March 20th

On today’s show — the first of a two-part episode during our series on Endings — Jacqueline speaks with two women who recently underwent breakups they attribute to their chronic illnesses: Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) and Interstitial Cystitis. They both reached out to J after reading her Cosmopolitan essay, How I Learned to Date with a Chronic Illness. On top of sharing with J similar struggles of food restrictions, pain, and living with an exhausting invisible illness while maintaining a job and the semblance of a romantic life, the two contemplate the unique pressures their physical limitations put upon the early stages of romance.

How does having a chronic illness change the way people can be seen romantically? Is breaking up with someone because they have health issues fair? And what can we learn about dating in the future from rough breakups of the past? Today, two singular stories shed some insight.

About This Episode

Our guests today asked to remain anonymous, which of course we completely respect.

But here’s a bit of information about our collective illnesses, the essays that connected us, and some further resources we refer to in this episode.

If you have any stories to share, please feel free to reach out to J at lovebites@heritageradionetwork.org.

Click on the images to be directed to their pages.