Latest / Your Extraordinary Life & Dating After Divorce / 204. 5 Things You Need for a Successful Long Distance Relationship with Dr. Manuela Powell
Transcript
- 0:29Sade Curry: Hello everyone, welcome back to the dating after divorce podcast.
- 0:32Sade Curry: I have here on Zoom with me Dr Manuela Powell.
- 0:35Sade Curry: Dr Manuela is a life coach for 40 plus women who are ready to start living the sparkliest, loudest and most outrageously real years of their lives.
- 0:46Sade Curry: After finally getting the memo that she was queer at the tender age of 47, she realized most women could use some help to come out of whichever bullshit closet they've been stuck in forever, and so she took it upon herself to be their sole fluffer.
- 1:02Sade Curry: I love it.
- 1:04Sade Curry: This is like the best bio ever, and I'm going to let you just tell the audience you know all about yourself because, like, there's so much good stuff in here in your bio, but why don't you introduce yourself to the audience, tell them a little bit about who you are and what you do?
- 1:23Manuela Powell: Sure, thank you so much and so glad to be here talking to you.
- 1:26Manuela Powell: So, as you said, I well, I am a former breast cancer surgeon and working with women for 20 plus years I realized that there was a lot of people, women, who did everything right, meaning they ate their kale and they did the yoga and their bloodies, and then there they were in my office with cancer at 40.
- 1:49Manuela Powell: So I realized that the dynamics a lot of times with the you know, the partners or the families, these are women that, yes, did everything right, but they did everything that they should and not things they wanted to.
- 2:01Manuela Powell: So they were living with this mask and just this, you know, just doing things, checking the boxes, like they were told to do, like a good girl.
- 2:10Manuela Powell: And so I realized that helping them get rid of that might even save more lives than actually the cancer surgery, because you might not have the cancer, because obviously we know that our mental state does contribute a lot to disease.
- 2:28Sade Curry: Yeah, Amazing, oh, my goodness, that is amazing and you know it really.
- 2:32Sade Curry: It brings back one of my early clients.
- 2:35Sade Curry: I worked with her she's been like four or five years ago and she came to me for like a divorce recovery and she had filed for a divorce because her oncologist told her she had breast cancer and so it was in remission, that she should not have had breast cancer.
- 2:55Sade Curry: She's like she said, my oncologist told me that I had zero markers and I don't know all the medical terms for this Like genetically, you should not have breast cancer.
- 3:04Sade Curry: There's no reason for you to have what you have.
- 3:08Manuela Powell: Yeah, I think.
- 3:09Manuela Powell: I do think that you know, when we do that, when we live life like that, just doing everything for everybody else, be it our partners or even just society in general we do have a lot of resentment because it's like, why can't I have the things?
- 3:21Manuela Powell: Why, you know?
- 3:22Manuela Powell: And even worse, when you do have the things meaning you have a good career and relationship and kids and all the things like you checked all the boxes and you're still not happy.
- 3:30Manuela Powell: So then it's like, well, obviously there's something wrong with me, because they said that this is what I need to do to be happy.
- 3:35Manuela Powell: And here I am every night lying down in bed and being like, really, like that's it, like what's the deal?
- 3:40Manuela Powell: So that is a lot of what I call integrity is just being on the outside the same as you are on the inside, and I feel like there's a lot of like your inner self knows that that is not right, yeah, and that there's some, lots of things you're doing that go completely against what you believe and who you actually are.
- 3:59Manuela Powell: So I do believe that that sort of resentment will have consequences to our health.
- 4:06Sade Curry: Yeah, and this is such a common situation for women in midlife.
- 4:09Sade Curry: Like every other every nine, every ninth woman out of every 10, you know, women has this story of like I did all the things.
- 4:19Sade Curry: Why am I here?
- 4:20Sade Curry: Why am I divorced?
- 4:21Sade Curry: Why am I unhappy?
- 4:23Sade Curry: Why am I sick?
- 4:24Sade Curry: Why am I like?
- 4:25Sade Curry: What is your?
- 4:26Sade Curry: I mean, I know we believe the same things about why we all got here, but I want to hear you tell kind of like how did we all get here?
- 4:34Sade Curry: Like what's happening?
- 4:35Manuela Powell: I mean there's?
- 4:36Manuela Powell: There's one very simple explanation the patriarchy in the story.
- 4:38Manuela Powell: That's it Done.
- 4:40Manuela Powell: Okay, we're good Because really we have been, as women, oppressed forever in that, in that we're seen as less than we've seen as we need to.
- 4:49Manuela Powell: We need to conform to these certain rules.
- 4:51Manuela Powell: I just saw recently Dolly Parton the queen, the goddess, just showed up with her little shorts and whatever the clothes that she wears and, oh my God, people are just like she is 70, whatever.
- 5:02Manuela Powell: That is absurd.
- 5:02Manuela Powell: I'm like just what the woman has, like 75 Grammys and Oscar nominate, like all the things.
- 5:08Manuela Powell: Just can we just like not do this?
- 5:10Manuela Powell: So all those things.
- 5:12Manuela Powell: Even if you're a badass feminist or if you're progressive, there's so many little messages that you get that just keep telling you that you are a little less than just a little less.
- 5:26Manuela Powell: than You're just not the same, we don't make the same money and the whole men's plan, whatever.
- 5:31Manuela Powell: There's so many things in the media that just keep reinforcing the message that we should not make waves, we need to be polite, everybody needs to be taken care of and our job is to serve others, et cetera, et cetera.
- 5:45Manuela Powell: So all those things, this is not our nature.
- 5:49Manuela Powell: Of course, we want to help others.
- 5:51Manuela Powell: We're here.
- 5:51Manuela Powell: I was a doctor and now I'm a coach.
- 5:53Manuela Powell: I love helping others, but not to the expense of myself.
- 5:56Manuela Powell: And one thing that I like to say is that there is the word selfless and there's the word selfish, and I think we need a word in the middle, which I call selfful, because it's not about being selfish.
- 6:08Manuela Powell: Yes, we care about other people and we want to do things for others.
- 6:11Manuela Powell: We want to help, we want to contribute, but not to the expense of our health.
- 6:16Sade Curry: Yeah, yeah, 100%.
- 6:18Sade Curry: And you know, and I won't go down this rabbit trail, but there's just the narrative that how those words are even used.
- 6:23Sade Curry: Who are those?
- 6:24Sade Curry: Who do those words apply to?
- 6:25Sade Curry: I rarely hear about the selfless man, oh.
- 6:28Manuela Powell: God.
- 6:28Sade Curry: Selfish man.
- 6:31Manuela Powell: Totally yeah, exactly no, they're doing the thing, they're working all day and then they'll raise the kids or whatever it is.
- 6:36Manuela Powell: It's just like, oh yeah, sure, I'm the one who cooks and takes care of the kids, just because it's how it is, or I do it better, or whatever Right.
- 6:45Manuela Powell: It's just like there's so much of that, and not to say absolutely, there's men, lots of men, that do so much of their job.
- 6:53Manuela Powell: Let's just be clear.
- 6:54Manuela Powell: They're not helping their wives.
- 6:55Manuela Powell: But you know, it's the messages we get, even when we are in these relationships, which my marriage was.
- 7:03Manuela Powell: My ex-husband is very present in our kids and he was very present at home and all these things, but still we still have those messages from society.
- 7:13Sade Curry: Yeah, yeah.
- 7:14Sade Curry: So you know we're married, you've been divorced, you're in a relationship now which is we're here to talk about All of that and get the good tea.
- 7:24Sade Curry: How did any did this play out in your own relationships as well Just being socialized as a woman and being seen as less than like?
- 7:35Sade Curry: How did that play out in the way you showed up in your marriage or in the way your relationship dynamic?
- 7:42Manuela Powell: Yeah, I think in my marriage I still had a lot of those messages playing out.
- 7:47Manuela Powell: So I had, I got married and I had kids quite late.
- 7:50Manuela Powell: I met my ex when I was 40.
- 7:54Manuela Powell: He was 28, by the way.
- 7:55Manuela Powell: So I was like what, that's not even happening.
- 7:57Manuela Powell: And we lived in Hawaii.
- 7:58Manuela Powell: It was like everything is fine, it's great, this is just whatever.
- 8:02Manuela Powell: And eventually, while it wasn't, and we decided to build a life together and I had kids pretty late, I was 42 with my first and 44 with the second and I was like it's going to be fine, I'm a grown ass adult, like nothing is going to change, which was super cute.
- 8:16Manuela Powell: But you know, when I, when I had my first kid, it really motherhood was just like a bomb that exploded in my life and I was we were living in Brazil at the time, so it was a little easier.
- 8:28Manuela Powell: My career was a little more manageable because I could really work part time and I, you know, in Brazil we have, I had a maid and I had a nanny and I have my, my family and all that support that we get like that, and but it was so hard.
- 8:42Manuela Powell: I just immediately I remember this one time that I was again.
- 8:47Manuela Powell: I had a maid and I had a nanny and I remember this time when I was washing a bottle because my both, my sons, they breastfed and then they need for, needed formula because they couldn't stop eating ever.
- 8:58Manuela Powell: So I was washing a bottle after having breastfed and I look, you know, across to my ex and he's like had the baby in a little, you know that little sack that we put in front and he was doing his thing.
- 9:12Manuela Powell: He was reading a book or doing somewhere, I don't know what it was.
- 9:15Manuela Powell: He was doing something that was not baby related and I remember, like looking at him, I was like, oh my God, look at him, he can actually do.
- 9:22Manuela Powell: I remember like just being like, how can he do anything else?
- 9:26Manuela Powell: So it was not that he was saying.
- 9:28Manuela Powell: He was like, oh yeah, you do the things.
- 9:30Manuela Powell: So I again I had other people that could be doing that, but I felt so this is my job, I have to do it.
- 9:36Manuela Powell: Until I had to like really like force myself, like, okay, what is I need to like tone it down because it's just, it's just impossible if I keep going this way.
- 9:45Manuela Powell: So I think I put myself because of all that, I put myself in this situation.
- 9:51Manuela Powell: I'm like, oh, now I have to.
- 9:52Manuela Powell: I don't know what, I don't know what switch just flipped to my mind that now I'm this servant to this mini being.
- 9:59Manuela Powell: And then, of course, you know, if you're a servant to this mini being, let's just be a servant to everybody else who needs something, cause why not, we're already here.
- 10:07Manuela Powell: So I felt like I was always a badass person my whole life.
- 10:10Manuela Powell: I was called intimidating so much.
- 10:11Manuela Powell: I mean, I was a cancer, I was a cancer surgeon, fair firefighter, all these things.
- 10:15Manuela Powell: And then now I'm here, just like doing everything for everyone and just like becoming, like feeling myself, becoming small, and Until the day that I realized that I was like wait what?
- 10:27Manuela Powell: I found a picture of me when I danced in a burlesque show and I looked at that picture and I was like when is this person?
- 10:36Manuela Powell: Like what happened?
- 10:38Manuela Powell: And I look at myself for the mom jeans and I haven't even put like an earring for like a year, you know, just like I took a shower today.
- 10:45Manuela Powell: That's great.
- 10:46Manuela Powell: I was like what just happened to that person?
- 10:48Manuela Powell: I realized how much of my identity I let go because of motherhood.
- 10:52Manuela Powell: So that's when I started this whole like, okay, I need to get like coaching and all of that to to get back to.
- 10:59Manuela Powell: Okay, who am I really now that I am like I have all these things, plus I have little homie humans.
- 11:05Manuela Powell: So thank God for coaching, because that's what kind of made me go back to.
- 11:11Manuela Powell: Okay, we, we can go back to, or even not go back, because now I don't.
- 11:15Manuela Powell: I never felt like I am right now and I do think that 40s and 50s you're like you know, you shed a bunch of things that we carry earlier, but it was really doing all the work that I did and that's why now that's what I help people with, because I see how Amazing it is when you don't have to live with those expectations and that weight.
- 11:35Sade Curry: Yeah, yeah.
- 11:35Sade Curry: And where do you think like for you specifically, when did the expectation that definition of motherhood has been, this all-consuming Identity, shift, do you?
- 11:45Sade Curry: I?
- 11:45Manuela Powell: honestly, I that was absolutely not what my mom taught me directly.
- 11:51Manuela Powell: She never said you need to be home and take care of your kids, never, once she did that.
- 11:55Manuela Powell: I Think, again, it's really the weight of society, because it was not.
- 12:01Manuela Powell: You know, I was a professional person and of course, in the professional life, especially the time that I was in Brazil, there was so much the whole macho stuff and so many you know, harassment, all those things that are like, yeah, they're just how it is kind of thing, and I just like, yeah, we just have to take it because that's what men do and whatever.
- 12:20Manuela Powell: So I don't know.
- 12:22Manuela Powell: I honestly don't know, and I've been, you know, I've asked myself a lot that, because that is not.
- 12:26Manuela Powell: I was not raised to be a housewife Not that there's anything wrong with it, but I wasn't raised to this so that I didn't learn that.
- 12:33Manuela Powell: You know, being home, I Think it's really just.
- 12:36Manuela Powell: It's just society.
- 12:38Sade Curry: I don't know All the images with me and I think mine, mine came probably for a little bit from religion.
- 12:44Sade Curry: I became really just as a teenager.
- 12:46Sade Curry: So like I was, like that was like my rebellion against my parents was to become super religious because they weren't, and I think that environment is kind of where I got the whole like yes.
- 12:57Sade Curry: Motherhood, like the Madonna, the image of the Madonna.
- 13:00Manuela Powell: Yeah, absolutely yeah.
- 13:03Manuela Powell: I have no clue, because I was never like that.
- 13:06Manuela Powell: I actually didn't even know I wanted to have kids until my first niece was born, when I was 30, and then I was like, oh, I totally want to have a kids.
- 13:13Manuela Powell: Look at that, I love that person.
- 13:14Manuela Powell: I don't even know her and I love her, yeah.
- 13:16Manuela Powell: But until then I was like I don't even know if I want this.
- 13:18Manuela Powell: I never particularly liked kids, you know.
- 13:21Manuela Powell: It was just like what and so it's.
- 13:23Manuela Powell: It's that's what I'm saying how even a person like me Could be in this situation.
- 13:29Manuela Powell: Imagine all the other people who are, who grew up in in way more oppressive societies or families or or communities in general.
- 13:37Sade Curry: Yeah, yeah, 100%.
- 13:39Sade Curry: All right, let's talk about dating.
- 13:41Sade Curry: Yeah, so you have been divorced?
- 13:47Sade Curry: How many years now?
- 13:48Sade Curry: So we separated in November 2021, so two years now two years and like what were your thoughts like after the divorce when it was like, ah Done, oh yeah, dating and a new relationship I wanted nothing to do with it, like absolutely nothing.
- 14:05Manuela Powell: I was just like I at some point right because obviously there's that first part of the separation and divorce now that they're like everything sucks and Everything's horrible, what would you like kids like?
- 14:14Manuela Powell: How help them to them to, you know, adjust to everything?
- 14:18Manuela Powell: So once that was sort of settled, I was like, okay, what's what's the deal now?
- 14:22Manuela Powell: And I started doing something that I always love to do and I haven't been doing in forever, which was dancing.
- 14:28Manuela Powell: So I started doing a lot of partner dancing and so I had that and I had my business and I had my kids.
- 14:34Manuela Powell: My life was great.
- 14:36Manuela Powell: So my, my friends are trying to set me up at some point.
- 14:39Manuela Powell: You know, like a after six months or so, they're trying to set me up with people and I'm like absolutely not, I do not have the bandwidth, I do not, I don't, I don't.
- 14:47Manuela Powell: I really I felt like I don't need a relationship in my life.
- 14:50Manuela Powell: My life is really good right now.
- 14:51Manuela Powell: So like, where would I even put a relationship at this point?
- 14:55Manuela Powell: And so I was like actively, kind of like, like, not against it, like if I meet someone, fine, but like people like, are you gonna go in the apps.
- 15:04Manuela Powell: I'm like absolutely not.
- 15:05Manuela Powell: No, uh, uh, that's a whole job.
- 15:07Manuela Powell: I don't want to do that, I'm fine.
- 15:10Sade Curry: Yeah, and so how did you meet your partner?
- 15:13Sade Curry: Like, what was the, what was the switch?
- 15:14Sade Curry: Did you become more open to it?
- 15:17Manuela Powell: I honestly don't think I.
- 15:18Manuela Powell: I think it was like I'm open, I I knew I think at that point I was like you know what, I?
- 15:24Manuela Powell: I know that like, maybe, like in a couple of years, it's gonna be great, I'm gonna meet a great person, it's gonna be awesome.
- 15:30Manuela Powell: But that was kind of like I know this is gonna happen because now I'm so happy with myself and I love myself which was a new thing for me because I did not love myself before so like I'm just so satisfied with myself, with my life, so obviously that's gonna happen In a couple of years.
- 15:45Manuela Powell: And then I went to an event in New York.
- 15:47Manuela Powell: Our friend Serena Was in her mastermind.
- 15:51Manuela Powell: We had this, this live Event there.
- 15:54Manuela Powell: And since I was in New York, I live in Texas, in Austin.
- 15:56Manuela Powell: So I was like well, I'm, I'm gonna go to DC.
- 15:58Manuela Powell: I lived in DC for a while.
- 15:59Manuela Powell: I hadn't been there in like eight years and I have friends there.
- 16:02Manuela Powell: So I call one of my friends like hey, I'm, I'm coming to DC.
- 16:05Manuela Powell: He's a musician.
- 16:06Manuela Powell: He's like I have this gig on Saturday.
- 16:08Manuela Powell: It's gonna be great, so cool, I'm gonna go on Saturday.
- 16:09Manuela Powell: But then on Thursday I was like you know, I've been here like for the whole week, I'm good.
- 16:14Manuela Powell: So I call my friend, like hey, is there anything going on on Friday?
- 16:17Manuela Powell: Because I think I'm gonna go.
- 16:19Manuela Powell: I was like, oh yeah, I have a party at a castle.
- 16:20Manuela Powell: It's like perfect, I'm coming on Friday.
- 16:23Manuela Powell: And that's where I met him.
- 16:27Sade Curry: I didn't have like and I like listen, don't spare us any details, because I know the list.
- 16:31Sade Curry: Oh girl, I will People in person.
- 16:34Sade Curry: You want the detail?
- 16:35Sade Curry: I will tell the detail.
- 16:36Manuela Powell: Okay.
- 16:36Manuela Powell: So I would tell all the dirty details.
- 16:38Manuela Powell: Okay, because I love the story honestly.
- 16:41Manuela Powell: So here's the thing I did not want a relationship, but I'm still human and I was like you know it'll be great a one night stand, because you know That'll be awesome.
- 16:51Manuela Powell: It's just like a one night stand.
- 16:52Manuela Powell: I have some fun, go home and a story, right.
- 16:55Manuela Powell: So like DC would be the perfect place to do that, because my friend is gonna be there on stage playing.
- 16:59Manuela Powell: You know it's a show there's gonna be.
- 17:01Manuela Powell: That's, that's my plan.
- 17:02Manuela Powell: I'm very good at, you know, making these things.
- 17:05Manuela Powell: So I was like I'm gonna make this happen.
- 17:08Manuela Powell: So we go to the party and at the party, actually I was kind of not not even thinking about it.
- 17:12Manuela Powell: I was more like you know, maybe in the show tomorrow.
- 17:14Manuela Powell: So I go to the party and they're having this jam session, right, everybody's like there, my friend's the guitar player, so he's playing the guitar and before we get there, he said to me he was like you know, there's this guy that I really want to play one of my bands because he's really good drummer, he's awesome.
- 17:26Manuela Powell: So I'm gonna text him to come down and jam with us.
- 17:29Manuela Powell: So I'm there watching them play.
- 17:31Manuela Powell: Eventually the drummer comes and they play, and by when they stop, I started talking to him.
- 17:38Manuela Powell: I was like, okay, this is a guy, this is, this is, this is where we're going, this is what's happening.
- 17:44Manuela Powell: Okay, this guy is a perfect, perfect, um, target.
- 17:49Manuela Powell: Yeah.
- 17:51Manuela Powell: So I was like, okay, this is, this is what's up.
- 17:53Manuela Powell: But so we talked for a little bit and then my friend, who was doing whatever, came to call me to do something.
- 17:58Manuela Powell: And as I turned to talk, my friend, this dude, disappears, like just leaves, and I was like, what the hell?
- 18:03Manuela Powell: Like what you just left, dang it.
- 18:06Manuela Powell: So, okay, we decided to leave.
- 18:07Manuela Powell: The party was kind of weird.
- 18:08Manuela Powell: So like, okay, let's leave.
- 18:09Manuela Powell: So we go.
- 18:10Manuela Powell: When we say goodbye, we kind of say goodbye to him, and it was kind of like we just held hands.
- 18:14Manuela Powell: I'm like bye, and it was kind of there was a, there was a vibe there.
- 18:16Manuela Powell: I was like, okay, maybe there's something there.
- 18:19Manuela Powell: So we leave and I tell my friend's like, hey, what's what's the deal with this Ben guy?
- 18:23Manuela Powell: And he's like, oh, he's a great drummer, like none of that, like he's cute.
- 18:26Manuela Powell: What, what's the deal?
- 18:27Manuela Powell: That's what I want to know.
- 18:28Manuela Powell: He's like, oh, okay, you like him.
- 18:30Manuela Powell: I was like, yeah, is it going to your show tomorrow?
- 18:32Manuela Powell: And he's like, well, I can invite him.
- 18:34Manuela Powell: And I was like, okay, here's, here's what I would like it to do.
- 18:37Manuela Powell: I want you to invite him, but I want you to tell him that I'm inviting him, because then it's clear that it's like and this is like, this is, this would be he would text him on a Saturday at noon and this show is like at 8 pm.
- 18:50Manuela Powell: So, like you have so many, he plays in five bands.
- 18:53Manuela Powell: So, like you, first of all, it's a miracle that he did not have a gig on Friday and Saturday.
- 18:57Manuela Powell: First of all, like that never happens.
- 18:59Manuela Powell: But so he texted him and he says that, and he says, oh, I thought you guys were together.
- 19:05Manuela Powell: And I was like no, no, she's my friend.
- 19:07Manuela Powell: I actually have a girlfriend.
- 19:08Manuela Powell: She wasn't there, whatever.
- 19:08Manuela Powell: So I was like oh, okay, yeah, I'll see you tonight.
- 19:11Manuela Powell: Then, so cool.
- 19:12Manuela Powell: And I was like, okay, it's on, all right, excited.
- 19:16Manuela Powell: So I get to the show and he arrives, cool, my friend goes play and as we're sitting there, at some point he turns to me.
- 19:22Manuela Powell: His name is is ben, by the way.
- 19:23Manuela Powell: So he turns to me and he's like hey, hey, do you want to go dance?
- 19:26Manuela Powell: And I was like excuse me, what do you mean?
- 19:29Manuela Powell: I was like let's go dance, do you dance?
- 19:31Manuela Powell: I'm like, do I?
- 19:32Manuela Powell: Okay, let's go dance.
- 19:33Manuela Powell: So then I'm like all right, this is perfect, I knew it All right.
- 19:36Manuela Powell: So we dance.
- 19:37Manuela Powell: It's great.
- 19:37Manuela Powell: Um, as my friend is, you know, the show is over, he's grabbing his stuff and all that.
- 19:42Manuela Powell: So I go to ben and say hey, so what are you doing?
- 19:44Manuela Powell: Out this like 9 pm.
- 19:45Manuela Powell: And he's like, oh, I'm gonna go to the spa to Watch this band that I've been meaning to see.
- 19:50Manuela Powell: And how about you?
- 19:52Manuela Powell: I was like, oh, I'm, I'm gonna say yes when you invite me to go with you to watch this band.
- 19:57Manuela Powell: And he laughs and I was like, oh, do you want to come with me?
- 20:01Manuela Powell: Like yes, please.
- 20:02Manuela Powell: So we go and we dance again.
- 20:05Manuela Powell: It was like, oh, this is great, because I just adore dancing.
- 20:07Manuela Powell: It's so perfect and you know, partner dancing is such like there's so much connection, it's anyway.
- 20:12Manuela Powell: So I was just like this is excellent.
- 20:15Manuela Powell: So eventually we leave this bar and you know we're there and everything is fine and we're flirting and like so we're talking about divorce and dating.
- 20:22Manuela Powell: Because he was also divorced.
- 20:23Manuela Powell: He had told me that on the party the day before that he had been divorced like two or three years, whatever.
- 20:27Manuela Powell: And it's like how is dating is like?
- 20:29Manuela Powell: You know, dating is like I don't know, it's kind of, you know, it's hard.
- 20:31Manuela Powell: Is that the whole the thing, like we go and whatever.
- 20:33Manuela Powell: So you know the whole what we know with the people that like, okay, we're divorced and we're just like trying out all these things and I'm on the apps and I'm doing the thing.
- 20:43Manuela Powell: So we're walking out to the parking lot and I was like what the hell?
- 20:46Manuela Powell: Like you know what's going on.
- 20:48Manuela Powell: So I just turned to him at some point.
- 20:50Manuela Powell: I was like so quick question Are you going to kiss me or what?
- 20:53Manuela Powell: What's happening?
- 20:54Manuela Powell: And he was like yes, so he did kiss me and it was so good, I like that moment I was like, ah crap, this is not going to be just a one-eyed stand, is it?
- 21:04Manuela Powell: Damn it.
- 21:05Manuela Powell: So, anyway, yeah, so we did go to his house and sorry, if you feel this, you know, if you're listening, you're like, oh my gosh.
- 21:13Manuela Powell: I was like, yes, I can do whatever the hell I want.
- 21:15Manuela Powell: So you know, I recommend it, it's great.
- 21:19Manuela Powell: So I went to his house and left and I knew he had a gig during the day, the whole day, the next day, which was Sunday, and I was going to leave Monday morning and I woke up and I was like there's no, I can't, I can't leave without seeing him again, like I'm never going to see him again, like no.
- 21:32Manuela Powell: So I text him and say, hey, I actually can't stop thinking of you, so I want you to kiss me more.
- 21:39Manuela Powell: Can we do that?
- 21:41Manuela Powell: Which was like it actually made me super nervous, because he would be like what is this crazy woman, just like you know?
- 21:47Manuela Powell: Yesterday was already like just like how many of you?
- 21:49Manuela Powell: What's happening?
- 21:50Manuela Powell: And he was like no, oh yeah, no, that's great, that's a great idea, let's do that.
- 21:55Manuela Powell: But he was like, would I have this gig the whole day and you're leaving tomorrow morning, but I only have my kids on Tuesday.
- 21:59Manuela Powell: So I was like, well, I can change my flight to Tuesday.
- 22:03Manuela Powell: So I was like, great, I'll pick you up Monday morning, I'll drop you off at the airport on Tuesday.
- 22:07Manuela Powell: And, honestly, like those 24 hours we just like we had all the conversations and we, just because I was like, okay, I have no time to lose, I don't want to be playing games and all that stuff.
- 22:17Manuela Powell: So like, hey, here's the deal.
- 22:19Manuela Powell: I live over there.
- 22:20Manuela Powell: Like here's how my life is and and all that.
- 22:22Manuela Powell: So, and we, you know, we were just like so open and we told each other so many things about our lives and we realized that, like no, yeah, we'll, you know, I think this is something that could be cool to pursue, so let's see what happens you know, amazing how long has it been since you started.
- 22:40Manuela Powell: It's been.
- 22:41Manuela Powell: That was a year and two months ago.
- 22:44Sade Curry: Amazing.
- 22:44Sade Curry: And you live in Austin still yeah.
- 22:48Sade Curry: He lives in DC still yeah.
- 22:51Sade Curry: And one of the reasons I was super excited to have you on is because my listeners and my clients are constantly asking about long distance relationships, which, you know, as a general rule, I generally discourage them because this complicated, there's a lot, and, of course, there's always outliers.
- 23:09Sade Curry: And I always say, hey, listen, guys, I'm not saying long distance relationships don't work.
- 23:13Sade Curry: However, the ones that do are outliers, and then you are one of the outliers.
- 23:21Manuela Powell: So I would love to just talk about that.
- 23:23Manuela Powell: Yeah, I would say it's not for everyone.
- 23:25Manuela Powell: I actually love it because of all the things that I said previously.
- 23:29Manuela Powell: My life is full.
- 23:30Manuela Powell: I have a lot of things going on and you know we do make the time to see each other.
- 23:37Manuela Powell: First of all, I don't think it's possible.
- 23:39Manuela Powell: If you don't have a job, like I do, I can't go wherever I don't have to be tied to a location, which is actually one of the things.
- 23:46Manuela Powell: When I quit medicine, I'm like my one goal.
- 23:48Manuela Powell: I have two goals I want location freedom and I want to help people.
- 23:53Manuela Powell: So because I didn't want to be, you know, I had my whole life was slave to a place.
- 24:01Manuela Powell: So you know, if you don't have that situation, it might be so much harder.
- 24:05Manuela Powell: The other thing is that there's there are direct flights between Austin and DC or Baltimore, so that's also very I mean, it makes things easier.
- 24:14Manuela Powell: So we do see each other at least once a month with the, with what I have with my ex, we have our kids one week on when we off.
- 24:23Manuela Powell: He also travels a lot.
- 24:25Manuela Powell: So a lot of times, you know, we just like we make it work.
- 24:30Manuela Powell: But basically, I see, we see each other at least once a month and I am actually the one who usually goes there because he has all the bands and all the gigs.
- 24:40Manuela Powell: So you know, it's yeah, and this is a choice, and this is the choice I'm cool with, because I love going there and I have fun and I enjoy it and I love the gigs and I love dancing and now I know all the dancers that go to his gigs.
- 24:55Manuela Powell: There's a really cool group.
- 24:56Manuela Powell: So you know, it, make it, make it, I make it work, we make it work, but it's definitely not for everyone.
- 25:04Sade Curry: Yeah, For why is it not for everyone?
- 25:06Sade Curry: And like, I mean, I know all the reasons why I tell people she's not going to be like.
- 25:11Sade Curry: I just want to hear from like why is this not for everyone?
- 25:13Sade Curry: Like because there's a lot of them, almost like I don't want to say higher thinking, but like more radical.
- 25:21Sade Curry: Yeah, here's all the things loosely that has to go into that kind of relationship.
- 25:28Manuela Powell: Yes, I think.
- 25:29Manuela Powell: I think there's a that's what it wouldn't have worked for me in other phases of my life, especially the phase of my life where I was really insecure and I, you know, first of all I was like, if I love a person, oh my God, if the person breaks up with me, is the end of everything.
- 25:45Manuela Powell: I don't even know how I'm going to survive, like that feeling of like the neediness and the I'm going to die if this person breaks up with me.
- 25:51Manuela Powell: I don't have that.
- 25:52Manuela Powell: I love him and I hope we don't break up, but I know I'm going to not going to die if that happens.
- 25:57Manuela Powell: I know I will survive, because I did many times before, and not only that.
- 26:02Manuela Powell: I really believe that I not only will survive, but I will meet another amazing person.
- 26:06Manuela Powell: I don't have a doubt about it, and I I never, I never thought that before and I think it's because I didn't really love myself.
- 26:13Manuela Powell: So I think that is the first thing you being really secure and in love with yourself first and I know it sounds such a cliche, but it's it's really true that that makes a huge difference, because there's a lot of things that go into making a relationship successful.
- 26:29Manuela Powell: And I actually talked to him today and was like, hey, do you, what do you?
- 26:31Manuela Powell: I'm going to be in the podcast.
- 26:33Manuela Powell: What are some of the things that you think, because I was like I want to actually come here with some actionable things, or at least like very practical things that I have five things that I think are very important for a long distance relationship to work, and do you want to go through them?
- 26:49Sade Curry: Oh, please, I'm like riveted.
- 26:52Manuela Powell: You just keep going, ok.
- 26:55Manuela Powell: So the first thing I think people need to make a decision when you are, when you meet someone who doesn't live in your same zip code code, is this a relationship or is an occasional hookup?
- 27:07Manuela Powell: Because it's going to be very different.
- 27:09Manuela Powell: A relationship will require a deeper connection.
- 27:13Manuela Powell: So you're going to have to do things like you're going to have to share kind of the boring quote unquote parts of your life.
- 27:21Manuela Powell: Like you know, we talk at least twice a day, if not more.
- 27:23Manuela Powell: We text a lot and we're just like, oh, yeah, today, yeah, you're just, like you know, clean my bathroom or whatever, like just the things that you would do if you were either living in the same house or I leave, as at least seeing each other more more often, right, so that will you know.
- 27:40Manuela Powell: You need to like the same things but also like be open to sharing those kind of things.
- 27:46Sade Curry: So not the.
- 27:47Sade Curry: I haven't heard from him in two days.
- 27:49Sade Curry: Panic, can I?
- 27:51Manuela Powell: text him.
- 27:52Manuela Powell: Should I text him?
- 27:53Manuela Powell: Oh my God, if I text him, is it going to?
- 27:54Manuela Powell: I mean, please no.
- 27:55Manuela Powell: And this I told him like right in the beginning.
- 27:57Manuela Powell: I'm not going to play games.
- 27:58Manuela Powell: If I want to text you, I'm going to text you.
- 27:59Manuela Powell: If I want to call you, I'm going to call you because, oh my God, I just do not want to do that anymore, ever.
- 28:05Sade Curry: Yeah, would that work?
- 28:06Sade Curry: Because I think some of the situations that happen that I've seen is what I haven't heard from him in two days.
- 28:11Sade Curry: How do you handle if that, if that I don't know, does that?
- 28:14Manuela Powell: happen to us.
- 28:15Manuela Powell: Even in the beginning, I would think he was dead and I wouldn't send a search party to his house because it was something that actually, that's number two, which is to establish some agreements I want to call it rules, I would say agreements and agreements may involve a lot of things, and this is something that we talked on the first day.
- 28:33Manuela Powell: We talked about it.
- 28:34Manuela Powell: Okay, how are we going to deal with this?
- 28:37Manuela Powell: So some things are like how often are we planning to see each other?
- 28:42Manuela Powell: And you know, how is our daily communication going to look like?
- 28:46Manuela Powell: I just had a friend who called me recently because she met someone who didn't live in the same city as hers.
- 28:51Manuela Powell: Like, let's talk about it.
- 28:52Manuela Powell: And one of the things she was like, oh, should I text him, should I not?
- 28:55Manuela Powell: I'm like, listen, you have, you guys have to decide like, what's the deal?
- 28:58Manuela Powell: Because if not, you can't play games three thousand miles away.
- 29:01Manuela Powell: That is that is so hard.
- 29:03Manuela Powell: That's going to be so much more difficult to even establish a connection.
- 29:07Manuela Powell: I mean, I think, actually, these five things that I'm going to tell you are true for relationships, no matter where they are, but I think they're even more important if you're on the long distance relationship.
- 29:15Manuela Powell: So in part of also the agreement is not just how you're going to communicate, but also your boundaries, what is okay and what's not okay.
- 29:22Manuela Powell: In our case, we immediately said you know, I think monogamy is not cool, so we're ethically non monogamous, which is a whole other conversation.
- 29:31Manuela Powell: But that requires so many conversations about what's cool, what's okay, what's not.
- 29:37Sade Curry: But even if you're not, in that it's fine Ethical non monogamy.
- 29:41Manuela Powell: It's just that we are not.
- 29:42Manuela Powell: We are able to I mean, there's so many definitions.
- 29:46Manuela Powell: It just means we are not monogamous so we can go and hook up with someone else.
- 29:51Manuela Powell: We can go on a date, we can go.
- 29:52Manuela Powell: We're not polyamorous.
- 29:54Manuela Powell: So I think that the well, polyamory is a form of ethical non monogamy.
- 29:59Manuela Powell: We're not full on poly because we don't have other relationships, emotional relationships.
- 30:04Manuela Powell: I think that's the the for us, and if that would happen, then we were going to talk about it.
- 30:10Manuela Powell: But such I haven't, I absolutely do not have the bandwidth for that.
- 30:14Manuela Powell: I keep saying this is it for me, but we, you know, we can go on dates or we whatever like, and that is the kind of stuff exactly that you want to talk about.
- 30:25Manuela Powell: Because it looks different to many people.
- 30:26Manuela Powell: We can say I'm not okay, what does it mean for you to mean to be a non monogamous Right?
- 30:31Manuela Powell: And what does it mean, you know, if you're like well, okay, you have a party and, hey, I invited this person.
- 30:36Manuela Powell: Okay, is that a friend of yours or is that someone that you have an interest in?
- 30:39Manuela Powell: Because I want to know.
- 30:41Manuela Powell: And I want to know before, and we have to talk about hey, are you comfortable with this, are you not?
- 30:46Manuela Powell: That that's the kind of conversations that we we need to have?
- 30:49Sade Curry: Yeah, you know that that this is one of the reasons why I admire non heteronormative relationships.
- 30:56Sade Curry: I'm not in one, have no desire to be in one, but I admire the fact that there's so much direct communication and so many really great boundaries, because one of the things I have to correct with women all the time is even you're saying, hey, we need to define what non monogamy means for us.
- 31:14Sade Curry: I think we need to define what a relationship is for every relationship.
- 31:21Sade Curry: Absolutely I've talked to women who are like there's this guy that I'm seeing and how do I tell him what I need?
- 31:28Sade Curry: And I'm like define scene and what it means is they went on one date and he's been texting her good morning and good night for a month.
- 31:39Manuela Powell: Yeah, that's not seeing.
- 31:39Manuela Powell: You saw him in the past one time.
- 31:45Sade Curry: She thinks she's in a relationship with him, right as a text in everyone, so she defines it as that and so she's trying to apply the rules of two people who are exclusive to this quote unquote relationship.
- 31:59Sade Curry: And I'm like, oh my God, we have so much work to do, yeah, in just knowing that we need to define that.
- 32:04Sade Curry: Frames of reference.
- 32:05Manuela Powell: Yeah, and you know, like what can happen with this friend of mine, she did get into a relationship with this person and the guy told her immediately it was like you know, I don't want to have a relationship, and whatever were his reasons.
- 32:17Manuela Powell: And I listen, I've done that not once, probably not even twice.
- 32:24Manuela Powell: Okay, I've done that.
- 32:25Manuela Powell: The person tells me I do not want to be in a relationship.
- 32:27Manuela Powell: I was like what, do you want to be in a relationship with me?
- 32:30Manuela Powell: Cause I'm amazing, yeah, You're crumbling.
- 32:34Manuela Powell: And you're like, and I can feel you, you're totally like me, whatever, let's just people tell you things.
- 32:39Manuela Powell: Just believe them.
- 32:39Manuela Powell: When they tell you things, this doesn't matter what's happening.
- 32:41Manuela Powell: They told you that.
- 32:43Manuela Powell: So, anyway, in the end it was like, oh, but we're texting every day, but like he seems to like me and all this, just freaking ask him.
- 32:50Manuela Powell: And I actually say a lot of.
- 32:53Manuela Powell: If we were all in the habit of just say, hey, why, what do you mean by that?
- 32:58Manuela Powell: If we were in the habit of asking that question like all the time to all the things everybody would be happier in all the things in business and relationship and parents, all the things.
- 33:09Manuela Powell: Cause, like, what does that?
- 33:10Manuela Powell: Let's not assume.
- 33:11Manuela Powell: Oh, but he said that, so I think it's that.
- 33:13Manuela Powell: And no, just freaking ask him.
- 33:14Manuela Powell: What does that mean?
- 33:15Manuela Powell: Right?
- 33:16Manuela Powell: So if you go and you say, hey, I'm actually super into you and I would love for us to have I, we said that to each other.
- 33:25Manuela Powell: It was like, hey, I'm, I'm super, I'm in love with you, like I know we just met, but like I'm super in love with you.
- 33:29Manuela Powell: So, like, what are we going to do?
- 33:30Manuela Powell: And he's like, yeah, cool, so how are we going to make this work.
- 33:32Manuela Powell: I'm like well, we'll see Right.
- 33:35Manuela Powell: So it's just like okay, what does that mean?
- 33:37Manuela Powell: Okay, I'm your girlfriend, you're my.
- 33:39Manuela Powell: What does that mean?
- 33:39Manuela Powell: Oh, this is what it means to us.
- 33:41Manuela Powell: Doesn't mean you know that everybody's going to have the same definition, but you need to know what the things mean to you, even if you're just seeing a person.
- 33:48Manuela Powell: Okay, are you both on the same page?
- 33:51Manuela Powell: That you're just seeing a person?
- 33:52Manuela Powell: Yeah, anyway.
- 33:54Manuela Powell: So I think, like these are very important.
- 33:57Manuela Powell: So the first thing is you know you have to decide what kind of relationship you want to have.
- 34:00Manuela Powell: Second one is to establish all these agreements.
- 34:03Manuela Powell: The third thing is really hard for a lot of people is to trust the other person.
- 34:08Manuela Powell: Because it is I would.
- 34:12Manuela Powell: I don't know if it's impossible, but oh my God, like, if why you're in a relationship with a person that you don't trust.
- 34:18Manuela Powell: Number one just don't, just as a rule, just please don't, because I know we do these things because like, oh, but he's amazing or she's amazing, whatever, like, and here we are, like these people, I love them, but if you don't trust them, like, how can you?
- 34:34Manuela Powell: How can this be anything?
- 34:36Manuela Powell: Yeah, so jealousy is even less sustainable in a long distance relationship than it is on, you know, local relationship.
- 34:44Sade Curry: Yeah, I mean I do want to talk about trust a little bit, because there's so many nuances to that, because the, I think, a lot of trust when you trust your partner or the person you're in a relationship with, half of that trust constitutes the self-trust that you can handle them breaking your trust.
- 35:05Manuela Powell: I think it's almost all of it is like you trust yourself what I said in the beginning I'm not gonna die if this person cold and cold hurts me in some way.
- 35:13Manuela Powell: So you trust that and you trust that as like, well, no, I made the right choice for me right now, like this is a person that I can actually he's saying or she's saying these things and I actually can hear those things and be like, yeah, this is, these are compatible with the actions that I'm seeing and everything kind of you know feels like you know, we do know, I mean we, you know and listen, I had a boyfriend once that was a complete psychopath.
- 35:39Manuela Powell: I needed a bodyguard, like it was complete.
- 35:42Manuela Powell: So there are these people that will manipulate you and do horrible things for sure.
- 35:47Manuela Powell: So I don't want to dismiss that.
- 35:48Manuela Powell: But you know, in a regular relationship there's a lot of things that were like I knew since the beginning.
- 35:53Manuela Powell: Even the psychopath like I knew kind of the beginning, not that he was total psycho, but that was like what am I doing with this guy?
- 36:00Sade Curry: But even choosing to believe someone when you see the red flags is a sign that you don't you're not trusting what's coming up.
- 36:08Manuela Powell: Yes, because you don't trust yourself and you're like well and also like well.
- 36:12Manuela Powell: This person now likes me, so like, and they're great because and then you have all the reasons why they're great.
- 36:18Sade Curry: I'll never find someone else like them.
- 36:19Sade Curry: What if this is the last person?
- 36:20Sade Curry: So?
- 36:21Manuela Powell: all of that, the I'm not going to find someone or this person is amazing and they love me.
- 36:25Manuela Powell: So obviously I mean I should just what?
- 36:28Manuela Powell: No, that's that red flag is like no, nevermind, that's obviously not.
- 36:32Manuela Powell: So we do not trust ourselves.
- 36:34Manuela Powell: So, trusting the person first of all, to actually trust that they're not going to be, I mean doing whatever you agree you won't do, but also that is like that it's worth it that you're not.
- 36:44Manuela Powell: You know, because it's work obviously I mean every relationship is, but if you add a bunch of plane rides and all that in the middle, it's even more work.
- 36:53Manuela Powell: So it's really, I mean, without trust I don't see how to move forward.
- 37:01Manuela Powell: Like I would really recommend against, but that would be true for anything.
- 37:08Manuela Powell: The fourth thing is to be ridiculously open and honest to yourself and to your partner.
- 37:15Manuela Powell: And then honestly with yourself means always making sure that your needs are being met and that you're not having expectations that won't ever be compatible with the reality of your relationship.
- 37:27Manuela Powell: For example, if you want to have kids and, like Ben and I, we don't have plans to live in the same place, he's not going to move here and I'm not going to move there.
- 37:37Manuela Powell: So this is our relationship.
- 37:38Manuela Powell: I mean, we're fine If we had a, if we wanted either of us wanted to have kids with each other.
- 37:44Manuela Powell: How would really be a problem?
- 37:46Manuela Powell: Cause like, how are we going to do this if we're not going to live in the same city?
- 37:49Manuela Powell: So you do have to be honest with yourself, because if there is something that is really important to you, there is nothing that that person is going to do that is going to fill that void.
- 38:01Sade Curry: Yeah.
- 38:02Manuela Powell: So if you want to, if you want to have kids or if you want to know, what I want is like a person to every single day, come and massage my feet and watch movies and eat popcorn every single night, cause obviously we do that, but like we do that once a month, you know.
- 38:14Manuela Powell: So it's not the same.
- 38:15Manuela Powell: So you really need to again know yourself and be honest with yourself, to be like is this really meeting my needs?
- 38:23Manuela Powell: Because if it's not, you will resent that person.
- 38:26Sade Curry: Right.
- 38:26Sade Curry: And also like the relationship is what it is now.
- 38:30Sade Curry: It could morph into something, but almost like accepting that it is what it is right now.
- 38:35Manuela Powell: Yeah, and I and I yeah, and that part is like it's important because, like in the beginning you might even talk, okay, if this goes, because obviously a lot of people are in long distance relationships and they then move into the same city, right, so of course that happens, but you have to really be realistic about that.
- 38:54Manuela Powell: I see a lot.
- 38:55Manuela Powell: I wasn't in Facebook group for a little bit about long distance relationship.
- 38:58Manuela Powell: I quickly left because that was giving me anxiety attack, cause I just wanted to tell everyone was like what are the hell are you doing right now?
- 39:05Manuela Powell: This is crazy.
- 39:06Sade Curry: Those are the conversations I typically am having around long distance and I'm like you know what?
- 39:10Sade Curry: Why don't we put all that energy in someone in your city?
- 39:14Manuela Powell: Yeah.
- 39:15Manuela Powell: So there's a lot of you know, there's a lot that can, that you can see.
- 39:19Manuela Powell: That is like it's just not serving you.
- 39:21Manuela Powell: And yeah, it might be like like this friend of mine she was really sad, she really liked this guy but like in the end it was like, listen, he doesn't want a relationship, what are you going to do?
- 39:31Manuela Powell: Even if it was like a living next door to you, like there's nothing you can do, but like if he's far away, that's even harder, Like that's not going to work.
- 39:39Manuela Powell: So you just need to like you're not going to convince him, you're not, like there's, there's none of that, which is, again, true for all relationships.
- 39:45Manuela Powell: So you just have to, at some point, be like no, let's just okay, let's go grieve this thing, let's go cry for a long and eat ice cream or whatever it is that you do when you're grieving, and then we're going to move on, because that's not the end of it.
- 39:57Manuela Powell: You know, there's just a little blip in the road.
- 40:01Manuela Powell: And the fifth thing, which is a more practical thing, is, as much as possible, I would say, to share the burden of travel.
- 40:08Manuela Powell: So, as I said, I'm the one who travels more and we talk about it and I know it kind of bothers him in a sense.
- 40:14Manuela Powell: So sometimes he would like he would.
- 40:16Manuela Powell: He buys my plane tickets or he would do things like that, or we would meet somewhere else if he has the availability.
- 40:22Manuela Powell: But it does, you know, make it.
- 40:27Manuela Powell: It's really tiring.
- 40:27Manuela Powell: So a lot of times, like I'm going to travel in tomorrow to see him and yesterday was like, oh my gosh, just have to pack again.
- 40:35Manuela Powell: So I know, when I get there is like oh my gosh, amazing, I'm so happy I'm here.
- 40:39Manuela Powell: But like there's that point I was like can someone just come here and just back?
- 40:42Manuela Powell: And now obviously I have, you know, all the hacks and all the things, but still you're still going to pack your bag, you're still going to go to the airport, is that that's?
- 40:51Manuela Powell: You know the kind of distance there is, or you're going to be driving or whatever.
- 40:56Manuela Powell: If you can share a little bit of that, that will make it easier.
- 41:00Manuela Powell: And if you don't, like in my case, just be very clear with yourself.
- 41:04Manuela Powell: If that's something you do because like I have to do it, because if I don't we're not going to be in a relationship that can be true, but make sure you're not resenting them or being like well, but I go here, come here all the time, so you have to do whatever.
- 41:17Manuela Powell: The other thing is to kind of like balance things out.
- 41:20Manuela Powell: And if you think there's like we had a conversation once of like, hey, how about we like we share the price of the tickets?
- 41:25Manuela Powell: I was like sure, right, like, let's do that when you come out, I'll pay for half of you.
- 41:29Manuela Powell: Even when I go like, you pay for a half of mine.
- 41:32Manuela Powell: So then it's like okay, I'm not the one who's spending like this ridiculous amount of money all the time, you know, and so I don't.
- 41:39Manuela Powell: There's just like, really, you need to be really practical.
- 41:43Manuela Powell: I might say, oh, but that's not romantic.
- 41:44Manuela Powell: I'm like, well, you know it's not romantic, like feeling like you're getting the short end of the stick, because that's not going to be sustainable either.
- 41:51Sade Curry: It is romantic, I call it mutual.
- 41:52Sade Curry: Reciprocity is very sexy.
- 41:54Manuela Powell: Yes, thank you, exactly.
- 41:57Sade Curry: It's one of the things that I would ask my clients I'd be like.
- 41:59Sade Curry: So does this relationship feel mutually reciprocal, like things are flowing both ways?
- 42:04Sade Curry: If it does.
- 42:06Manuela Powell: Yes, yes.
- 42:06Manuela Powell: And that doesn't mean tit for tat also, because like with this, for example, with this part, is like no, it doesn't mean that I'm going to be, I'm going to have this number of miles and you're going to have this number of miles.
- 42:17Manuela Powell: That's not what it means.
- 42:18Manuela Powell: But it means like okay, I'm doing this, but I'm still.
- 42:21Manuela Powell: That still is something that I am enjoying.
- 42:24Manuela Powell: And we always say for both of us like you know, we're going to be in this relationship while it is attention I am going to curse now, but there's no other way to say this but we're only going to be in this relationship while it's a fuck yeah for both of us.
- 42:38Manuela Powell: When it's stopping that, then we're not going to do it anymore because it is work.
- 42:42Manuela Powell: So for now, it's like we're like no, we're still.
- 42:45Manuela Powell: And we talk so much, we have so many conversations like I never had these kinds of conversations before in relationships.
- 42:51Manuela Powell: And the other thing that I always do is like, if there's something that bothers me, you know, he's not perfect, I'm not perfect.
- 42:57Manuela Powell: So a lot of times we have to talk about things that are like hey, this was not cool, or I didn't like this, or like can we do this differently.
- 43:02Manuela Powell: I never had this kind of I would be like, oh, you know, this is so small, it doesn't matter, let's just.
- 43:08Manuela Powell: You know, that was one of the things that I did a lot in my marriage, totally on me, and I think it was a really corroded the relationship because I was like, oh, that's why if I say that, then you know it's going to be a fight or whatever.
- 43:21Manuela Powell: Well, if it's going to be a fight, it's going to be a fight, and if they're going to get mad, they're going to get mad.
- 43:25Manuela Powell: And that is one of the things that I really work a lot with my clients, which is to allow people to have their feelings without you having to go and comfort them or you're not responsible for their feelings.
- 43:35Manuela Powell: Obviously, don't be an asshole, right, I'm not saying that, but just like, say what you need to say.
- 43:40Manuela Powell: And a lot of times you know they're like hey, this is, this is how I want this to play out, are you available for that?
- 43:47Manuela Powell: And maybe the person's going to say, no, I actually I'm actually not.
- 43:50Manuela Powell: Here's what I propose.
- 43:51Manuela Powell: You need to have these conversations all the time.
- 43:55Sade Curry: Yeah, 100%.
- 43:56Sade Curry: All right, that's some more questions for you.
- 43:57Sade Curry: One is how is having a long distance relationship?
- 44:02Sade Curry: It's got to have some advantages over.
- 44:04Sade Curry: I don't.
- 44:05Sade Curry: Yes.
- 44:06Manuela Powell: And I want to hear that I have five.
- 44:07Manuela Powell: I'm going to say I'm ready for this question because I was like.
- 44:11Manuela Powell: I want to say that there are advantages.
- 44:12Manuela Powell: First of all, I think it's really hard to get tired or super annoyed with the other person.
- 44:18Manuela Powell: You know, even if we're like, oh, my God, this is kind of an annoying thing, that you do is like I'm leaving tomorrow, it's fine, you know.
- 44:26Manuela Powell: And then we're like, oh, and then we don't see each other for three weeks.
- 44:28Manuela Powell: I'm like, oh, my gosh, I miss you, forgot about it completely.
- 44:30Manuela Powell: And then we see, you know, and if it's something that is like recurrent, okay, let's talk about that thing, right.
- 44:35Manuela Powell: But if it's some like you know, because honestly I don't know if it's the phase of my life or just like I just really love myself too much, I kind of have a very low tolerance for people in general I just like I don't and I tell this to him and to anybody else.
- 44:50Manuela Powell: I don't know if it's going to change the future, but as of now, I do not foresee me myself living with anyone that I have not given birth to.
- 44:57Manuela Powell: I do not want to live with people.
- 44:59Manuela Powell: I love living by myself.
- 45:00Manuela Powell: I love to have my house.
- 45:02Manuela Powell: I love having like everything exactly the way I want.
- 45:04Manuela Powell: I'm super high maintenance and I love it.
- 45:06Manuela Powell: And he's obviously high maintenance, although he says he's not.
- 45:08Manuela Powell: He is because he should.
- 45:09Manuela Powell: He's 60 years old.
- 45:10Manuela Powell: Like, come on, like you should be high maintenance at this point in your life.
- 45:13Manuela Powell: So you want the things the way you want and I want the things that way I want.
- 45:16Manuela Powell: So, for one week out a month, perfect.
- 45:19Manuela Powell: We can do that and we can compromise and it's great, so much easier to compromise when it's such a short time.
- 45:25Manuela Powell: So that's number one.
- 45:26Manuela Powell: Number two is that we do have, like the new relationship, energy, like most of the time, because it's always like oh my gosh, we're going to see each other tomorrow.
- 45:32Manuela Powell: Oh my God, that's so exciting, you know it's great.
- 45:34Manuela Powell: And then we see each other and it's, you know it's just so different that at this phase, like after a year, more than a year, we would probably be like more.
- 45:43Manuela Powell: You know, like all right, we're just like, we do this, and instead there's always that oh my gosh, like we're going to see each other tomorrow.
- 45:49Manuela Powell: It's going to be so exciting, you know it can be more intense in a way, because you know, the week that we're together, like we're together all the time and yes, I still work and do things, but like, because also his work is very he, you know, he doesn't need to go to an office, we're together for that whole week for basically 24 hours.
- 46:10Manuela Powell: You know every single day.
- 46:11Manuela Powell: So it has that you know intensity.
- 46:15Manuela Powell: And and then another thing which is really good is that when you're not there, you can you have your independence, you can, you know, do your thing, and I think it allows for especially women.
- 46:29Manuela Powell: We're so good at morphing ourselves into whatever the partner wants us to be, or even not even what they want us to be, but like, if they like rock climbing, suddenly I'm like, I love rock climbing.
- 46:40Sade Curry: I you know like, oh my gosh this is amazing, I love it.
- 46:43Manuela Powell: Right.
- 46:44Manuela Powell: And it was like no, like my ex loved camping.
- 46:46Manuela Powell: I'm like bye, have fun, I'm not going like my my bed, you know so like that.
- 46:53Manuela Powell: That is so much easier to do that.
- 46:55Manuela Powell: Because then he's like yeah sure, he likes hunting.
- 46:57Manuela Powell: Can you imagine hunting?
- 46:58Manuela Powell: He said, yeah, you have to like sit very still and be very quiet and not call attention to yourself.
- 47:03Manuela Powell: I'm like these are things that I hate.
- 47:05Sade Curry: All of them Like I don't know, yeah, I was like what are you talking about?
- 47:10Manuela Powell: I am very loud, red hair, bright red.
- 47:13Manuela Powell: I was like sitting still for the whole that you are insane.
- 47:17Manuela Powell: And then you shoot up like stop right there, I can't.
- 47:19Manuela Powell: But like he can do what he did.
- 47:21Manuela Powell: You know, thanksgiving he went and did that and like good, amazing, go do that, because he that's how you know you grew up and you love that stuff and great, of course, also having common interests.
- 47:31Manuela Powell: But you know you have time to pursue the things that are important to you, that don't necessarily have to involve them.
- 47:36Manuela Powell: So it does make you, even if you don't want to, like it makes you have your own life, like you do have.
- 47:42Manuela Powell: You know, the week that I'm not with my kids and I'm not traveling, I'm not gonna sit in my house all day like, okay, I'm gonna, like you know, meet some friends or I'm gonna, whatever you need, to go and do things.
- 47:50Manuela Powell: And, and the fifth thing is, like it can't be, it feel like that that time when you go see them it feels like a vacation.
- 47:56Manuela Powell: So I basically have one week vacation every month.
- 47:59Manuela Powell: You know I have that vibe of like this is such, even if I'm still working, it still feels like, you know, I'm on a trip and we're doing different things.
- 48:07Manuela Powell: I'm not, my house is is all of that, so I actually do like it.
- 48:12Sade Curry: Yeah, I mean, it sounds amazing my husband might be in trouble right now.
- 48:15Sade Curry: Like you need to move out, sir.
- 48:17Sade Curry: We need that new relationship feeling.
- 48:21Manuela Powell: Absolutely.
- 48:21Manuela Powell: Yeah, that is that is really, and it was something that he said today when I asked him.
- 48:25Manuela Powell: He was like oh, there's like the new relationship, energy is like.
- 48:27Manuela Powell: Oh, that is such a cool thing Cause I didn't I haven't like worded it this way Like that is so true, like that is such an important thing.
- 48:34Manuela Powell: Yeah.
- 48:35Sade Curry: And we get.
- 48:35Sade Curry: I think you know, like my husband and I, we get that when, whenever one of us is out of town, you start missing the other person, you forget all of the annoyances.
- 48:43Sade Curry: You know it's great, but you, you get to keep that going all the time.
- 48:46Sade Curry: Yeah, and my last question was how did you know?
- 48:49Sade Curry: Ben was the one, at least the one for now, you know so.
- 48:53Manuela Powell: I.
- 48:54Manuela Powell: I mean, that is such a hard and easy question at the same time because, first of all, I don't think there's the one.
- 49:01Manuela Powell: I think there's the one for now, but yeah, right, like I had several ones that were the ones, and now they're not the one.
- 49:07Manuela Powell: So that is one thing that I think is really important.
- 49:11Manuela Powell: I think people put so much, even when you know, when I got divorced or we separated, people like, oh, I'm so sorry, it didn't work out.
- 49:16Manuela Powell: I'm like, what in the world are you talking about?
- 49:18Manuela Powell: How do you mean it didn't work out?
- 49:20Manuela Powell: We have two kids, we're really good friends.
- 49:22Manuela Powell: We're like, yes, it did work out, it's just it just ended.
- 49:25Manuela Powell: It doesn't.
- 49:26Manuela Powell: It doesn't have to be eternal to to to mean it works out.
- 49:29Manuela Powell: So you know, he was the one then and now it's.
- 49:33Manuela Powell: It's bad, but I don't think it's a thing that you can explain.
- 49:37Manuela Powell: And I think, actually, if you try to justify, if you're justifying a lot, I was like, oh no, I like it, because there's this thing and that other thing and that other thing.
- 49:47Manuela Powell: I'm like I don't know, like, do you do that with your kids?
- 49:51Manuela Powell: I'm like, yeah, I like because, like you know, I had like these tax breaks and it kind of cool.
- 49:54Sade Curry: No, we're just like I just love them.
- 49:55Manuela Powell: I don't know, like you know whatever that's love them, right?
- 50:00Manuela Powell: It's interesting because I noticed that when we separated, people were like, oh, what happened?
- 50:05Manuela Powell: I was like nobody asked what happened.
- 50:07Manuela Powell: When you say I'm going to get married, like oh, why I'm like because I want to get married.
- 50:12Manuela Powell: Like what are you talking about, right?
- 50:13Manuela Powell: It was like when you're not, I was like, well, because it's not that anymore.
- 50:17Sade Curry: So the answer I'm hearing is because I want to.
- 50:22Manuela Powell: Yes, which is my whole brand, I think at this point and I think that is so important because we have such a hard time sometimes even knowing what we want, because we think we're supposed to want these things Right One of the things like that the conversation we have a lot you know about the non monogamy thing is like I remember this happening.
- 50:43Manuela Powell: He was like you know, I'm feeling a little jealous and I was like, and I was like and I'm annoyed because I'm jealous.
- 50:48Manuela Powell: He said to me and I was like wait, why are you annoyed because you jealous?
- 50:52Manuela Powell: I was like, because I shouldn't be jealous.
- 50:53Manuela Powell: I'm like listen, for 60 years you heard the message Thou shall not share your woman with other people.
- 51:02Manuela Powell: And now here you are sharing your own with other people.
- 51:05Manuela Powell: Of course you should be jealous.
- 51:07Manuela Powell: That's exactly what you should be, because that's the message that you got.
- 51:10Manuela Powell: So, like, just be jealous.
- 51:12Manuela Powell: If you're jealous enough to think, hey, this is not where, I don't want this, then you're going to tell me and then we're going to decide what to do, right, but like it's not, like I shouldn't be jealous.
- 51:21Manuela Powell: So I'm one of the times that he went out with someone and the first time we had just started dating and he had already, kind of like, had this plan before we met.
- 51:31Manuela Powell: He was sort of dating this woman, maybe on and off.
- 51:33Manuela Powell: I was like I'm just going to, it's not it, so I'm going to get out of it anyway.
- 51:37Manuela Powell: But it's her birthday and I bought tickets to this concert, so we're going to go and I'm like, cool.
- 51:43Manuela Powell: So the day of the concert, I'm like I start feeling a little, you know, like what's going on, and I was like, okay, calm down, let's see what's up.
- 51:51Manuela Powell: What's up.
- 51:51Manuela Powell: Why am I feeling like this?
- 51:52Manuela Powell: I'm like, oh, I'm jealous.
- 51:53Manuela Powell: Okay, what's that mean?
- 51:54Manuela Powell: Well, you know, because what if he goes out with her and he likes her more than he likes me?
- 52:01Manuela Powell: I was like, first of all, I don't think it's going to happen.
- 52:03Manuela Powell: Second of all, good for him, cool, go be with her then.
- 52:08Manuela Powell: Second of all, what if they have sex and he she's better at sex than me?
- 52:12Manuela Powell: Again, good for him, go do that.
- 52:16Manuela Powell: Right, like great.
- 52:18Sade Curry: That would be the choice, if it's better.
- 52:20Manuela Powell: Right, like because if that happens to me, I'm definitely choosing the things that are better for me, just FYI, right.
- 52:24Manuela Powell: So I thought that was like, okay, so that's not it.
- 52:27Manuela Powell: And then in the end it was just because I wanted to call him and talk to him and I couldn't because he was somewhere else that he couldn't talk.
- 52:34Manuela Powell: So in the end I was like, oh okay, I can do with that, right.
- 52:36Manuela Powell: So it took that like that crushing feeling of like I'm so jealous and it just like, oh okay, I'm just like I just wanted to do something that I can't right now.
- 52:47Sade Curry: All right.
- 52:47Manuela Powell: That's a little frustrating.
- 52:48Manuela Powell: I can't honor this feeling and move on with my life.
- 52:51Manuela Powell: I don't have to be like now this is horrible.
- 52:53Manuela Powell: So that is something that is really.
- 52:57Manuela Powell: I think non monogamy is a great tool for personal development because you really have to get in touch with all like you can go through, you know, through life and the monogamous relationship and never have to ask yourself these questions but it was so.
- 53:10Manuela Powell: He's just so much self awareness that you gain by being like no, let me.
- 53:15Manuela Powell: Let me actually go through the habit rabbit hole of asking myself why do I feel bothered by this now?
- 53:22Sade Curry: Yeah, amazing.
- 53:23Sade Curry: Oh my God, what a great answer.
- 53:24Sade Curry: I'd love it.
- 53:25Sade Curry: I love it and being able to say I want this, I'm looking at it, I kind of want it, I'm going to go for it is such a powerful move.
- 53:35Sade Curry: It's not a move that women are socialized to make.
- 53:38Sade Curry: Yeah Right, it takes so much energy to lift off and be like I'm going to name what I want and I'm going to put my energy in getting what I want out of life.
- 53:47Manuela Powell: So, thank you for one of the things that I would say, though, all those things that I told him.
- 53:51Manuela Powell: I was like hey, you know, let's go and like inviting.
- 53:53Manuela Powell: I do not know if he was at any point.
- 53:56Manuela Powell: I asked him hey, are you dating someone?
- 53:58Manuela Powell: Because, like, I trust you to be an adult and not be, you know, a cheater, so like I'm not going to be like hey, so are you dating someone?
- 54:04Manuela Powell: Let me just make sure I'm like no, you take care of that stuff.
- 54:07Manuela Powell: I have nothing to do with it.
- 54:08Manuela Powell: Yeah, Right, and there's so many lessons.
- 54:11Sade Curry: Like I just I didn't know of how you like said, okay, we're going home together tonight.
- 54:16Sade Curry: Or like I have a phrase for it in my, in my coaching practice, I call it dropping the hand key.
- 54:21Sade Curry: I'm like you got to drop the hand key for the guy.
- 54:23Sade Curry: It's, I think, women are so afraid of becoming the pursuer, which.
- 54:28Sade Curry: Those are just a whole lot of narratives that are out there and I'm like, okay, fine, yeah, you don't want to go grab him, club him over the head and drag him into your cave.
- 54:37Manuela Powell: However, it's okay to indicate interest clearly in a direct way and even if, and even if it's like a very I was, I know it was very direct, but like at every point, like I know, if at any point he had he had not shown up to the show and if it said, oh yeah, actually I'm going to meet someone else, I'll be like, cool, all right, yeah, see you at some point, it's fine.
- 54:59Manuela Powell: So, like when you do that, I think we don't, because we're really scared about what if he rejects me now, it means something about me.
- 55:06Manuela Powell: No, maybe you already has another person or other plans, just meeting some friends, and he's not going to be, you know, a bad friend and like, oh, now I'm going to drop all my friends because I whatever, right, it's just like I.
- 55:18Manuela Powell: If you don't make and mean anything about you, that a person is rejecting you, because a lot of times I would say most of the time it has nothing to do with you.
- 55:25Manuela Powell: It's either just a lack of like, what, how do you know they're the one?
- 55:28Manuela Powell: I don't know, but you do know when they're not the one, and I also don't know what it is, but you know like that's not it, yeah, right, and there's nothing.
- 55:36Manuela Powell: It's not because you're not cool or attractive or amazing or all that.
- 55:39Manuela Powell: I met so many people in my life.
- 55:41Manuela Powell: They're super cool and attracted and amazing and I'm not.
- 55:44Manuela Powell: I don't want to be with them.
- 55:47Sade Curry: So good, oh my gosh, we might have to have another conversation.
- 55:50Sade Curry: Yeah, it's more dating nitty gritty, but I really just want to appreciate you for coming on today.
- 55:56Manuela Powell: Yeah, it's such a great conversation.
- 55:57Sade Curry: Thanks for illuminating the insides of a long distance relationship Absolutely and just letting us know like oh yeah, it's work, but it can be good also.
- 56:07Manuela Powell: Yeah, the thing is like there are no rules.
- 56:09Manuela Powell: All the rules are made up, just even the rule that you know.
- 56:12Manuela Powell: You say, oh, no, too long distance relationship.
- 56:15Manuela Powell: Yeah, I mean, it's not up again, not for everyone.
- 56:18Manuela Powell: But just make sure to ask yourself is this rule for me?
- 56:21Manuela Powell: Cause maybe it's not.
- 56:24Sade Curry: Yeah, 100%.
- 56:25Sade Curry: All right, dr Manuela, can you please tell the listeners again who you work with, what kind of work you do and how they can connect with you if they're interested in having a chat?
- 56:38Manuela Powell: Absolutely.
- 56:39Manuela Powell: I work with women and I help them just be who they actually are.
- 56:45Manuela Powell: I help them get rid of all those beliefs that don't serve them.
- 56:49Manuela Powell: I call them the inner patriarchy.
- 56:51Manuela Powell: You know the white dude that lives in our heads, saying that you're not good enough and obviously there's something wrong with you and obviously you shouldn't do any of these things, and of course it's too late and you're too old, and et cetera, et cetera.
- 57:01Manuela Powell: So I helped me get rid of all of that so that they can have the life that they want.
- 57:07Manuela Powell: And the thing is life is not going to be perfect.
- 57:11Manuela Powell: You know like the weather is going to be bad, the economy is going to tank, the you know people are going to die, get sick, whatever.
- 57:16Manuela Powell: But you really know like you learn how to deal with all those things in a way that make everything just be manageable instead of a hassle.
- 57:28Sade Curry: And could you just spell out your website social media handles for those who want to like follow you.
- 57:34Manuela Powell: So my website is my first and last name, manuela Powell, m-a-n-u-e-l-a-p-o-w-e-l-l-l, and my handles on all the places are that with D-R in front.
- 57:48Manuela Powell: So, dr Manuela Powell and all the places, please come and connect with me and if you are in a long distance relationship and you want to like oh my gosh, I don't know, I would like I just go DM me and we can have a chat and you know we can decide together if it's like is this something that's serving you or not, because a lot of times we it's.
- 58:06Manuela Powell: It's hard to look from the inside.
- 58:10Sade Curry: Yeah, 100%, and we'll have all of those links in the show notes.
- 58:14Sade Curry: Listeners, we just want to thank you for your time and attention today.
- 58:18Sade Curry: I know we had a longer episode today, but it was so, so good.
- 58:23Sade Curry: Dr Manuela, thanks for your time.
- 58:26Sade Curry: We appreciate it.
- 58:27Sade Curry: And, listeners, if you have not purchased the Core Values dating blueprint, I want you to go in the show notes and check that out.
- 58:34Sade Curry: It's my brand new mini course.
- 58:36Sade Curry: It is $47.
- 58:38Sade Curry: I think that's the price.
- 58:39Sade Curry: Oh my God it's been a long.
- 58:41Sade Curry: I just got my vacation.
- 58:42Sade Curry: Y'all forgive me.
- 58:43Sade Curry: It's $47.
- 58:44Sade Curry: If you've been following my work and you're interested in my work and you're like I really just want a little taste of what it looks like.
- 58:50Sade Curry: It is the very tippy toe beginning of the work that I do with my clients to get their Core Values out onto their dating profile.
- 58:57Sade Curry: You're going to love it, so check that out.
- 58:59Sade Curry: It's been wonderful talking long distance relationships with Dr Manuela Powell and we will see you next time.
- 59:06Sade Curry: Thanks for having me.