Proof of Life with Preston Rakovsky
Most of us learned about love by accident, from movies, our parents, and relationships that taught us more about what we didn't want than what we did. But love isn't one-size-fits-all. This podcast brings you a new perspective on love every episode: the couples therapist, the ER doctor, the grandparents, the wedding planner. Borrow what resonates, leave what doesn't, and build a definition of love that's actually yours.
Episodes
The One Question Every Couple Avoids Until It's Too Late
A woman who always put her relationship first and prided herself on meeting her partner in the middle explains why all that compromising slowly turned her into someone she didn't recognize, what a stack of movies she never wanted to watch had to do with it, and the one question she now asks before deciding a relationship is worth saving. What makes love sustainable, she's decided, has noth
The Difference Between Love that Looks Right and Feels Right
A lifelong romantic who built vision boards of red-carpet weddings and prayed for the Romeo-and-Juliet kind of love explains why the relationship that looked like "couple goals" from the outside felt like a campaign from the inside, what a teddy bear's baptism taught her about being loved without having to beg, and the lightness she felt three days after it all ended. What makes love real, she's d
Married 21 Years: Don't Create a Safe Space
Timm Chiusano, who's been married 21 years, explains why the instinct to protect your relationship, building a safe little room around it and shutting the doors, might be the exact thing slowly killing it, what a cat that wandered through his Brooklyn house had to do with it, and the quiet moment his wife told him he was wrong that changed everything. What makes love last, he's decided, ha
Why Trying To Be Loved Is Pushing People Away
A lifelong people pleaser who befriended everyone from her classmates to the nurse drawing her blood explains why being liked by everyone left her feeling known by no one, what a $3,000 trip to Iceland she didn't even want had to do with it, and the quiet thing she now reaches for instead of grand gestures. What makes love real, she's decided, has nothing to do with how much you're wil
Gary Vee: The Kind Of Love That Decides Your Whole Life
A man raised on the kind of unconditional love most people never get, from a mother who survived losing her own mom at five and a father imprisoned in Soviet Russia, explains why money, fame, and winning will never make people actually love you, the uncomfortable reason the people surrounding the rich and powerful don't really love them, and the one quiet thing almost everyone gets backwards a
Why Grand Gestures Are Actually Red Flags
A woman raised by Filipino immigrant parents who never said "I love you" out loud explains why a partner's most generous gestures can land as rejection, what her dad's Elmo phone calls had to do with it, and the quiet thing she now looks for that most people overlook. What makes love last, she's decided, has nothing to do with how much someone is willing to give.
Why You Stay When You Know You Should Leave
A self-described lover girl who gives people 28 chances before walking away explains how one breakup left her in bed for weeks, why her mom had to tell her the same fairy tale over and over before it finally clicked, and the moment she realized she'd spent three years begging for something a near-stranger gave her after being asked once. The thing that changed how she loves wasn't getting
You Marry the Same Person Three Times
A woman who stayed married 35 years explains why she's actually been married three times to the same man, a sweet beginning, a decade that felt like war, and the marriage they have now. The turning point that ended the fighting wasn't him changing, and it wasn't a grand gesture, it was a small, almost embarrassing realization about why she was angry in the first place.
What The Bachelor Taught Me About Conversations We Avoid
A woman who spent her days as the producer of The Bachelor asking strangers the deepest questions about love explains why she couldn't ask those same questions in her own five-year relationship, and how she learned that wanting to truly know someone is the one thing you can't fake.
What No One Understands About Love Until It's Too Late
A woman who spent years being annoyed by her dad's quirks explains what she'd give anything to have back, and why the things that irritate you most about someone are the things you'll grieve the hardest.
The Type of Intimacy Most People Will Never Experience
A woman raised by a family that got love right explains why consideration is the highest form of intimacy, and why the person who calls you "too much" is never the one.
Marriage Therapist: The Skill That Makes Love Last
Saying "I love you" isn't proof you love someone. Proof is what you do when staying connected is the hardest thing in the room.Vienna Pharaon, marriage and family therapist of 19 years and author of The Origins of You, sat down with us to talk about what it actually means to choose someone, especially when your nervous system is screaming at you to do anything but.She grew up an only
Resentment is the Cholesterol of Love
Most people think fighting is just part of love. Mikayla would argue that if you're truly building something secure, you should almost never have to "fight".In this episode, we unpack why resentment is the silent killer of relationships, how small unspoken hurts compound into something that ends love, and what it actually takes to give your partner room to grow.Mikayla grew up in a f
Married 20 Years: The Difference Between Limerence, Attachment, and Love
Most people think they know what true love is, but Christine, who's been with her partner for 27 years, would argue most of us are confusing it with limerence or attachment.In this episode, we unpack the difference between infatuation, attachment, and real love, and why understanding it might be the key to a relationship that actually lasts.Christine met her partner when she was 19. They've been t
American's Don't Love Hard Enough
A man who immigrated to America as a child breaks down why Americans hold back affection from the people they love, and what it actually means to express love without shame.
He Won't Date a Woman Who Can't Be His Friend First
A playwright who went from gambling addiction to writing his own plays breaks down why romantic love only survives when it lives inside friendship, and what it actually means to share the boring moments with someone.
Why You Should Celebrate Your Breakup
A writer who celebrated his last breakup breaks down why the end of a relationship isn't the end of love, and what it actually means to love without possession.
Americans Don't Know How To Love
A Moroccan woman living in America breaks down why Americans struggle to truly show up for the people they love, and what it actually means to love without conditions.
You Are Not Just Falling for Them, You Are Falling for Who You Are With Them
A man reflects on how a three-year relationship taught him that love isn't just about the other person, it's about who you become when you're with them.
To Love is to Be Heard, Not Just Listened To
A conversation with Gen, a therapist-in-training on why being truly heard, not just listened to, is the foundation of real love
When Dating, Don't Trust Your Gut
Why “trust your gut” can be misleading in dating, and how better decisions come from balancing four signals of intuition: the head, heart, gut, and groin.
Love Isn't a Goal You Can Work Towards
A South Asian Muslim woman shares her story with Preston about how you can't work your way into someone's love.
Love Only Exists When Its Enacted
talking to samiha about why she believes love only exists in all types of relationships (romantic, platonic, familial) when its enacted on.- “just feelings” aren’t enough- what compromise in love actually looks like- why people think they’re loving someone but really aren’t- how love languages should work in reality rather than in practice
Luke Chiang on Reframing His Past Relationships
Luke Chiang, the soulful R&B artist known for his heartfelt vocals and timeless sound, opens up about love, memory, and the pieces of ourselves we leave behind in past relationships. He reflects on how every ex carries a version of us that no one else will ever know. A powerful reminder about growth, healing, and moving forward.
men not talking about their feelings is a recipe for disaster
talking about your feelings 🤝 successful relationships
there isn't "one true love" for everyone (therapist)
relationships evolve and forever isn't always realistic
people should focus on themselves rather than trying to find a relationship
instead of chasing the perfect partner, just become the person you’re meant to be and you'll find them.
dating should be approached as an anthropological study
dating isn’t about finding “the one”, it’s an anthropological study.
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