Show Notes
Hunter Prosper meets three strangers at three different stages of life and asks them what love means to them. In this episode of Stories from a Stranger, we explore how love looks and feels different at every age—from the dizzying rush of a first crush to the quiet comfort of a lifelong partner, and the ache of wondering if love will ever come at all. Today, yesterday, and tomorrow, love is in the air. Meet this episode's strangers: - Sally, 96, who calls a college boy who gave her "a tingle" the love of her life, remembers the man who massaged her frozen feet on a ski trip and became her husband, and recalls the shock of being told she’d never have children, only to get pregnant on her honeymoon and become the matriarch of a sprawling family. She talks about losing her husband Joe, letting go of lovemaking, and living by her motto: “If you don’t ask, you don’t get.” - Ella, 18, has never been in love or in a long-term relationship and wonders if that makes her unlovable. After a string of talking stages that go nowhere, she’s left asking, “Am I the problem?” even as she still believes in love and tries to learn how to be happy on her own. - Tish, an artist who makes slice‑of‑life comics, had nearly given up on dating in New York when a quiet, gentle follower named Akeem messaged to say he loved her sense of humor and the way she sees the world. A first dinner turned into skating dates, Comic-Con cosplay, and a second date where she knew she’d marry him. Now married, they go to couples therapy even when things are good, determined to keep choosing each other and to grow together. For Tish, love is an anchor in a world where everything else changes. Their stories remind us that love isn't one thing. It evolves, it disappoints, it surprises us, and sometimes it finds us when we least expect it. Topics Covered: - How love changes at every age - Different experiences of romantic connection - Infertility and unexpected pregnancy - Family legacy and martriarchy - Aging and letting go of sexual love - Self-worth and self-doubt - Intentional partnership and couples therapy - Modern dating versus old-fashioned, lifelong love Chapters: 00:00:00 Love Isn't One Thing 00:01:02 Sally's Greatest Love: Bob Brown at Syracuse 00:05:07 Meeting Joe: The Vermont Ski Story 00:08:51 Fertility Struggles and Medical Trauma 00:11:25 Joe's Proposal and Unexpected Pregnancy 00:18:42 Life Philosophy and Letting Go of Dreams 00:24:17 Ella's Story: Young and Searching for Love 00:29:09 Tish's Love Story: Meeting Through Art 00:34:11 First "I Love You" at Comic-Con & Proposal at Pine Bank Arch 00:39:26 Understanding Love and Commitment 00:44:55 Say Yes When It Happens Stories from a Stranger is produced by Rabbit Grin Productions in partnership with Higher Ground and AND Media. Music by Jackie Miclau. FOLLOW THE SHOW ►Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/storiesfromastrangerpod ►Threads: https://www.threads.com/@storiesfromastrangerpod ►Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/storiesfromastrangerpodcast FOLLOW HUNTER PROSPER ►Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hunter_prosper/ ►TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hunterprosper #StoriesFromAStranger #LifeAfterLoss #ActsOfKindness #SiblingLoss #Healing See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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-Jeremy is a Canadian actor and comedian who put his career on hold to move to New York for his second husband, Zach, whom he met on Tinder. He describes Zach as the greatest love of his life, noting they met briefly on the app before transitioning to a more old-fashioned phone call and then a first date over wine on a rooftop. They married shortly before the pandemic, and Jeremy attributes the end of their marriage largely to the extreme pressures of that period. This was Jeremy's second divorce, and he acknowledges the embarrassment of going through it again, even making it part of his standup comedy material. After the split, he found himself in a foreign country without a strong social network, having paused a flourishing acting career in Canada to be in the relationship. Key contributions from Jeremy include his advice on navigating grief and loss by actively filling the emotional and mental space left behind with positive activities and experiences, as well as his insight that only the individual can do the work of rebuilding themselves after heartbreak, symbolized by a tattoo he got of an anatomical heart half made of bricks.