The March issue of Marie Claire has a brief Q&A called “The Breakup Artist” with Boston-based divorce lawyer Gerald Nissenbaum, who’s so good at his job he charges upwards of $700 an hour and gets his clients nine-figure settlements. He’s also pretty good at preventing those high-payout settlements, too, when the occasion fits. The mag got Nissenbaum to share some of his advice on preventing divorces and what not to do when divorcing, but I found his advice on affairs to be the most interesting. Although Nissenbaum says most affairs aren’t about love and aren’t worth risking a marriage, he says the relationship must remain a secret and even gives tips on how to keep it that way.

Unless you marry your first boyfriend, you probably have some experience with breakups. While some relationships end amicably, others have rather intense conclusions. From scary to almost funny, 10 women across the country share their tales of terrible breakups.

I met a guy about 4 1/2 years ago, and for the first three years that we knew each other, it seemed like neither of us wanted anything to do with the other. We eventually began running into each other often and slowly started talking. Within a few months he started to develop feelings for me. He hinted them quite strongly but at the time I was completely oblivious and continued treating him as just a close friend. He eventually moved away for work but continued to make an effort to keep in touch with me by randomly calling or texting. One day he caught me off guard and texted how he felt. I had just woken up and was at a loss for words. Sadly, I texted back the worst possible response: “LOL.” Naturally there wasn’t a text back from him. A week later he texted me a “Happy Thanksgiving” and since then I haven’t heard from him. In the time that he’s been M.I.A. from my life, I finally realized how big of an ass I was. I can’t even say I was a good friend either since he was the one making the effort to keep in touch. I’m still not attracted to him and can only see him as a friend, but I want to fix our friendship. At the same time I feel like I’m selfishly disrupting whatever life he’s trying to create without me in the picture. He’s too important of a person to let go of but how do you talk to someone who doesn’t want to talk to you? Am I even right in trying to mend our friendship or should I just leave him be? — Friend Not Foe

Our buddies over at Ask Men wrote a lovable little list of the 10 Best Places To Make Out. Aw!  They came up with exciting locales like the backseat of a car, a movie theater, and a couple other staples of our hookup queen years. But those guys like women like us because we’ve got lots of imagination. So, let’s get creative, ladies, and show the gents just where we like to get frisky.

If you’ve been to bars in major metropolitan cities, chances are you’ve come into contact with a “pickup artist”: a dude who is trying to get your number by following a script. Whether he learned about pickup artistry from Neil Strauss’s book The Game or that VH1 show, “The Pickup Artist,” the guy macking on you is focused on one goal — getting women, including you, into bed.

But the opposite is not true in a “pickup artist school” for women: in fact, London’s Flirt Diva Academy focuses mainly on flirting. According to “flirt coach” Sue Ostler, flirtation is “lighting the spark to your personality and letting people see it shine through” and her Flirt Diva Academy services women ages 16 to 60 in classes like “Bag A Boyfriend” and the “Flirt Masterclass.” Or they can partake in a “Flirt, Schmooze & Shimmy” tour to hone their technique in the field at London’s hottest bars.

Helen Croydon, a journalist for the Times of London, braved the elements and a “Flirt, Schmooze & Shimmy” tour one evening. What she learned will surprise you ...
 

I met a guy off of a dating website recently. He is actually exactly what I’m looking for. Since we met, he has initiated most of the time we spend together. We talk about solid things — everything from weekend plans to our past relationships, families and goals. We have more in common than I ever expected. I feel great around him and happy, but the catch is he says he just wants to be friends. Although hurt, I told him it was perfectly fine because he’s a great guy and I’d love to stay friends. He looked at me and said, “Great! This means we have more opportunities to hang out — sporting events, movies, comedy shows…” and although he IS a great guy, I do have feelings for him. He totally friend-zoned me and I don’t know why. The only possibility is that he’s not physically attracted to me. I don’t know what to do; do I hang out with him and get over my feelings? Do I give him and our friendship time to see if something develops? We’ve only known each other for two months and it’s been great. I’d love to date him but he’s also admitted in the past to not wanting a relationship until he gets a few things taken care of at work, which will be this summer. What’s his deal? — Wanting More

It doesn’t matter whether you have a significant other or not, there’s no avoiding Valentine’s Day’s red roses, candy hearts, sexy lingerie, or cheesy cards (about one billion Valentine’s Day cards are sent each year, according to the Greeting Card Association). So we asked two writers whether they think the holiday is totally lame or super awesome, after the jump.

While I was in NYC, a session with my old shrink told me that I really need to—as much as I hate, hate this expression—“put myself out there” more. “It’s not wrong to want to be in a relationship,” Dr. W reasoned. “It’s unhealthy, however, if you just sit at home all the time and do nothing about it.”

A typical Saturday night for me can be summed up one of two ways: food or sex. Do I skip dinner and start drinking, adopt the “eating is cheating” adage so I can feel thin and attractive and get tipsy quicker, thus increasing the chances I’ll get naked later, or do I cave and open the box of Triscuits, resigned to an evening of stuffing my face in front of the TV and going to bed with a bloated stomach full of carbs and a phone full of sexually frustrated text messages from potential paramours? 

In honor of Valentine’s Day, there’s an article in today’s Daily Mail called “How to ... Seduce a Man,” written by the founder of the popular lingerie boutique Coco de Mer. The advice, which is really applicable to either sex, made me think of this weekend’s “Dear Wendy” column in which a reader asked me why she can’t get a date. I offered her some suggestions, but because a lot of us could use a refresher, check out some of the best tips for seducing someone (or simply getting a date)...

Valentine’s Day is the holiday of love (or crass commercialism, depending on whom you talk to). However, things can get a little bit awkward when Feb. 14 rolls around and you’ve been dating someone very casually. There’s a lot of pressure on V-Day to bring a relationship to the next level, but sometimes you’re just not ready for that.

Of course, you could fake your own death. However, you might not have access to a boat and enough dynamite to get the job done correctly. In these rare situations, you’ve got to do what you can to tone down the date itself, in order to avoid any awkwardness. Here are a few tips to help you out.

Aquarius (January 20-February 19)
Your mouth will be moving much faster than your brain or your heart, and that can lead you into some compromising positions over this week. However, no matter how ridiculous you may feel at times or how brash the comments that fly from you are, stick with it and go with it. Standing your ground and flexing your power are your hottest moves yet. CONTINUE READING >>

Every week, the gentlemen over at GuySpeak answer women’s relationship questions in guy style. Then they handpick some of their favorites and send them over to us to answer (read: fix) them in girl style. We call it GuySpeak/GirlSpeak. This week—is hooking up the best way to get over someone?

I’ve been told by several people that the best way to get over someone is to hook up with someone else. What do you think?

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I’m a Libra and he’s a Gemini. In some ways we are alike and others we are very different. We both have some anxiety, a tendency to be quite anal and organized, but I try not to let it get to me, whereas he has anxiety about it. For example, if his room isn’t clean, suddenly it will get to him and he MUST organize it. Right NOW. Things like that.

I’d like to think, however, that we’re both fun-loving and outgoing, and he just has anxiety about little things. If he loses something, he has to find it IMMEDIATELY. If he can’t find it, he replaces it immediately. I am tired of dumping out all of my stuff in my purse, duffel bag, etc., to find what he will inevitably find in five minutes with some basic searching. My deal: how do I handle him (sometimes) making a mountain out of dung?! Will he ever change? I hate picking up his anxiety and then five minutes later, he’s over it and I’m all stressed out! —Attempting to Chill

When it comes to finding a potential soul mate, getting the date is only half the battle.

These days, small talk isn’t enough to determine if someone is into you, but you can rely on more innate signs based on a person’s body language. Sure, a big, wide smile is a good starting point, but there are other telltale signs that can also tip you off as to whether your date is into you.