Committed

When Joanna and Keeril met as freshmen at Oberlin, the connection was instant—but the romance took its time. After a will-they-won't-they college friendship turned into a senior-year love story, life pulled them in opposite directions. She moved to London. He stayed in Ohio. What followed were nearly two decades of missed chances, broken hearts, marriages to other people, and long silences punctuated by late-night reunions that never quite stuck.Until one night, 18 years later, they found themselves in the same bar, and this time, the timing was finally right.In this episode, we talk about what it really takes to get a second chance at the kind of love that feels like home. Joanna and Keeril open up about depression, ambition, parenthood, estranged years, unexpected reconnections, and why finding your person again might just be the most romantic thing of all.

Welcome to the launch of our new mini-series (Re) Committed where we dive into stories of love lost and found again when people least expect it. This series was inspired by Christine Pride's new novel, All the Men I've Loved Again, which is based on her own second chance romance when she fell in love with the same two men in her twenties and again in her forties. Today we hear Christine's story of how she fell for her college boyfriend and then a handsome young TV producer when she moved to New York City. How she lost touch with both as she built her own career and how she reconnected with the same men twenty years later during the pandemic and found true love with one of them.Buy Christine's book All the Men I've Loved Again, here.

When Lindsey Jill Roth's transatlantic romance faced uncertainty, she proposed something bold — a series of deeply personal questions designed to truly get to know her partner. Her thoughtful approach, captured in her book Romances and Practicalities, became the foundation of a love story that defied distance. Now married and living in London with their children, Roth shares how vulnerability, honesty, and meaningful conversations turned a budding romance into lasting love. Tune in for an inspiring tale of connection and commitment.

Identical twins Cynthia Heyd and Leslie White are on a mission to change how we see aging. As founders of Twin-Agers, they challenge ageist stereotypes and celebrate the wisdom, resilience, and possibilities of life after 55. In this episode of Committed, they open up about their personal experiences with ageism, the power of their twin bond, and how love, purpose, and fulfillment evolve in the later chapters of life. Get ready for an inspiring conversation that proves aging isn't about slowing down—it's about thriving.

After 11 marriages and 28 engagements, Monette Dias still believes in love. In this special Valentine's Day episode of Committed, she opens up about her journey—her whirlwind romances, heartbreaks, and the lessons learned along the way. From fairy-tale beginnings to hard-earned wisdom, Monette proves that love is never off the table. 

Emily and Matthew built a life—and a restaurant empire—together. They met in 2001, young and full of dreams, and by 2013, they had opened their first restaurant, Emily, in Clinton Hill. Success followed, with multiple locations and growing acclaim. But behind the scenes, their marriage was falling apart. Facing both personal and professional uncertainty, they had to answer an impossible question: Could they stay business partners while ending their marriage?In this episode, Emily joins us alongside her new husband, Jeff, to share how he supported her through the painful transition, helped her process the past, and built a stronger foundation for their future. It's a story about love, loss, and the courage to rebuild—both in business and in life.Emily's book of poetry, Divorced Business Partners, is available wherever books are sold.

In this episode of Committed, we sit down with Jordyn Glick and Dakota Heath to explore their journey through love, resilience, and the challenges of young adult caregiving. Jordyn was diagnosed with gastroparesis, a chronic condition that affects stomach function and significantly impacts her daily life. Her partner, Dakota, stepped into the role of primary caregiver, navigating the emotional and logistical complexities that come with supporting a loved one through illness. Together, they share their candid experiences of balancing their relationship with the demands of Jordyn's health, the sacrifices they've made, and the unwavering commitment that has strengthened their bond. This episode delves into the realities of caregiving at a young age, offering an inspiring perspective on love, perseverance, and the power of partnership.

After Suzy's husband of 30 years leaves her for an old flame, she navigates through immense grief with her daughter Hallie's unwavering support. You can order the book HERE.

In this episode of Committed, Jo Piazza sits down with Stephen and Bret, better known as the Broadway Husbands. Together, they share their journey of love, partnership, and navigating the highs and lows of life in the spotlight. From balancing demanding careers on Broadway to embracing their roles as creators and partners, Stephen and Bret open up about the challenges they've faced and the unwavering bond that keeps them moving forward. This is a heartfelt and inspiring look at how love can thrive under the bright lights of Broadway and beyond.

New Year's resolutions are kind of dumb. But setting intentions for better relationships any time of the year is a good thing. Jo and Nick have a candid conversation about how they want to be better partners in 2025 and astrologer Ophira Edut tells us what the stars predict for all of our relationships for the next year. 

Today we're bringing you some of the highlights from our favorite celebrity interviews.  We've been lucky enough to be invited inside the homes of some of the biggest stars of the stage and of the big and small screens. And if I've learned anything from them, it's that love, marriage and commitment is hard and complicated and also beautiful and wonderful no matter how famous you are or how much money you have.

In their first appearance on Committed, Mike and Nicole Conforto opened up about how Mike's severe OCD turned their lives upside down. His obsessive fears for his infant son's safety spiraled into debilitating panic attacks and constant anxiety, straining their marriage and making parenthood an overwhelming challenge. The episode delved into Mike's diagnosis, their struggles as a family, and the long road toward managing his condition.In this follow-up, Mike and Nicole share how life has changed since their initial conversation. They discuss the progress Mike has made in therapy, how they continue to navigate the ups and downs of OCD as a couple, and the lessons they've learned about resilience and support. This candid update offers a deeper look into their ongoing journey, providing hope and insight for families facing similar challenges.

Childhood friendships are often the most formative of our lives. But they change and evolve as we get older and enter different seasons.  Maureen, Anne and  Amanda have been friends since kindergarten. As adults, their friendships ebbed, and flowed as they went to college,  started careers, fell in love and got married. Amanda even became a pretty famous Hollywood actress. But then the three women found themselves pregnant with their first babies at the same time and it was a life change that brought them closer than ever.  That's when they decided to take their commitment to the next level.  They decided that the three of them would start a business together.  Today we're talking about how to maintain a lifelong commitment, a lifelong friendship that starts at five years old and then evolves in so many different ways.  And how do you balance that friendship with launching a business together? 

Today's episode is something pretty magical.  Literally.  Today we're talking to Francis and Lindsey, a couple of married magicians who make magic together both on and off the stage.

What was supposed to be a few months of travel for Garrett and Jessica Gee quickly turned into a lifestyle and a career. The couple figured out how to become travel influencers, how to get brands to pay them and their young family to travel the world. Part of me wanted to find out that this wasn't a dream...that traveling with three small children was actually exhausting and tedious, but the truth is that Jessica and Garrett make it seem easy, and beautiful. And in a time when we are all stuck at home for the foreseeable future, their nomadic family feels like the escapism we desperately need.

What would it take for a sixteen year old boy to hike the entire Appalachian trail with his mom? That's what we are talking about today with Jessica and Largo, the mother and son duo we chatted with last week about traveling the world as a family. Jessica and Largo saw their relationship and their bond change and evolve during their months together on the trail. Sometimes Jessica was the caregiver and sometimes it switched to Largo. Sometimes they talked about everything under the sun and sometimes they were silent for days on end.They bother emerged from this journey changed and ready for the next phase in their relationship when Largo leaves the family nest.

As a parent, how do you transcend the regular run of the mill parent/child relationship? How do you turn your bond into a real friendship? When Jessica's two kids were young, she pulled them out of traditional school, began homeschooling them and started traveling abroad.  They left the U S a decade ago in search of a more authentic path. Since then they've lived in an RV in Europe for three years, learned to sail and crossed the Atlantic together as a family.This has been challenging and insane and also delightful and wonderful.Today we're talking to Jessica and Largo, her 17-year-old son, about how this lifestyle has strengthened their bond. This is the first in a two-part episode. In the first episode we dig into the foundation of their relationship and next week are getting into the mother-son duo's decision to hike the Appalachian trail together.

Janae and Tricia are sisters in law.  That means they're related by marriage, but they didn't have to choose each other. They didn't have to choose their bond or their commitment or their friendship. But they did. And for years, the two of them have been each other's rock.  Back in September of 2023, this bond helped them get through an unimaginable tragedy.  Trisha was camping with her family in upstate New York when her nine-year-old daughter Charlotte was abducted from the campground. Over the next 47 hours Trisha and her family went through the worst possible thing that parents can go through. Janae, took over the reins of the investigation.She knew that she had to be the strong one. This is a story of courage and bravery and love. It's also the story of the commitment between two women who would stop at nothing to bring a little girl home.

Vince and Madison met the way a lot of millennials are meeting these days—on Hinge. Vincent Madison, it met in the way that a lot of millennials are meeting these days.  On hinge.  They went on one date and they've spent every single day together since then a year and a half ago.  Vince and Madison are still young and they're still toeing the waters of this commitment thing, but they are in it! Not too long after they got together their relationship went viral when Madison posted a video of Vince crying on TikTok. It went viral and racked up more than 4 million views. 

Buddy Woodall is serving three life sentences for murder. In January he'll celebrate his 22nd wedding anniversary to his wife Kristy. When Buddy was sentenced he asked Kristy to divorce him, he begged her to divorce him. She refused. She says she will stay with him until the very end. This is their love story. It starts when they were 15 years old and Kristy hit Buddy in the head with a volleyball in gym class. It takes them through the difficult early days of their marriage when they were just trying to make ends meet and it follows them through Buddy's arrest, his trial, his sentencing and now his time in Telfair State Prison. Buddy and Kristy believe they have a love that transcends the prison walls. 

Back in 2018 we talked to Kristy and Buddy Woodall. If you don't remember that episode, on March 16, 2001 Buddy Woodall was arrested for the double murder of Lavelle Lynn and Robert Van Allen which would be known in Georgia as the Labor Day Murders.  Buddy is currently serving three consecutive life sentences and still claims his innocence. This week are are catching up with Kristy to talk about how she still holds onto hope for Buddy's release even though it gets harder every single day.

Erica Cerulo and Claire Mazur met in college in 2002.  They bonded instantly.   Fast-forward to 2010 when they founded the popular fashion and design website Of a Kind.  Since then the two women have created many, many things together, most recently the publishing company, 831 Stories. They are business partners and lifelong friends.   This season we're expanding the scope of Committed.  Because not all commitment resides within a marriage.  In many ways a business partnership is like a marriage and frankly, a marriage is also like a business partnership. There's so much we can learn from all different kinds of commitment. And that's what we'll be exploring in the coming months. Today, we're going to talk to Claire and Erica about creating and building things together and the lessons a business partnership can give a romantic partnership.

Laura and her husband met in college. They got married quickly and had four sons. Laura's husband was born a man, but always felt like something else, always felt like a woman. After thirteen years of marriage Laura's husband transitioned into a woman named Samantha. Now Laura and Samantha are navigating their new relationship as parents, partners and wives.

Many of our committed guests have become like family to us. We've stayed in touch and  followed their journeys. Some of the pairs have stayed together and some haven't. That's the cycle of commitment. Love doesn't have to last forever to be beautiful and to contribute to our lives. When we first met Samantha (episode SUDDENLY SAMANTHA), she had just transitioned.  After 13 years of marriage, Samantha and her wife, Laura, we're adjusting to how that transition would impact their marriage. Laura and Samantha eventually split up and Samantha began navigating the world as a single lesbian woman. Today we are talking to Samantha four years later about how she has rebuilt her life and found love again. 

This is the first of one of our BEST OF COMMITTED episodes. We're going to be compiling different shows on various themes in the hopes of both inspiring you and perhaps starting a conversation.  One of the things that's amazed me about the couples on this show is the ability for love and commitment to withstand some of the worst tragedies that you could ever imagine. And it's these episodes that have personally given me hope in some really dark times.  

What makes a great marriage, or even a good marriage? Today we're talking to Frances Mayes, bestselling author of the mega-hit novel Under the Tuscan Sun which has been a touchpoint for women going through any kind of life change or reinvention for nearly 30 years. Now Frances has a new novel called A Great Marriage, to which she brings a lifetime of wisdom from her own two marriages and her parents' tumultuous union. I adore this quote from the book: "You can hammer out a good marriage. Great is a whole other thing. Boiled down, way down, a great marriage happens when two people are big enough to want more for the partner than they want for themselves. Not just as much. More.”Order A Great Marriage today.Support the show and get 50% off your first Factor box, plus 20% off your next month with code COMMITTED50 at https://www.factormeals.com/committed50

What happens when you meet the right person at the wrong time? In this heartwarming episode, Nina and Mario recount their love story that began with a chance meeting in Central Park in 1999. From exchanging shy hellos to an unexpected reunion two decades later, their romance is straight out of a movie. Discover how they reconnected after years apart, overcame personal challenges, and are now planning the adventure of a lifetime together. This is a journey of love, separation, and a beautiful reconnection that brought two passionate souls back together when they needed one another the most.Learn more about Nina and Mario's GoFundMe for their Sicily adventure here and follow Nina here.

Casey and Steven met on a study abroad program in Morocco when they were juniors in college. After school they traveled to Beijing to teach English and then to Mali to live in Timbuktu. Travel does something to a relationship. It creates intimacies and speeds up the way we learn about one another. Now, two decades later, Casey and Steven have opened an Inn together in the Catskills, they have two daughters and they have found a sense of balance and give and take in their relationship that allows the other one to thrive.Follow Steven here to see more of his art and his wonderful children's books.You can pre-order Steven's new book What is Color? here.Check out The Spruceton Inn here.VISIT BetterHelp.com/committed today to get 10% off your first month.

Today we have a very special episode of the podcast Love Letters in our feed. Ever since Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey was a kid, music has played a major role in her life. “Eye of the Tiger” got her pumped for basketball games. She caught sets from Joan Baez and Melissa Etheridge working as a cocktail waitress. When she came out in her early 20s, she found solace in the Indigo Girls. These days, the governor uses music to center herself, especially at hard moments. She and her partner, Joanna Lydgate, sit down with Meredith to talk about how music helps them in their lives and in their relationship.Get more Love Letters here.This episode is brought to you by Better Help. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/COMMITTED, and get on your way to being your best self. 

Jessica found out her husband Steve was gay a year and a half into her marriage. They broke up, got back together and tried to make it work because they were living in a very conservative Christian community. And in the midst of it all she met Matt and fell hard for him. Eventually Jessica and Matt got together and today they work with Jessica's ex-husband Steve on a podcast.They share stories of love, marriage, coming out, divorce, remarriage, and co-parenting to help others know they are not alone. They are trying to break down stereo-types about what divorce and co-parenting look like every single day. It isn't always easy and it definitely isn't always perfect but they are constantly trying to find new ways to support one another.Listen and subscribe to the Husband in Law Podcast here.

For the past five years, Alex and Christina had been running a bookstore that is both their primary income as a couple and their passion.  They opened A Novel Idea, bookshop in Philly, a year before the pandemic hit. And when the city closed all of its stores, they had to completely rethink everything about their small business.  They had no one to lean on, but one another. For better. Or worse. This is a story about perseverance and pivoting, about love and about following your dreams.  It's about how the things that should break us often bring us closer together. Learn more about A Novel Idea here.

Molly and Ash met when Molly was in her late thirties, newly separated from her husband and the mother of a four year old. She was just started to explore her sexuality and wasn't looking for anything serious. But you know what they say…make plans and the universe laughs. Molly and Ash fell in love and quickly knew they wanted to be together, but that meant navigating how to blend a family and reconciling the fact that Ash wanted their own biological child and Molly did not want any more kids. The two of them are here today (and spoiler, they have a new baby) because they put in the work. Their story is a gorgeous narrative of the ways we need to change, adapt and grow for love and family.     

Manny struggled with porn addiction for years. He told himself that when he met the right woman he would be done. Then he met Becca and knew she was the one. But the night before his wedding he was still watching porn and he was so far gone in his addiction that he couldn't perform sexually on his wedding night. Manny and Becca struggled with Manny's porn addiction for years until both of them finally reached a breaking point. This is the story about how they made it out the other side.Learn more about Manny and Becca's porn addiction courses at their Team Vulnerable website here.

The FBI came to Carl and Amy Nelson's house in the middle of the pandemic. That's when Carl found out that he was under investigation for a federal crime.  Over the next two years, the couple had most of their money and assets seized by the government.  What wasn't taken, they had to sell to pay for lawyers.They lived in constant fear of the FBI returning one morning and arresting Carl in front of their four daughters.  And to this day, both Amy and Carl insist that Carl has done nothing wrong,  and he has yet to actually be charged with a crime.  But still the two of them have had their lives ripped apart in ways that could have completely destroyed their marriage.People ask Amy all the time. Why are you still with him? People can't believe she stuck by his side. She can't imagine not doing it. 

Jack Kerouac but make it a girl with braids. Carrie Bradshaw, but without the sex, and also braids. An American Icon. An American Odyssey. American propaganda. Violently so, in some cases. Laura Ingalls Wilder is evergreen. For better or worse. Since the first Little House book was published in 1932, generations of readers have flocked to Laura's cozy stories of the Ingalls family settling the Western frontier. The series inspired a TV show, pageants, and entire fashion lines. Behind this franchise is a woman who experienced almost a full century of American history. She'd made her first trips in a covered wagon, and eventually flew on a jet plane. Laura Ingalls Wilder's life and legacy remain as powerful, mesmerizing, controversial, and violent as the America she represents. In a country currently at odds with itself and its history could there be a better time for an exploration of this woman? Listen to Wilder on the iHeartRadio App or wherever you get your podcasts. https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-wilder-112847598/  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Are more women having affairs? Or are they finally just talking about it? Throughout history, women have been stigmatized, ostracized, and so much worse for committing adultery—while men have too often been given a pass. But the truth is that women have the same wants, needs and desires as men despite cultural assumptions. Hosted by journalist Jo Piazza, this groundbreaking podcast series features real women of different ages and backgrounds telling the stories of their affairs, many for the first time. After five years of reporting on marriage in the wildly popular Committed podcast, Jo is now uncovering the other side of monogamy and finding some surprising answers about the motivations behind female infidelity – from sex, to empowerment, to self-esteem, and even love. In She Wants More, Jo explores the double standard of cheating, unpacking the guilt, shame, and the expectations placed on women. She has candid conversations with women about the affairs that have either strengthened or broken their marriages that will make you feel like you're eavesdropping on an intimate conversation between two friends. These stories will make you question everything you thought you knew about desire, monogamy, and marriage. Listen to She Wants More on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts. https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-she-wants-more-107769177/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're closing out the Committed podcast with an intimate look back at our favorite episodes. Join host Jo Piazza and producer Ramsey Yount as we recount the shows that made us laugh, the ones that made us cry and the one that has helped save Jo's own relationship. This has been an incredible journey with all of you. Thanks for listening.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 2006 Lee Woodruff got the phone call that no wife ever wants to get. Her husband Bob, then the co-anchor of ABC World News Tonight, had been his by a roadside bomb in Iraq. In the explosion of rocks and metal, Bob was critically injured, sustaining shrapnel wounds to the head.He was evacuated to Bethesda Maryland where he was put into a medically induced coma for five weeks to allow his brain to heal. Bob and Lee had already been together for a long time, they had four young kids and Lee had no idea what their life would look like moving forward. Lee recounts her love story and their family's journey beautifully in her New York Times bestseller In an Instant, but I have to say that there was nothing like hearing both Bob and Lee tell their story together in this interview. This is a story about the unexpected, both the unexpected tragedies that upend our lives, but also the unexpected joy that we find in the aftermath of those tragedies. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In April of 2020 the writer Amy Bloom traveled to Switzerland to help her husband Brian die with dignity before he was plunged into the long term suffering of living with a dementing disease. She writes about their late in life romance and how she helped Brian to end his life in her gorgeous memoir In Love. This story hits close to home for any of us who have ever watched a loved one suffer and felt helpless to try to alleviate their pain. My own dad was bed ridden with muscular dystrophy for eight years before he finally passed in 2016 and I know that if I could have, I would have done anything to help him do what he wanted to do to have a more dignified death. That is exactly what Amy managed to do. Her story isn't always easy to hear, but I promise it will stick with you for a long, long time.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Last fall Renee moved from Singapore to Los Angeles to be with her partner April. April calls it a grand gesture and it certainly is. But it was confusing to a lot of people because Renee and April aren't in a romantic relationship. At all. And yet they do consider themselves life partners. The two women have been best friends since they were teenagers and they now consider themselves platonic life partners. But our society doesn't really recognize that as a thing. Committed is a podcast about love stories, and here's the thing. This IS a love story. We talk so much about romantic love in our culture. We see romantic love in movies and books and songs...so many songs. And yet we rarely talk about the lifelong friendships that are the backbones of our lives. The ones that often last much longer than a marriage. Today we do. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hi, Committed fans! Let's Red Table That is the new, official Red Table Talk fan rewatch podcast! Your hosts Cara Pressley and Tracy T. Rowe are welcoming fellow RTT fans to their virtual red table, where they'll be breaking down the latest RTT episodes and adding their own hot takes. New episodes are airing every Thursday, starting July 7. Listen here and subscribe to Let's Red Table That on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.