Emotional Outsourcing: Why You’re Telling Everyone But Your Partner

Send us Fan Mail Emotional outsourcing is one of the biggest relationship trends of 2026, and there's a good chance you're doing it without realizing it. Have you ever vented to your best friend, your group chat or even a chatbot about something your partner did, and realized later that the one person you never told was your partner? In this episode, Sandy Gerber explains why so many of us share our feelings with everyone except the person they're about, and how that quietly leads to drift. Sandy shares the story of her daughter's friend, who spent six months in a situationship, talking through every feeling with friends and co-workers but never with the person it was really about. She also brings in new research, including a Stanford study published in Science that found AI chatbots affirm people far more than humans do, and that just one flattering chat made people less willing to repair things with the person they were in conflict with. In this episode, you'll learn: What emotional outsourcing is and why it's trending How situationships make it even harder to say how you feel How emotional outsourcing leads to drift Why you should never open with "We need to talk" Difficult conversation starters you can use this week The Honest Sandwich, a simple tool for getting clarity in a situationship How emotional outsourcing shows up at work, and starters for talking to your boss or a co-worker directly In a situationship? Listen to Episode 66 next for more tools on dating and texting with confidence. Wondering if you've started to drift? Take Sandy's free Relationship Connection Quiz at sandygerber.com/drift-quiz