Marissa Nelson

One of the things that I always invite couples to think about is, like, when I think about a vacation, the feeling I want most is...

Dot, dot, dot.

And I want you to fill in the blank for that.

That's couples therapist and travel advisor Marissa Nelson.

You know, for some people, is this vacation about ease?

Is it about excitement?

And I think if you start there, we then start to examine what some of our hidden expectations are.

Maybe it's more laughter or time to talk.

In some cases, when I see couples and they're really at a crossroad in their relationship, it could be more clarity about how to move forward.

When your friends have gone on vacations, like what have they talked about?

And like, what are some of the places that they've loved?

But also you can have those conversations of, oh, when you went to Portugal, how were you treated there?

How did you feel there?

We all have our own relationship with money.

And I think money means something different to both couples.

So what they think that they're arguing about, you know, should we do the one bedroom suite with the butler?

What they're really arguing about is do I feel guilty for spending this on us?

One person's value can say, you know, we never do anything for ourselves.

Let's have a good time.

You know, let's go to the Maldives, whatever.