Single, Married, Divorced invites Chicago restaurant and theater owners John Leadley and his wife  Kate Mitchell to discuss the relationship of marriage and working together.  They tell us how they manage both the businesses and their relationship.  The two also share dating stories from their past which includes John asking Kate to marry him on their first date.  V & V Pizza is mentioned and Allison takes a cue from their guests who enjoy comfortable silence.  Plus we hear a date story that involves chugging mimosas and catfishing.

Question 1: How does marriage and working together work?

Dating Story:  Will you marry me?

Question 2:  How do you enjoy each other when you always see each other?

Friends and relationships are a topics our three hosts have tackled on and off again but this week they take a different approach.  New research shows that men in serious relationships don’t have many friends.  Tom doesn’t think that stat applies to him and he explains why.  Allison tells us about her trip to Europe and she and Erik reminisce about special-ed prom.

Question 1: Are men missing out on friendship?

Dating Story: Allison’s trip to Europe.

Question 2: Should you date a friend?

Is settling OK? Alright, we get it.  Dating is tough, finding the “perfect” person isn’t going to happen but settling?  Our co-hosts take issue with a woman who never felt butterflies but seems to think she can make it work with her man for the long haul.  Allison shares her book of dating rules and tells a heartbreaking story of a friend who thought she had found love. It does allow Erik to seamlessly switch topics as Tom ponders how to remove every photo from Facebook.

Question 1: Is settling ever OK?

Dating Story: Relationship with God but not with each other.

Question 2: Are we dating?

After a couple weeks off the Single, Married, Divorced team is back and ready to tackle relationship issues.  This week they discuss if cheating is or should always be a relationship killer.  Allison dives deep into her marriage and the cheating that led to her divorce.   She also answers a tough question from Tom about the longevity of the marriage if the cheating was removed from the equation. SMD also hears back from Louise in Australia and Allison makes a hilarious joke at her daughter’s gymnastics meet.  Plus travel tips if you’re heading overseas.

Question 1: Is cheating always a relationship killer?

Dating Story: Louise from Australia needs a dating plan.

Question 2: Have love should she travel?

This week Single, Married, Divorced discusses the failure of Gwyneth Paltrow’s,  “conscious uncoupling” from taking off.  The movie star is back to talking about it again and trying to explain why she decided to use that term instead of the D word.  Allison continues to receive and reject friend requests from her ex-husband.  Erik and Tom have few words about the military time Tom uses on his phone and we have a bit of an update from the guy who doesn’t text.

Question 1:  Does divorce need reinventing?

Dating Story: Update on the guy who doesn’t text.

Question 2: Do arguments tend to be about one subject over and over again or different issues.

It does happen from time to time.  Statistics say those awkward pauses in conversation happen something like every 7 seconds.  This week Single, Married, Divorced tries to fill those  gaps with some decent ideas to keep the conversation going.  Plus the SMD crew fondly remember how comedian Paul Farahvar’s Russian date filled the silence.  Allison gets a friend request from an old flame who has added a few interesting details to his resume since they dated.  Tom leads a discussion on how long people should be haunted by mistakes they made in high school.  Which leads to a larger discussion on words we shouldn’t say anymore.

Question 1: How do you fill the awkward silence?

Dating Story: Allison hears from an old boyfriend who recently has been released from prison.

Question 2: What advice do you wish you would have gotten before getting married?

The Single, Married, Divorced team encounters an interesting question this week.  Now follow us here, a former co-worker of Erik’s has a current co-worker who is dating a guy who doesn’t like to text.  He is also not 67- years-old.   Megahn Synder-Gordon joins the team for answers.  Our hosts also asked the question, how many dates are too many dates in a night?  Allison tells a story about her friend who went on 3 dates in one day as well as a 20 something that took a liking to her.  Erik shares how he doubled up accidentally and a story of a Florida man who received more than 100,000 texts from a woman he went on one date with.

Question 1: Can you go on too many dates in one day?

Dating story: What do you do when someone doesn’t text?

Question 2: How could you text that-over and over and over again?

Are you dating the same type of person and getting the same results?  This week we look at strategies for people to get out of the dating rut.  Allison explains why she could be a role model for an ex.  Debra Messing gets a shout out and the Single, Married, Divorced team passes along some cell phone tips.  By now you should be fully aware our hosts sometimes go slightly off topic.  Our dating story this week sends the team down a road they should have never traveled.

Question 1: How can you get out of a dating rut?

Dating Story: The phantom flat.

Question 2: What would you do if your spouse decided to wash your relationship laundry on social media?

After a week off the Single, Married, Divorced crew is back with another episode.  This week they discuss why Valentine’s Day seems to be a big holiday for not only love but breaking up.  SMD Chicago also tries and somewhat fails to discuss a Kardashian situation.  (It’s pretty funny how bad they are.)  They also discuss a new MTV Dating show called, Game of Clones and choose their celebrity crushes.

Question 1: Is it a holiday of love or breaking up?

Dating Story: The Kardashian drama.

Question 2: Who’s your celebrity crush?

Single, Married, Divorced introduces us to Erik’s parents.  On the 15th they will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. Donna and Gary share how they met, their first date and their secret to having a happy marriage.   They also talked a about Erik’s dating history-who they liked and who raised some red flags.  Tom wants to know how you keep coming up with good gifts after 50 years and Allison asks Erik’s parents if things would be a little awkward between them.  It wasn’t but it was fun!

Single, Married, Divorced discusses the term U-Turn when it comes to dating.  You know, when everything seems to be going great then 4 to 6 months later out the blue you hear, “I know an hour ago we planned a international trip together but I can’t stand to be near you now.”   Erik shares a couple of stories that he is pretty sure women u-turned on him.  Allison discusses how an insensitive Facebook post killed any chance a guy had with a date with her.  Tom agrees with a SMD listener from Australia.  Yeah that’s right, SMD is international.

Poll Question: Do you U-Turn?

Question 1: What if I don’t have any relationship baggage? (Louise from Australia.)

Dating Story: Alex P. Keaton and Allison.

Question 2: What do you do?  Spouse wants to change jobs but will make less money.