like you, power this work. Donate to support Planned Parenthood now |
| 1:23.9 | at planparenthood.org slash defend. |
| 1:28.1 | Description. |
| 1:32.5 | Why won't you date me? |
| 1:38.5 | Why won't you date me? |
| 1:40.2 | Why won't you date me? |
| 1:42.2 | Please tell me why. |
| 1:50.0 | Ooh, baby, welcome to another episode of Why Won't You Date Me, a podcast where me, Nicole Bayer was trying to figure out why I was so single, even though you could come in a book and say, |
... |
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