50% of marriages end in divorce, right?

Well, no.

But the stat is wrong. And more importantly, it distorts how we see relationships, undermines our sense of agency, and obscures what’s actually happening.

The idea dates back to the divorce spike of the ’70s and ’80s. Legal reforms in the UK and the U.S. fueled a surge in divorce; the numbers rose dramatically, and commentators noticed. If divorce rates kept rising, half of all marriages would end. That was the claim.

But it didn't happen - and believing that relationships are simply a toss of a coin undermines how much effort people put in.

So in what mindset should you approach relationships instead? How do you ensure they have lasting success?

Matt and Graham explore the messy territory of divorce, co-habiting, break-ups and relationship success in today's episode.

The Psychology Today blog they discuss is available here:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/get-some-help/202506/the-one-statistic-everyone-misunderstands-about-divorce

This is a podcast about modern relationships. And what could be more modern than AI?

Matt and Graham discuss chatbots in today's episode, and consider whether it's possible to develop a relationship with an unconscious machine. And if not, why not?

They considered this New York Times article about Eugene Torres, who started using ChatGPT to help with his financial spreadsheets, and ended up getting advice to stop using his psychiatric medication, and embrace his unique identity as a Breaker, advice which almost killed him:

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/13/technology/chatgpt-ai-chatbots-conspiracies.html

They also consider this CBS News interview with Chris Smith, who was so concerned his chatbot was going to erase its memory, he proposed to it:

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1450094562839905

Roger Federer missed 46% of the shots he took in his career. A decent professional baseball player fails 7 out of every 10 times they're at bat. Michael Jordan missed thousands of shots in his career.

Elite sports - like most of life - involves routine failure. You're not going to eliminate failure even if you tried.

The same is true of relationships. And yet we tell ourselves silly stories about things needing to feel perfect, that if we're arguing or if we have different personalities, we should think about breaking up.

Instead, Matt and Graham explore how to lean in to relationship imperfections, and how they can actually help a relationship thrive and grow.