It’s officially cuffing season, y’all. And that means it’s time to rock cosy sweats and pluck a cutie off the bench to binge-watch festive movies and eat leftover mac and cheese with.

So it’s only right that the hosts of Unbothered’s Go Off, Sis podcast talk about relationships in all forms—romantic, platonic, and sexual—in a two-part series. Why? Because investing in your sensuality and sexual expression needs its own airtime. And that’s just the pleasure principle, or whatever Janet Jackson said.

In part one, co-host and VP of Unbothered Chelsea Sanders kicks off the convo off with the big question that’s known to divide rooms: “Are we showing our boos on the timeline?” To answer that, the ladies welcomed influencer, actor, and Hard Launch YouTube series creator Joy Ofodu back to the roundtable.  

And Joy, who reviewed more than 2,000 dating profiles, 150 matches, and 20 first dates to find the peanut butter to her jelly, decided to “usher in this new chapter” of being boo’ed up in grand fashion.

But how did she tell the world and her Instacousins, who joined her on this wild ride to find bae, that she got a real one? No, no, no, she couldn’t just post an epic photo and be done with it or tease her followers with a heart eyes emoji that covered his face. We’ve seen that before. “I said, let me make it different from anything I’ve ever done. Let me script a whole, slightly fictional web series, and I want him to star in it,” Joy says, the celebrated voiceover artist and creative executive. “I want people to see [Ivan] and feel him and experience some of the love that we share.” 

This was a very un-African thing to do, especially for Nigerians. But Joy stands 10 toes down on her decision. “Don’t worry about people’s hexes, vexes, spells, and voodoo. I don’t believe in any of that,” says Joy. “Honestly, my God is stronger than everything. There’s no spell, there’s no DM slide that can undo what He’s already done for me.”

Still, putting your relationships deets on social media is a sensitive subject for many, including co-host and Unbothered Global Deputy Director Kathleen Newman-Bremang. Kathleen doesn’t think her loving marriage is good content, and is not about to invite strangers and their eyeballs into her private life. “If you’re in a straight relationship and you post your man, I think people start making that the most interesting thing about you. I reject that,” says Kathleen, who posts her hubby once per year. “It’s not that interesting to me.” 

To hear more about getting your financial house in order before long-term dating and investing in better communication for relationships, listen to the full episode below.

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