Caitlin Green

It's not cheating.

It's not fighting.

It's indifference when your partner stops feeling much of anything at all.

And what does that do to intimacy, people's boredom and a wandering eye?

That in a moment.

I'm sure you've heard of love.

I'm sure you've heard of hate.

But what about something far more sneaky, something more dangerous, romantic indifference?

When the spark between you and your partner disappears, if you get bored, if you withdraw, what happens to intimacy?

And what of that wandering eye?

Well, I am here with someone who's done research on romantic indifference.

Her name is Myrna Jurich, and she's a social psychology researcher at the Free University Amsterdam.

Myrna, welcome to the program.

You know, when people talk about troubled relationships, we usually talk about the big emotions like fighting, jealousy, heartbreak, cheating.

But I like that you looked at something maybe a little more sinister, indifference.

What does indifference look like in a relationship day to day?

So what would be an interaction that would really highlight indifference in a relationship?

just kind of checked out, not curious, not talking much, not feeling much at all, just kind of shell of a relationship.

In what ways could that be more dangerous than, let's say, flat-out conflict?

So let's talk about some of your studies and the stuff that you've uncovered while looking at this.