5 Essential Don'ts When Having Girl Talk About Relationships

Don'ts

1) Don't brag:

When it comes to being in a truly great relationship, one thing you should never have to do is boast about how great your partner is just to make other women feel inferior. Constantly bragging only makes others think you are exaggerating or not telling the truth at all. Genuine relationship happiness speaks for itself quietly without needing constant comparison or external validation.

2) Don't trash talk:

We all need someone to vent to about our problems when frustration builds up, but constantly trashing your partner to your friends will only make them resent him. Long after you and your partner have forgiven each other and moved past an argument, your friends will still remember every harsh word you said, and nothing you do later will change their minds. If you need objective, constructive guidance on relationship hurdles, consider speaking with a licensed professional through resources like Psychology Today instead of unloading on your friend group. Not only that, trashing your friend's partner to her face is never a good idea either—it creates unnecessary tension in your friendship and makes her hesitant to ever come to you for honest advice again.

3) Don't give relationship advice when you were not asked:

When you have experienced a similar relationship situation that a friend is actively asking for advice on, feel free to share your experience. However, always ensure they don't feel pressured to handle things exactly the way you did, and make sure that you were actually asked for advice first. Unsolicited advice can feel judgmental or intrusive, especially if a friend is already navigating communication friction or avoiding trash-talking habits For expert insights on healthy partnership communication, research from The Gottman Institute emphasizes empathetic listening over prescriptive advice.

4) Don't give too many details:

When talking to your friends about sex and intimacy, try not to disclose overly private or sensitive information about your partner. Think about him and how deeply embarrassed he would feel if he knew what was being said behind his back. Preserving intimacy requires protecting sacred boundaries between your private life and your social circle.

Here is a quick checklist of healthy sharing boundaries:

Last but not least...

5) Don't feel the need to talk:

When other women are discussing their relationships, don't feel compelled to spill the beans or join in just to match the conversation. Sometimes, the healthiest choice is keeping certain special elements of your relationship sacred between the two of you. Before opening up, consider whether sharing might reveal too many details that belong strictly within your relationship.

So everyone knows that as women we love to talk about love and our relationships amongst other women, hence this blog! However, when is divulging too much going too far? What would your boyfriend or husband think if he knew what you were sharing? Do men share the same types of relationship tidbits with their peers?

Just having come from an office where I worked 10 hours a day, 5 days a week for 2 years with nothing but women, I am very familiar with the idea of trading relationship stories with my office girlfriends. There have been a few occasions where this harmless sharing got a little out of control, though.

The women would share sex stories—ones that a man might consider embarrassing or a little too personal—and stories about fights or arguments they had with their guys, which would naturally make everyone take the woman's side. I am certainly not saying that I am innocent in this, because I have shared my infatuation with certain body parts on my boyfriend with the girls in the past. But after those laughter-filled talks, I always felt a little guilty. I would sit at my desk quietly and think to myself, "God forbid my boyfriend and I are at the office Christmas party and a drunk co-worker mentions my infatuation with his thighs." Well, I made it out of there with no incidents like that, but it really makes me wonder: how much is too much? Do men do the same thing with their friends? Why do we, as women, feel the need to do this?

I would love to hear your thoughts and experiences from the ladies out there! :)