Single Ladies In Your Area - Patreon Sneak Peek Listener Letter Holiday Romances Dont Work Once Youve Left The Beach

Episode Date: January 11, 2026

Single Ladies are on a summer break! We’ll be back soon, but to tide you over until then, we’re sharing weekly episodes over on our Patreon. This week everyone can enjoy this sneak peek of what’s to come!Harriet and Amy delve further into holiday romances with a warning from a listener, and friend of the pod Olga Koch shares her holiday romance nightmare.To hear more listener stories like this, support the podcast and enjoy early and ad-free listening, BTS content and more, subscribe to our Patreon at patreon.com/singleladiesinyourareaWe want to hear your dating stories! Email in at [e-mail] Single Ladies In Your Area on Instagram @singleladiespodRecorded and edited by Aniya Das for Plosive.Photos by Matt Crockett and Linda Blacker.Design by Welcome Studio. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Oh, hello, this is Harriet Kemsley, and I'm very excited to be back on tour around the UK with my new show, Flusi. As listeners of the podcast will know, I am really trying my best to be a bit of a flusie, but it's not going particularly well. The dates are on sale now. It's going to be autumn 2026. For tickets and information, head to plosive.com.com. Hello, I'm Amy Gladhill. And I'm Harriet Kemmsey. We're both single and in our 30s And we've found ourselves back on the dating scene And the landscape has changed Everyone has settled down

But we're back out there We're desperately trying to figure out what the hell we should be doing So we're going to speak to experts Chat about dates we've been on If we managed to get any And share your tips and horror stories So we all feel less alone We might even get our exes on

Yeah, we'll see about that This is Single Ladies in Your Area Hello We are on a little summer break at the moment, sunning ourselves stupid. But things are still popping off on our Patreon. It's the place to be. It's the place to be.

So here's a little something, something to wet your appetite for what's going on over there on Patreon. But we will be back in just a few short weeks with the main episode in your main feed. So don't you worry, single ladies, we got you covered. We're coming back. We're just going to live our lives. We've got stuff to talk about. That's it, isn't it? That's exactly it.

Yep. We're getting out there doing the people's work. We're doing God's work. The devil's work. We're doing the devil's work. And we'll be back. We love you. Welcome to Patreon.

Hello, Patreon's coming. Hello, Patreon's coming. Sit down. Shoes off. Sit down. Fingers on lips. It's time to tell you some tales. We're going to talk about, well, more about holiday romances.

We're in holiday romance mode. Yeah. It's the start of the summer But we're going to keep it going Yeah We've got to keep it going until November Oh November next year Yeah, yeah

I want to smell like sun cream Factor 50 sun cream for the rest of my life Yeah, that's it I always think as well the summer's such a fun time to just like go and have fun And then like I often like start relationships in September It's like well I've had my fun I've enjoyed myself

Yes Time to do this I've gone a little bit too wild time to find somebody to rain it in with, you know? Yeah, you want someone to sit under a blanket with you and watch TV. And in summer you're like, fuck off. Hot girl summer. Hot girl summer.

Or just, you know, like... Just medium girl. Medium girl trying. Yeah. Medium girl trying a best summer. Make it a lady, just trying to get laid. Horny girl trying a best year. That's it.

That's the one, isn't it? There we are. Here we are. Well, now, we've done an episode about our holiday romances. But the flip side of that is should a holiday romance stay a holiday romance? Yeah, that's the question, isn't it? It's so tricky. I think it depends how much of a holiday romance it is because the whole thing is it is holiday.

So it's not real life in any way. Yeah. So it's like if you're staying in like a hotel or whatever, then it's like it's just, not real. You know what I mean? It's like, no one's putting the bins out. You're a comedian.

We stay in hotels so often. I love that you're like, if you're in a hotel, he's in the magical land of the ibis, nothing is real. No, no, no. Hotels can still be real life. Yeah, that is true.

That is true. Although it does feel great. Like if somebody's making your bed for you, It does feel like a magical land where anything could happen. Yeah, there's just not like, like just live stuff to wear you down, you know. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Your best self?

Can I just say I developed even more respect to you this week, because I've been looking after a dog. And it's not even just me looking at it. I'm barely looking after this dog. My flatmate is looking after a dog. And if he's out, I have to look after the dog. It's too much for me. And you have a dog and a child?

Yeah, I fucked up, Amy. I can't believe. Yeah, the dog, it's a lot. Like, you just, I think, and you know when people are like, oh, you know, like, I've got a dog, I know what it's like having a baby. Like, it still is, a dog is still a lot. Yeah, a dog is a lot. Yeah, because they need so much love and they're just so wonderful and you just never want to let them down. And so every time you leave, you're like, I'm so sorry.

Yeah. And I never leave Mabel on her own. ever, you know, and I do do that with the dogs. They just need so much walking. Yeah, yeah, that's it. You have to walk them every day. Like, it's like, and I don't want to walk. No.

You know. Yeah, it's a lot. And everything's got spit on it. Is that because of the dog? No. That's my house, mate. The dog's like, ew. I'm not touching that.

It's got spit on it. Yeah, yeah. They're a bit gross, but they're so cute. Oh, they're so difficult. But do you know how in single ladies, I always talk about how much I want a dog? Yeah. I don't want a dog. I want a boy who's like a dog.

Yeah, that you don't have to walk. Yeah, walk yourself. Yeah. Wipe your own spit. I'm not picking up your shit. Your hot, this dog, it's the best dog in the world. The hottest, wettest, runniest shit. And he did it on cobbles.

How do you even get? I was like, there was a point where I was like trying to scrape my hand in a dog poo bag, trying to scrape shit off a cobble. And I was like, this isn't, this isn't what I thought it would be. I think if it's your dog, you love that dog. It's the same as like with a baby. Like I was like really worried about like how I'd feel about like changing nappies or dealing with it. And I'm like, you just don't care.

Really? You love it. Like it's like, I think some people are still like pretty. But I'm just like, oh, I like it just doesn't. I mean, it's not ideal. You're not like, oh, this is great. I'm like, where? But you are like, oh, you know, this is just what I do for the thing I love, you know.

And so I think it's difficult maybe if it's not like your dog. Like you're actually doing like a great service by loving something without any like relationship that's like definitive, you know. But you know how quickly I fall in love. Oh, yeah. I did fall in love before I'd met the dog. My flatmate said, oh, the dog's here and sent me a picture of it. And I was like, I'm ready to die for this dog. How long is it with you?

10 days, but it goes tomorrow. Oh, that's the dog's name. I want to protect his identity, but that's so sweet. I love, I love this dog. I'm so allergic to this dog. Oh, no. But I love Harriet, I love this dog. She comes and she lays on me and we're having cuddles.

And I've been, I've had the hair fever injection and I've been taking two antihistamines a day. I still hives all over the shop. Yeah, I'm quite allergic to regular dogs, yeah. Eyes, big, swollen, itchy. Like there's little twigs in there. But I love this dog. This was quite a digression. I just wanted to say basically well done.

Thanks, whoa. Thank you. It's also interesting that you love what's bad for you as well. Yeah. Yeah. That is interesting. Like it's literally like physically hurting you. Yeah.

I love you forever. Yeah. I don't need anything from you. I'll pick up your shirt, whatever you need. I love you. But the dog is like a holiday romance because it's going tomorrow. Yeah. You had a little fling with a dog.

I had a fling with a dog. After eating it. Yeah. I had a fling with a dog. I had a dog fling. Yeah, that's nice. That's nice. And this is the thing.

Like, I find it very hard to see things as just a thing that is for its sake, lovely for its own sake and not something that you have to build on. Yeah. Like, I find it very hard just to be like, that was lovely for that. And that is not something that then I need to build on and marry and then divorce. Like, it's very hard for me not to see that pattern.

Yeah. Because when something's nice, you're like, well, I'll keep this forever. Yeah. Yeah. And I have to keep. working on it and I have to make it perfect and I have to just because there's something so I have to and it's like no something can just exist.

Yeah. Let it be. Oh, there's a song in that I think. We should write one. We should write that. We've got a hit on our hands. I think there is something in having an experience and wrapping it up in a burr and going that was that experience

and that was perfect. Let's leave that. That's so hard because when something's perfect, You want more of it. I always want more and more. I don't want one Oreo. I want all the Oreos. I need all the Oreos.

I can't leave the packet open. I have to destroy the packet and then sometimes occasionally get sick because I've eaten so many. And I'm eating the packet. I'm eating the packet because I need more and more and more. Yeah, but to learn self-restraint and like to learn to look at things like objectively, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. But I know it is right. It's so hard there, isn't it?

Because I feel like an end of a thing of like a relationship or a fling or whatever. That's sad and bad. It's sad. And you feel like it ends when it's bad. Yeah. It shouldn't end when it's good. Or in our case, absolutely terrible. We've gone through bad.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Bad? Bad. I wish. Oh, I long for the day as my relationships were just bad. No, no. Heartbreakingly, torturous, devastating, harrowing, haunting. debilitating. That's when I'm like,

maybe it's time to finish it. I don't know though. Yes, we haven't gone through that whole cycle. It's hard to like leave it. Yeah. But what about ending things when they're good? But it's just the right time to end it. Yeah, I don't like endings.

That's another thing as well. Yeah. But sometimes trying to see an ending is a good thing. Well, yeah, like these, our holiday romances, I'm still in touch with, I'm like toxicly in touch with basically everyone I've ever had sex with. There's like a few exes that I don't really speak to anymore, but there's none of them where I...

As the years go on, your admin, it's just going to be out of control. It's a full-time job. I am getting up at 5am just to send out the text. Good morning to everyone I've ever slept with. Around the world. Morning. Different mornings, yeah, yeah. Oh, just got a message, right.

The ones in America have just working up, fire that off. Six hours all the ones in Australia should we be working up. But I like to just keep... Yeah, yeah. I don't want it to end. Because I like them. Yeah. I like them.

And genuinely, if it was up to me, I would like, I mean, you know me. You know how my crushes are. I would genuinely travel to America or Australia or wherever just to see them. I'm exactly the sort of person that's like, oh, I was just passing Melbourne. If you're free, that's fine. Like, I'm exactly the psychopath. It's so funny. There's literally no way you could pass Melbourne.

Like it's literally at the end of the world. Where were you off to? Oh, just round the other side again, actually. Do I like, why'd you go that way? It just worked out better for the pilot. Don't worry about it. Basically, I'm going to be Melbourne for these three days. If you want to see me, that's fine.

If you don't, I will be absolutely heartbroken, but I'll pretend it doesn't matter, and then I'll just get back on the plane. There's three men I... Well, no, there's four. There might be more. There's four men I'm currently messaging who I really like who live in different countries and I would happily go and see any of them.

But I think they'd find it weird. Do you know if I was like, oh, come and visit you? Yeah. Am I mad? Sometimes, you know, I've never thought about this before. Yeah, I'm messaging four boys from real far away. Well, I just think it's interesting that they're far away. I just think it's interesting that maybe you're still protecting yourself in some way.

Yeah. And then it's like, oh, these things are just like, again, you're living in the crush world where these things are perfect and lovely because there's no reality to it. Yeah. Because you haven't seen their bad sides because there's literally an ocean in between. So it's like they can live as like on a pedestal because they're far away and they can't hurt you because they're not literally not here. But you know, one of them, we realized we have been messaging for nine years. we had sex once. I spoke too soon.

We had sex once and we have messaged still to this day for nine years and I can't wait to see him again because I can't let it go. What's that? What's wrong with me? Is there anybody that's an expert in this room?

You're asking me this and I don't know. I don't know what to say to this. Nine years is too long. It was a holiday romance. And that's been going on for nine years. And it's literally, if we're both single, we message like multiple times every week. And then we'll get, one of us will get in a relationship

and we'll just like check in. And then it's like, but then we're back. And right now we're back. And I'm like, when I go to LA, I will see him. Yeah, again. I don't. I don't. Look, there's like a tiny chance of this is your soulmate.

No. But I think that that's, yeah, I think it's like. Like a not point not 1% chance. And then it's like a, but it's because it's not real. Yeah. It's not real. But then things are fun when they're not real. You know, and the life and the reality of like a person like begins.

It's so funny how we're like, it's really good just like leave a holiday romance. Like exactly how it is. Oh yeah. I'm in touch with multiple people around the world. Yeah. And I'll never let it go ever. Be not too much this weekend. Ugh.

Listen a tale of somebody who is trying to tell us we should leave things in the past. Okay. So this is from a lovely lady on Insta. When I was 16, I fell in love with a boy who had a dyed red Mohawk during a family holiday in Greece. I just had my braces taken off, so I was having a wild time. Already these details are delicious. I love everything about that. Braces off, let's go.

Braces off. Charles is down. I started thinking of what our wedding would be like during some awkward fumblings hiding behind the stacked sunbeds at night. That's so me. And you straight to wedding. Yeah. This is just these fumblings are perfect. I cannot make way to get this on the lockdown.

When I got back to the UK, he invited me to a house party down south and after an eight-hour train journey, during which I wistfully looked out of the window imagining our dramatic and romantic encounter. That's you on a flight to Melbourne, except it's three. times than the length. I arrived his house in the middle of nowhere, only to discover the house party was just him and his two friends who were essentially just bonking freely everywhere.

I just got completely terrified as I realized I knew nothing about him and had been in trance by his mohawk. Oh, we've all been in trance by some kind of mohawk. Mumbled something about my grandma having had a stroke and took the eight-hour train journey back home again. Long story short, holiday romances

don't work once you've left the beach in my honest opinion. Interesting. Very interesting. And Bobon. Very correct. Yeah. Oh, God.

Well, that's the thing. It's like you say it's when you're in hotel land nothing's real. And you get to their house and you're like, oh, you're in a house. I don't want to see you in a house.

Yeah. I don't want to see your stuff and your things and your bed in. And our standards are different. Yeah. Yes. Your friends just bongle over the place.

Yeah. I mean, I don't like that. Yeah. That's where. That's a weird, that's a weird situation. So, yeah, I'm sorry about that. We've also got a friend of the pod. Friend of the pod.

Shout out. To Olga Koch, comedian extraordinaire, who's left as a voice note. I believe she's made a show about this voice note. So I think you can watch the whole show. Her incredible show, yes. Because it's an amazing story. Hello to the cutest girlies in comedy and in life. To preface this, this is a holiday romance that I did write a show about,

so it has affected me greatly. But let this be a warning to anyone attempting to have a holiday romance. So I'm at this wedding in New Zealand. I meet the hottest guy ever. We hook up. And then because I live in the UK and he lives in New Zealand for three months, like directly after the hookup, we're like, he, he, wouldn't it be funny if we saw each other again?

And for three months, we planned a trip to go to Japan together. And so after three months, we landed in Japan. And I want to say within 45 seconds of seeing each other again, we realized that it may have been the worst. worst mistake we've ever made because we ultimately hated each other. To give you an idea of how poorly we got along, we had a hotel booked with a private outdoor hot tub, and what we did in the hot tub was watch old episodes of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, okay? Because the trip was booked within an inch of its life. We couldn't even leave each other's side because we had like so many reservations

and hotel bookings together. So my advice to you is there is if you have a hot sexy hook up at a wedding, Just keep it that way. It will be a gorgeous memory. And it'll be less admin. Wow. I love this because I think Olga, she's taking it to the extreme, but she's an example of somebody just like going for it. And I think that is, there is something really fun about that,

about just being like, this could be brilliant or terrible. Let's roll the dice. Yeah, that's very much. I'm on the precipice of doing that exact thing where it's like. With multiple men. With multiple men. Let's meet in this place. And it's like, oh, actually, we really got along when we were drunk.

for like 10 minutes. I don't want to spend a week with you. Oh, God. Yeah, let this be a warning because I can see, I can see you there. I can see this in my future. I can see this in your future so bad. And you wouldn't even have your like TV bed. You'd just be watching stuff on a laptop.

So actually like the comforts of home would be better for you that you can at least watch TV in bed, you know? Like, and then you're just going to be somewhere. You're going to be around the world. Oh, gosh. Yeah. Okay, well, we are learning. We are learning that maybe it's best to just leave these where they are.

I'm really proud of us. Just like to, just coming out of a marriage or a long-term relationship, I think you're like, okay, well, I will not make the same mistakes again, and I will learn my lesson. And then you're like, life, you have to take a few risks. Like, I just stopped taking any risks and lived very, very safely. Yeah. And obviously we need to be safe, but to have a bit of fun.

Like, I forgot fun. Yeah. whole side of me. Like I just like was like put that in a box until you meet your prospective suitor who will be perfect and then you will begin your next stage of life because you've learned all your lessons. But I haven't learned them. No. I mean I have learned them but there's more to learn. You know what I mean? And there's more mistakes to be made and I can't I'm not going to suddenly be perfect. Like I was like I have to be perfect now. I have to live perfectly and only make perfect choices. No. And so I think it's quite fun to just make.

some crazy choices. Yeah, and crazy choices can lead to good stuff and bad stuff, but sometimes good stuff. Yeah. And I think, yeah, from the listener story, from what Olga is saying, maybe I need to end my holiday romances while they're good. Yeah. Like, just have that as a complete thing. Why do I need to feel the need to continue it until it goes wrong? Because you're always yearning as well.

Yeah. I'm a hell of a yearner. I'm a bit of a yearner as well, yeah. What a yearner. Oh, the hours I spent wasted on yearning. Every day I'm yearning. Oh, different things. Yeah.

I'm yearning 24-7. And honestly, there's always an overlap of who I'm yearning for or what. I'm a full-time yearner. Yeah. Oh, God. And that's it. Less yearning, more doing. Yeah, there we go.

Less yearning. Learning, more learning. Whoa. Thank you, Petron. Take that to the grief. Hello, I'm Lucy Beaumont. And I'm Sam Campbell, as a matter of fact. Perfect Brains is one of the most enchanting podcasts.

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No two podcasts are the same. Do you remember that one where I just message loads of Derricks? I don't think people know that. I emailed 100 Derricks. I don't think it was Derricks. I thought it was Bryans. Sorry, Brian. Yeah, Lucy emailed every Brian on Facebook.

Our podcast is out every Friday. It's really easy to remember. It's like if you've got an office job, it's the first day you feel alive again. Lucy and Sam's perfect brains. One of the hottest podcasts, people are going crazy for this podcast. Yeah, please give it a listen. We're loaded up on buzz balls. We've got a Laboo-Boo in both hands, and we are ready to screech.