Almost two years ago her husband was diagnosed with early onset Parkinson's Disease. They have three kids, a mortgage to pay, and he has developed some compulsive behaviors he isn't proud of. Esther helps them learn how to turn off the caregiv

Speak to Me in French

1 1 Oct 8th, 2017 43m 31s

[Contains mature themes] A husband and wife met while deeply committed to the evangelical faith and didn’t kiss until their wedding day; for her, that kiss felt like “kissing her brother.” Esther gets creative in an effort to help them create a

I've Had Better

Oct 8th, 2017 51m 19s

[Contains mature themes] He reached out because a year after the discovery of his affair, they aren’t fighting anymore, but they certainly haven’t moved on. Esther guides them towards a more honest conversation, and a revelation about their com

I've Had 100 Conversations with You in My Head

1 Apr 20th, 2018 49m 39s

[Contains mature themes] After a discovery in her doctor's office, a woman realizes her husband has been unfaithful. While betrayed and angry, she still feels a desire to stick it out for the sake of the kids. He, meanwhile, is desperate to fin

You Can Be Right or You Can Be Married

1 Apr 13th, 2018 48m 28s

[Contains mature themes] They’ve been together for more than a decade, but this isn’t the first time they’ve separated. Stuck in a cycle of explosive escalations, a husband and wife want to make it work but can’t break their habit of going for

Sexlessness

Nov 17th, 2017 38m 32s

[Contains mature themes] A couple are first-generation children of immigrants, raised to believe sex should only take place in a marriage. Now that sex isn’t forbidden, it’s deeply uninteresting…to one of them.Learn more about your ad choices.

I Want to Feel Wanted

Mar 16th, 2018 51m 10s

After ten years, a husband tells his wife he no longer wishes to be married. A month later, stuck in limbo, they come to Esther. She helps them have an honest conversation about their expectations, desires, and the ways in which their role as p

Esther Calling - Part of Me Wants to Cheat Part One

Jan 22nd, 2024 48m 46s

This episode contains discussions of a sexual trauma. Please take care listening. A woman in a healthy and loving relationship talks to Esther about the fantasies she has of cheating on her partner. Together they delve into whether these are tr

The Addict

Aug 21st, 2023 40m 42s

This episode is a classic session of Where Should We Begin from season 1. They're grandparents, with a 40+ year love story and a stable, happy marriage. But one of them had quite a few secrets. Now, with everything out in the open, they’re hopi

Donor Daddy

1 Jul 10th, 2023 50m 16s

He donated sperm to help a friend start her family. A decade later that gift shattered his own. Esther talks through the consequences of a secret.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Esther Calling - Still Single at 40

Jun 16th, 2022 27m 33s

In this episode of Esther Calling, Esther meets a man who’s never been in a relationship for more than five months. As he approaches age 40, he knows the reason lies with him, and not the women he’s dating. Esther encourages him to look back an

On Again/Off Again

Sep 10th, 2020 54m 12s

They've been on and off for almost 20 years. While she takes cares of his and their child, she wants to know that he's also there for her. He's been battling depression for years. And the shame that comes with it.Learn more about your ad choic

Trailer

Season Four Trailer

Jun 18th, 2020 2m 27s

A new season of Where Should We Begin? With Esther Perel.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Esther Perel's New Show: How's Work?

1 Feb 26th, 2020 50m 32s

Today we’re sharing the first episode of Esther Perel’s new show How’s Work? In it, Esther sits down with coworkers, cofounders and colleagues, and brings her inimitable perspective to workplace relationships and conflicts. You can listen to al

Happily Divorced

Nov 21st, 2019 56m 17s

They’re a divorced couple whose two-household relationship may prove that a happy family doesn’t have to end with divorce.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A Romantic Revival

Nov 7th, 2019 49m 5s

He’s away a lot. She’s a stepmother at home to four children whose mother died by suicide. Is there anything left over for her?Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Other Woman

Oct 31st, 2019 50m 17s

She wonders if she can satisfy her attraction to women without losing the husband she loves.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Questions You Aren't Allowed to Ask

Apr 6th, 2018 49m 52s

[Contains mature themes] What began as an eight-year affair between two women has stretched into a 19-year partnership. But despite their private commitment to one another, they’ve never quite managed to move beyond the shame of their origin st

I Can’t Give You a Child

2 Dec 1st, 2017 45m 20s

[Contains mature themes] A woman realizes she doesn’t want to have children and comes to Esther for help expressing this to her husband, who passionately wishes to be a father. But often the stories people come in with are not the ones they tak

Trauma Doesn’t Like to be Touched

Nov 24th, 2017 41m 24s

[Contains mature themes] A newly-married couple comes to Esther for guidance on how to create a space of safety and physical intimacy, while also giving voice to past trauma.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Motherless Women

Oct 8th, 2017 40m 14s

[Contains mature themes] A couple with two small children are at physical and emotional odds in their relationship. One has given herself over entirely to the children, while the other struggles to find her place within the family dynamic. Esth

1: You Need Help to Help Her

1 Mar 9th, 2018 49m 56s

[Contains mature themes] A husband and wife are united in their desire to help their daughter, two years after she suffered a breakdown and moved home, shutting herself off from her family and friends. Esther urges them to examine the way press

Love In War with Esther Perel: Ukraine

Mar 11th, 2023 58m 12s

In this session Esther counsels a couple torn apart by the war in Ukraine. Young sons divided between a mother who leaves for the sake of her youngest. And a father who stays with the oldest for the sake of their country. This episode was don

We Started As An Affair

1 Jun 9th, 2022 56m 33s

Esther says in this session, “a love story is between two people, a marriage engages an entire community of people.“ Here we see how that plays out when the relationship in question is the result of an affair; when it means the dissolution of t

Couples Under Lockdown: Lagos, Nigeria

May 14th, 2020 56m 13s

Last summer they left everything they'd built in Seattle for a chance at a very different life. He took a dream turn to expand his company and be closer to home; she gave up her nursing job to manage their girls and explore new horizons abroad.