Archives

DEAR NATALIE: My ex-wife and I have been getting together for the holidays with our children for years. We are both remarried, but in recent years there has been this spark between us. We were young w... more

DEAR NATALIE: The holiday season is here and my girlfriend is expecting me to propose. We have been together for three years and she feels that “it’s time.” I am not sure how I feel. I also don’t even... more

DEAR NATALIE: I had a pretty bad divorce and have been living alone now for three years. My friends want me to “get back in the game” but I really don’t know if I ever want to date anyone again. I am ... more

DEAR NATALIE: I appreciate reading your great advice. Now I need some. My husband "Lou" died last month. He left behind a wife (me) and two college-aged kids. He also has a 32-year-old son "Colin" fro... more

DEAR NATALIE: My boyfriend recently had an affair with a co-worker that lasted for maybe a year. I'm not sure of the details because he won't be totally honest with me. I'm hoping that he will eventua... more

DEAR NATALIE: My friend’s wife hit on me the other night. It was just the four of us. My wife loves to cook and she was in the kitchen most of the evening. My friend’s wife drove separately — she was ... more

DEAR NATALIE: I work for a large corporation. My supervisor recently reached out to congratulate me, stating they were nominating me for a prestigious intracompany award. Then they proceeded to tell m... more

DEAR NATALIE: I've spent the last few days depressed, embarrassed and ashamed wishing I could be far away from myself. I'm a manager of a small loan office and pride myself on being able to run a staf... more

DEAR NATALIE: My daughter’s boyfriend is getting ready to propose! We are thrilled for them. He secretly bought her an engagement ring and sent it to our home to look at because I have a jeweler frien... more

DEAR NATALIE: My roommate and I are really close. We share a lot of our clothes and accessories. We love being together and have become great friends over the past three years. But she did something t... more

DEAR NATALIE: My husband’s best friend’s wife has been cheating on him for months. My husband has told me to stay out of it. We found out through friends what was going on, but his best friend has no ... more

DEAR NATALIE: I had a very awkward encounter with friends of ours last weekend at a dinner party. Everyone drank a little too much and my friend -- let’s call her Jane -- pulled me aside to tell me th... more

DEAR NATALIE: I was at an event last week and I met a woman and her fiancé. They seemed like really nice people and so we hung out with them for a while. Well, at one point, the woman went to the ladi... more

DEAR NATALIE: I'm living in rural America and my landlord thinks differently than I do. (Different backgrounds, I think). I’ve gotten a few things wrong in the few years I've lived under their roof. I... more

DEAR NATALIE: I'm 62 years old and I've raised three children. I started in 1980 and my last child left home finally in 2013 when I got married. Mind you, the middle and youngest stayed with us and we... more

DEAR NATALIE: I had an affair with my now-husband five years ago. We were both married to other people at the time and we fell in love when he was separated from his wife. I was not separated from my... more

DEAR NATALIE: I let my sister move in with me during Covid so that she could get back on her feet. She had lost her job and things were challenging financially. But for the past four months, she has b... more

DEAR NATALIE: I slept with this guy on the first date. Not my proudest moment; I got pretty drunk at the bar when we went out the other night and stumbled back to my place. You know the rest. Anyway, ... more

DEAR NATALIE: I have reconnected with my old boyfriend from college after 20-plus years. During that time, we both married. He is divorced and has two kids that are in college now. I married and lost... more

DEAR NATALIE: I’m afraid I’m becoming bitter towards relationships. I’ve been single for a while now and having a much harder time dating in my early 40s than I did in my 20s or 30s. I was married and... more

DEAR NATALIE: My best friend has been in a bad relationship for years now and no one understands why she stays in it. He treats her poorly, is rude to her in front of her friends and can be very contr... more

DEAR NATALIE: My mom became ill recently and my brother and I stepped in to help manage her finances, take care of her pets and look after things while she was in the hospital and recovering. My older... more

DEAR NATALIE: Money changed my friend. She married someone extremely wealthy and now they live this very extravagant lifestyle. The problem is, she doesn’t see how it is changing her. It’s actually ma... more

DEAR NATALIE: I started dating this guy recently and he likes to send me DMs on Instagram throughout the day with funny memes to look at. Well, the last two have not been funny. He found these videos ... more

DEAR NATALIE: I have a close circle of friends. Well, I thought they were close. Recently, my one friend got engaged and some of my friends threw her an engagement party but I wasn't on the list. I fo... more

DEAR NATALIE: I have been friends with “Shawn” for years and we have always had a good relationship. Granted, he deals with some mental health stuff that can make him challenging to be around, but ove... more

DEAR NATALIE: I just got married and my husband and I have radically different spending habits. I am a saver. I always have been. I grew up with very little and watched how my mom was able to pinch pe... more

DEAR NATALIE: Is it wrong to meet up with a friend of the opposite sex for a drink ... and not tell my husband? My old friend from college is coming into town and we want to get together for a drink. ... more