World Model · podcast knowledge graph

Why We Fall for the Wrong Person with Couples Therapist Dr. Harville Hendrix

2026-07-07 · 54 min · episode 20 · 20 entities

episode page audio

Asserted relationships

  • → appeared on A Bit of Optimism podcast
    0.68
    evidence rules-v5
    Why We Fall for the Wrong Person with Couples Therapist Dr. Harville Hendrix
  • → hosted by Simon Sinek person
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    evidence rules-v5
    Feed author/publisher: Simon Sinek
  • → discusses Business company
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    evidence rules-v5
    Feed category: Business
  • → discusses Education concept
    0.40
    evidence rules-v5
    Feed category: Education
  • → discusses Self-Improvement concept
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    evidence rules-v5
    Feed category: Self-Improvement
  • → discusses Careers website
    0.40
    evidence rules-v5
    Feed category: Careers
  • 0.40
    evidence rules-v5
    Feed author/publisher: The Optimism Company from Simon Sinek
  • → references Simonsinek website
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    evidence rules-v5
    Link in episode "Why We Fall for the Wrong Person with Couples Therapist Dr. Harville Hendrix": http://apple.co/simonsinek
  • → references harvilleandhelen.com website
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    evidence rules-v5
    Link in episode "Why We Fall for the Wrong Person with Couples Therapist Dr. Harville Hendrix": https://harvilleandhelen.com/
  • 0.38
    evidence rules-v5
    Link in episode "Why We Fall for the Wrong Person with Couples Therapist Dr. Harville Hendrix": https://harvilleandhelen.com/books/how-to-talk-with-anyone-about-anything

Entities found in this episode

websites 8

  • mentioned Careers website
    0.50
    evidence rules-v5
    Feed category: Careers
  • mentioned Simonsinek website
    0.45
    evidence rules-v5
    Link in episode "Why We Fall for the Wrong Person with Couples Therapist Dr. Harville Hendrix": http://apple.co/simonsinek
  • mentioned harvilleandhelen.com website
    0.45
    evidence rules-v5
    Link in episode "Why We Fall for the Wrong Person with Couples Therapist Dr. Harville Hendrix": https://harvilleandhelen.com/
  • 0.45
    evidence rules-v5
    Link in episode "Why We Fall for the Wrong Person with Couples Therapist Dr. Harville Hendrix": https://harvilleandhelen.com/books/how-to-talk-with-anyone-about-anything
  • discusses Careers website
    0.40
    evidence rules-v5
    Feed category: Careers
  • references Simonsinek website
    0.38
    evidence rules-v5
    Link in episode "Why We Fall for the Wrong Person with Couples Therapist Dr. Harville Hendrix": http://apple.co/simonsinek
  • references harvilleandhelen.com website
    0.38
    evidence rules-v5
    Link in episode "Why We Fall for the Wrong Person with Couples Therapist Dr. Harville Hendrix": https://harvilleandhelen.com/
  • 0.38
    evidence rules-v5
    Link in episode "Why We Fall for the Wrong Person with Couples Therapist Dr. Harville Hendrix": https://harvilleandhelen.com/books/how-to-talk-with-anyone-about-anything

companys 4

concepts 4

  • mentioned Education concept
    0.50
    evidence rules-v5
    Feed category: Education
  • mentioned Self-Improvement concept
    0.50
    evidence rules-v5
    Feed category: Self-Improvement
  • discusses Education concept
    0.40
    evidence rules-v5
    Feed category: Education
  • discusses Self-Improvement concept
    0.40
    evidence rules-v5
    Feed category: Self-Improvement

persons 3

  • mentioned Couples Therapist Dr person
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    evidence rules-v5
    Why We Fall for the Wrong Person with Couples Therapist Dr. Harville Hendrix
  • mentioned Simon Sinek person
    0.70
    evidence rules-v5
    Feed author/publisher: Simon Sinek
  • hosted by Simon Sinek person
    0.55
    evidence rules-v5
    Feed author/publisher: Simon Sinek

podcasts 1

  • appeared on A Bit of Optimism podcast
    0.68
    evidence rules-v5
    Why We Fall for the Wrong Person with Couples Therapist Dr. Harville Hendrix
Episode description as stored
Maybe this sounds familiar: you fall hard for someone, and over a year later you're fighting about the very things that drew you to them in the first place. And you can't figure out how the person who felt so right suddenly feels so wrong. Dr. Harville Hendrix has spent 50 years studying love. And he’s also lived through its hardest challenges: one divorce, two near-misses in his current marriage, and a couple’s therapist who fired him and his wife, calling them "the couple from hell." That marriage is now 45 years strong. Harville is a couples therapist, and alongside his wife and creative partner Dr. Helen LaKelly Hunt, they creator Imago Relationship Therapy. They’ve also written 10 books, including the bestseller Getting the Love You Want, the book that made him a fixture on Oprah for nearly two decades. Harville’s theory is this: we don't consciously choose who we fall for, rather our unconscious does. And it has an agenda. In this episode you'll learn: ➡️ Why you keep falling for the same person ➡️ What your childhood has to do with who you swipe right on ➡️ Why the "power struggle" phase might mean you picked the right person ➡️ The shift that saved Harville's own marriage after divorce papers were filed ➡️ Why some of us can't receive love (even when we ask for it) ➡️ What arranged marriages understood about commitment that we forgot ➡️ The difference between equal relationships and egalitarian ones ➡️ How to reach the stage where you have no needs left… only wants In this conversation, Harville makes the case that real romantic love is what gets built after the fantasy collapses, when two people commit to the work of meeting each other's needs instead of demanding their own. And the engine of that transformation goes beyond compatibility and chemistry—it's gratitude and service. This… is A Bit of Optimism. + + + Want to keep up with Harville’s work? Check out: https://harvilleandhelen.com/ If you’d like to buy Harville & Helen’s latest book, How to Talk with Anyone about Anything, head to: https://harvilleandhelen.com/books/how-to-talk-with-anyone-about-anything/ + + + Chapters Chapters 00:00:00 Nature's Agenda: Why We Fall for the Wrong Person 00:02:02 From Sharecropper's Farm to Oprah: Harville's Unexpected Journey 00:06:07 The 30-Second Encounters That Changed Everything 00:10:17 We Almost Divorced Twice: The Couple From Hell 00:13:21 Child Consciousness vs Adult Consciousness: The Critical Shift 00:15:57 The Gratitude That Ends the Yearning 00:18:45 Why Both People Don't Need to Change at Once 00:20:28 The Unconscious Imago: Your Brain Picks Who You Fall For 00:26:34 The 18-Month Fantasy: When the Real Person Shows Up 00:30:40 Arranged Marriages vs Choice: The Paradox of Commitment 00:34:47 The No Exit Decision: Why You'll Want to Quit When It's Working 00:36:34 The Transparency Trap: Afraid of Losing What You Found 00:38:35 Receiving Love: The Dinner Story That Changes Everything 00:45:49 Equal vs Egalitarian: The Recipe for Partnership 00:47:23 Dating IRL: Why Technology Can't Replace Face-to-Face 00:50:54 When Needs Become Wants: Life After Gratitude + + + Simon is an unshakable optimist. He believes in a bright future and our ability to build it together. Described as “a visionary thinker with a rare intellect,” Simon has devoted his professional life to help advance a vision of the world that does not yet exist; a world in which the vast majority of people wake up every single morning inspired, feel safe wherever they are and end the day fulfilled by the work that they do. Simon is the author of multiple best-selling books including Start With Why, Leaders Eat Last, Together is Better, and The Infinite Game. + + + Website: http://simonsinek.com/ Leaderful: https://simonsinek.com/leaderful Podcast: http://apple.co/simonsinek Instagram: https://instagram.com/simonsinek/ Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/simonsinek/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/simonsinek Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/simonsinek