6 Dating Podcasts That’ll Prepare You For Your Next Virtual Meet-Cute

It’s hard to remember life before quarantine. What did we do? How did we date? What are restaurants? While it’s difficult to picture what life will look like after, the world will return to normal. And so will our love lives. The best love podcasts of 2020 for relationship and dating advice are easy ways to keep love on the brain while we’re all stuck inside for the unforeseeable future.

Perhaps you have a virtual dating that you’re looking forward to or perhaps you’re in a committed relationship but still want to know how to better of improve your connection with your partner, these podcasts are made for you. While we’re running out of movies and TV shows to watch on Netflix, maybe it’s time to pop in the ‘ol headphones we used to use on our commute to work and listen to these fun, informative and non-cheesy dating podcasts.

From episodes hosted by former Bachelor contestants (because we all know they’ve been through the ringer when it comes to love) to a charming podcast created by the internet’s (and Kristen Bell’s) husband Dax Shepard, these podcasts will keep you entertained for the weeks to come. Prepare for your next online meet-cute with these pods.

Armchair Expert

Hosted by Parenthood actor Dax Shepard, “Armchair Expert” dives into more than love. The podcast explores the messiness, vulnerability, struggles and shortcomings that make humans, well, humans. What makes Shepard an expert to examine human psychology? Well, nothing really (other than his Anthropology degree), but the actor accomplishes this feat through charm and relatability. The episodes also include interviews from some of Shepard’s famous friends, including Sheryl Crow, Alicia Keys and, obvi, his wife Kristen Bell.

Monica & Jess Love Boys

“Monica & Jess Love Boys” is a series from “Armchair Expert” where Monica Padman, Shepard’s “Armchair Expert” cohost, and her friend, Jess, talk about everything relationships. Despite their friendship, Monica and Jess are polar opposites when it comes to love. Jess dates too much, whereas Monica dates too little. Jess is gay, whereas Monica is straight. Still, with the help of other relationship experts, the two do well to explore societal and individual patterns when it comes to dating. At the end of each episode, Monica and Jess are given a challenge to break their bad dating habits in true “Armchair Expert” fashion.

Modern Love

“Modern Love” has been a column in The New York Times for years. Each week, the column tells the story of a different relationship and how they’re surviving in the modern age. (The column was even turned into a TV show on Amazon in 2019.) As for the “Modern Love” podcast, the episodes feature performances from actors, such as Kate Winslet, Jake Gyllenhaal, Uma Thurman and Sterling K. Brown, as they read true and raw stories about love, loss and redemption from the column that started it all.

Help! I Suck at Dating

Bachelorette alums Dean Unglert (from Rachel Lindsay’s season) and Jared Haibon (from Jojo Fletcher’s season) host one of the best dating podcasts in Bachelor Nation. There are a lot of love podcasts in the Bachelor world (the “Viall Files” from Nick Viall; “Almost Famous” by Ashley Iaconetti and Ben Higgins” but “Help! I Suck at Dating” is by far one of the best. The episodes feature Dean and Jared interview guests, experts, psychics and celebrity friends (including their Bachelor Nation buddies) as they figure out this thing called love.

Call Your Girlfriend

Rather than romantic love, “Call Your Girlfriend,” hosted by Ann Friedman and Aminatou Sow explores female friendships. With new episodes every Friday, the hosts encourage their listeners to call their “girlfriends,” no matter how long distance their friendship is. Of course, there’s also dating talk. But the bulk of the episodes deal with how friendships are equally as important as relationships.

Why Won’t You Date Me? 

Comedian Nicole Byers became an internet favorite with Netflix’s Nailed It, and, as expected, she’s just as funny and relatable in her podcast, “Why Won’t You Date Me?” As the podcast explains, Byers has ben single for decades, and she doesn’t really know why. And so she created a podcast as an effort to answer that question each week. With the help of her comedian friends and an ex-lover or two, Byes’ dating podcast will make you laugh and cry.