Modern Love

Donna Flagg didn’t expect to fall in love with a supermodel, but her connection with Hoyt Richards was undeniable. The two would talk to each other for hours, effortlessly, over dinner or lying in front of Donna’s fireplace, building a level of intimacy they describe as “a precious gem.”

Then, one day four years into their relationship, Hoyt disappeared from Donna’s life. Donna questioned her own reality: Who had she been dating? She tried to move on, but years later, Donna got a phone call that explained everything. Hoyt had disappeared because he was in a cult. Now, he had escaped.

This week on the “Modern Love” podcast, Donna Flagg and Hoyt Richards explain the role their relationship had in Hoyt’s leaving the cult, and why they decided to marry last September, more than 30 years after they first met.

Donna and Hoyt’s wedding was featured in the article, “He Left Her for a Cult, but It Would Be Years Before She Knew It.”

Here’s how to submit a Modern Love essay. Here’s how to submit a Tiny Love Story.

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When Paloma Karr took a job at Sheri’s Ranch, a legal brothel in Nevada, she thought of men as paychecks. Back home in New York City, Karr had just gone through an intense breakup and was stuck with a rent payment she couldn’t afford. She explored “sugar baby” work and, almost on a whim, started applying to brothels in Nevada. Just a few weeks later, Karr was flying to Las Vegas, ready to make the money she needed and return home.

But while she was there, Karr had a series of conversations that changed everything. She found herself endeared to her clients, many of whom just seemed to want someone to talk to about their insecurities. When they were honest with her, she was surprised to find herself being honest with them, too.

This week on the “Modern Love” podcast, Karr talks about how working in a brothel completely changed her ideas about men, sex and herself.

Here’s how to submit a Modern Love essay, and how to submit a Tiny Love Story.

Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

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After tremendous loss and heartbreak, Jim Morrison didn’t feel he had anything left to lose. Then he went for a walk. Next, a hike. Soon, he was running. He found challenging himself in nature helped him work through his grief, and before long he was seeking out increasingly difficult feats.

In 2025 he became the first person to successfully climb up the North Face of Mount Everest and then ski down. A new documentary, “Everest: The Other Side,” chronicles Morrison’s journey to Everest and tells the story of his great loves and devastating tragedies.

On this episode of “Modern Love,” Morrison talks about how he survived the darkest times in his life and how coming right up to the edge of what’s humanly possible keeps him close to the people he’s lost.

Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

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Janene Lin loathed the moment when the dinner bill would hit the table. When her date would pay, she felt like her love was for sale. Splitting the bill felt like no one had anything at stake. Most of the time, she would pay the bill herself, but that left her feeling uncared-for. So Janene prepared a pitch: On her next date, her third with a man named Aodhán, she would ask to open a joint bank account.

On this episode of Modern Love, Lin tells our host, Anna Martin, why this risky move felt like the best solution, how Aodhán reacted and what it taught her about what money means to her and her family.

This episode is adapted from Janene Lin’s essay The Woman Who Always Paid for Dinner.

Here’s how to submit a Modern Love Essay to The New York Times.

Here’s how to submit a Tiny Love Story.

Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

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One thing that comforted Denise Ryan after her divorce was that she and her ex-husband still talked every day. Even though they lived apart, they were still co-parenting their son, Alexander, and they were constantly jumping on the phone to tell each other what he was up to at their respective homes.

The daily calls stopped, though, when Denise’s ex fell in love and started building a new family. Now Alexander had a second mother figure in his life, and he was adjusting remarkably well. Alexander seemed to enjoy the time he spent with his stepmom, and soon he became a big brother to her new baby.

Denise sincerely wanted the best for her son and her ex, but it didn’t feel great to be on the outside peering in at their new life. Then, Denise got an unexpected call for help, giving her a chance to rethink the role she was playing. She realized that the end of a marriage didn’t have to mean the end of a family.

The Modern Love essay that inspired this conversation is called “Please Love My Son as I Do.”

Here’s how to submit a Modern Love essay, and how to submit a Tiny Love Story.

Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

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Explore the trials and tribulations of love in these deeply personal essays. A collaboration of The New York Times and WBUR in Boston, Modern Love: The Podcast features the popular New York Times column, with readings by notable personalities and updates from the essayists themselves. Join host Meghna Chakrabarti (WBUR) and Modern Love editor Daniel Jones (NYT) -- and fall in love at first listen.

Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

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