RALEIGH, N.C. -- Robert Lyles has spent more than two decades raising children, but he says he is still learning what it means to be a father.

“I don’t know everything,” Lyles said.

With eight children ranging from 23 to 1-year-old, Lyles has learned that parenting looks different for every child. He joined Durham’s Nurturing Fathers ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS -- On a recent Sunday morning, nearly 50 people in long pants and sun hats, some toting loppers, gathered beside the Mississippi River.

It was the second meeting of the Minneapolis Buckthorn Removal Singles Club, a group of mostly 20-and-30-somethings circling up for an icebreaker.

Attendees shared their dating preferences and ...Read more

Dear Anna,

I’ve (19M) been with my girlfriend (18F) for just under four months, and things have gotten serious enough that we’re starting to talk about having sex for the first time. She’s never had sex before, and early in our relationship she told me she’d always imagined sharing that part of herself with only one person. She says if ...Read more

I have a new client, Sandy. She lives in San Francisco, she’s in her mid-60s, and she hasn’t dated in over 30 years, since before she was with her late husband. Dating has changed a lot since then.

She and I had a few pep talks about first dates — what to wear, where to meet, who should pay, and how to end a date depending on how it goes...Read more

Another day, another set of dating questions.

Question: What dating app seems to have the best luck in finding a partner?

Answer: You may not love my answer, but it's not about luck or "finding" someone. It's about being proactive and using the apps efficiently. You can be successful, or unsuccessful, on any app depending on how thoughtfully ...Read more

Dear Anna,

I’ve been happily married for 12 years, and my husband and I have been poly for eight of them. Overall, it’s been a really positive part of our relationship. We’ve had our trials, of course, but we communicate much better than we once did, we both date other people occasionally, and I genuinely experience compersion much of the...Read more

Dear Anna,

I’m 28 and have been with my girlfriend for about a year and a half. Things are really good between us overall, but we keep hitting a wall over one specific issue: I occasionally text with an ex from about four years ago. And I do mean occasionally. We’re talking maybe once or twice a month, maybe less than that. And the gist is:...Read more

We have questions today about someone’s potential readiness to be in a relationship, one-word answers in the dating apps, making a good first impression and how to know when it’s time to get back out there after a breakup.

Question: I met a guy. It’s been six months since his separation after more than 20 years of marriage. Is this a deal...Read more

Dear Anna,

I’ve been messaging someone I met on a dating app for about three weeks, and we finally have our first date this weekend. We’ve had some really fun conversations, and I’m genuinely excited to meet her. The other night she mentioned that she’d been reading a book she loved, but her library hold expired before she could finish ...Read more

About 10 years ago, when I was in the first few years of running my business, I was working out of a co-working space. A great place to get work done … and meet people. I remember very clearly when someone I met at the office asked if I’d like to have dinner. I thought it was a nice gesture, and I know how hard it is to muster up the courage...Read more

Dear Anna,

I’m a bi/pan woman who’s been married to my husband for 11 years. I’ve always known I wasn’t straight but never explored it much. I had one relationship with a woman early on, and that was it. I’m not looking to open my marriage or date other people. I just want to find ways to honor this part of myself that’s always been...Read more

Like it or not, dating apps are the most ubiquitous way to meet new people these days. In my 15 years of being a dating coach, I’ve seen thousands of happy relationships start this way. But I’ve also heard all the shortcomings: “It takes up too much time.” “I’m not getting the matches I’m looking for.” “There’s no one good.�...Read more

Dear Anna,

This feels like a ridiculous question, but here goes. I’m a 22-year-old trans woman, early in my transition, who’s only out to a small circle of close friends. Most of my friends are women, and they’ve been incredibly supportive as I’ve started figuring myself out.

Recently, two different friends — separately, not together...Read more

Fights, disagreements, squabbles — whatever you want to call them, they are part of any relationship (romantic or otherwise). And, I’d venture to say, they are part of any healthy relationship. Disagreements can’t (and shouldn’t) be avoided, but is there a way to disagree productively?

Today, we have two questions regarding ...Read more

Dear Anna,

A few years ago, I fell into an intense long-distance relationship with someone I met through a fandom community. We went from friends to lovers, writing smutty fan fic together and talking every day. They already had a long-term partner, and although they had always considered themselves open, I was the first person they had ...Read more

In any relationship, budding or established, there are two competing philosophies: Take people as they come vs. ask for what you want/need, especially when it comes to certain behaviors. I want to share that these two things can co-exist, and neither has to necessarily take precedence over the other.

Yes, we have to take people as they come, ...Read more

Dear Anna,

My boyfriend and I have been together for about eight months, and in almost every way we’re really well-suited for each other. There’s just one problem. Our sex life is lacking, and I don’t know how to fix it. He finishes very quickly during penetrative sex — usually within a minute or two — and while he almost always makes...Read more

“If you don’t know, ask.”

I find myself giving this advice on an almost daily basis.

I got a text recently from a male client who had met a woman at a party the previous weekend. She promptly found him on Instagram and suggested meeting. (Good for her for taking the initiative! How would you feel about that?) He then asked me if he ...Read more

Dear Anna,

I’m an experienced threesome participant, but I’ve been happily monogamous for years. Recently, my wife and I decided to try having a threesome together because she never really got to have the fun, slutty 20s experience she wanted. (For context, this is a two women, one nonbinary person situation.) Because it was her first time,...Read more

All too often, I get questions like these from clients:

--“What did they mean when they said that?”

--“How can I ask, ‘What are we?’”

--“Why didn’t they text me this morning like usual?”

--“Why don’t we have plans lined up for the weekend already?”

From my 15 years as a dating coach, I can give an educated guess as ...Read more