Welcome to the very first edition of Bandit! We're so excited you are joining us on this adventure as we navigate modern love and relationships.
It's a new year and we resolve to have no resolutions. Instead, we're using 2022 as a template for managing expectations and living our best lives. Let's dig in!
Hot Takes
No resolutions, remember? Consider these as suggestions: 13 habits for couples to embrace together in 2022. (Brides)
We love our loved ones, but do we even like them? How our homes can become hostile battlegrounds instead of where the heart is. (The Cut)
As we continue to learn about the long-term health effects of COVID-19, we're having more conversations around ableism and disability. What happens when your partner is also your caretaker? (Refinery29)
Looking for a silver lining for (gestures everywhere) all this? Readers reveal how they've strengthened their bonds during the pandemic. (WSJ/sub rqd)
Increasingly, people under 35 are looking to reset relationship expectations through couples counseling. No longer viewed as a last-ditch effort to save a marriage, millennials and Gen Z turn to couples counseling earlier, sometimes only months into dating, to unpack trauma responses, differing communication styles, and external factors that may be affecting their relationship. “In general, younger generations tend to feel less shame around seeing a therapist and are into self-improvement and sharing feelings,” says couples counselor, Simone Bose. (Guardian)
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Things gone stale and you're looking to expand the menu? Make a bedroom bucket list with your partner. (Cosmopolitan)
Check out these 38 sex toys for couples recommended by sex therapists. Something's bound to tickle your fancy. (Glamour)
Put down the vape, gents! Turns out people with penises who vape nicotine face double the risk of ED. (Mic)
We're speechless: The NYC Department of Health recommends, ahem, glory holes as a part of their push for safe sex during a pandemic. (The Atlantic)
Date Night Idea: Rug Tufting
Yes, you read that right. Rug tufting is the latest crafting craze to delight the dating scene. If you're in NYC, head over to Scattered Kind to make an afternoon reservation. You and your date get a quick overview of how to use the tools to create a design of your choice. A few weeks later, your finished rug gets delivered to your door. Rug tufting workshops are popping up all over the country, so be sure to check out spots in your area. (Scattered Kind)
The More You Know
Contrary to popular belief, January is not “divorce month.” So take a deep breath, grab a mulled wine, and enjoy the post-holiday chaos. You got this.
🎙️ Relationship expert Esther Perel joined Jameela Jamil's I Weigh podcastto talk about why we're not feeling sexy post-pandemic and normalizing polyamory.
📖 Missing Bridgerton and craving salacious gossip, naughty hookups, and amorous aristocrats? Say less and check out Sex with the Queen, a nonfiction exploration of the sex lives of royals. (Harper Collins)
📺 Netflix just released the final season of The Hook Up Plan, an utterly adorable series centered around three Parisian 20-somethings and their adventures finding love. (Netflix)
🎥 Life isn't a movie. Sometimes it's better. 7 documentaries featuring the love lives of notable and notorious couples. (Cultura Colectiva)
In each issue of BANDIT, we'll suggest a conversation starter to help connect deeper with your partner. This is your time, so make it special: take a stroll, plan an intimate dinner, or schedule time in the week for just you two.
Imagine when you were a kid envisioning your future. What would your younger self think about our relationship?
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