Between Jane’s complicated relationships with Ben and “Pinstripe,” and Kat’s uneasiness about Adina’s relationship history, much of this week’s episode of The Bold Type, “OMG,” focused on relationships. Many of the moments were deep and thought-provoking, some were sad and others were funny—and as young women who have dealt with this sometimes super-frustrating thing we call dating, there were definitely some moments that had us thinking, “Ugh! same, though.”
1. When Jane goes on a date with Ben
There’s nothing wrong with Jane and Ben’s first date, but it’s a little awkward. Ben says he doesn’t date much and mentions that he’s tried using Tinder, but it didn’t go so well (ugh, same). The casual awkwardness of this date is all too real.
2. When Sutton makes fun of Jane’s “love triangle”
When Jane starts talking to Pinstripe again and he helps her find a job opportunity, Sutton jokes that it’s a love triangle. Jane argues that it’s not a triangle because she and Ben are two people, so it’s just a line, she says. When Jane is out with Pinstripe at the club to look for stories, Sutton makes a triangle with her hands. We’ve been in Jane’s shoes, and we’ve been in Sutton’s shoes because sometimes the wonderful world of dating is just too funny and we can’t avoid making fun of our friends.
3. When Jane is slightly still intrigued by Pinstripe
We all have a Pinstripe—that former hookup or ex-SO who we mostly can’t stand, yet are still a little drawn to. When Jane finds herself interacting with Pinstripe again, it makes you think of all those guys who ghosted you, then say “hey” two months later. We shouldn’t respond, and yet… we are drawn back in by that same charm that appealed to us the first time around. Even though she thinks Ben’s great, she still thinks about Pinstripe. Ughhh, same.
4. When Kat is jealous of Adena’s previous girlfriends
Kat says she’s not normally a jealous person, but she’s definitely jealous of the women who Adena was previously involved with. Kat tells Adena that she had no idea she had so many “sexy friends,” and obsesses over it for much of the episode. Adena insists that it’s part of her past and doesn’t mean anything in terms of the future, but for most of the episode, Kat’s not convinced. Even if you think you’re not a jealous person, sometimes you might be surprised by how jealous and concerned you feel in a situation like Kadena’s.
5. When the women talk about their “numbers”
Because Kat is concerned about the number of people Adena has been with, she asks Jane and Sutton about the number of partners they’ve had. Sutton says 28, but she was too embarrassed to admit that when a guy asked before. We’re sooo tired of this double standard that often makes women ashamed of having a high number of sexual partners when it’s usually NBD for men to have a high number.
6. When Jane questions Ben about his religion
Sometimes, we really like someone—except this one thing about them that just doesn’t sit well with us. In Jane’s case, that one thing happens to be Ben’s religion. He’s Christian and she’s not religious. At first, Jane seems pretty judgmental about his beliefs, questioning him about it and asking him how he can be so educated and still believe in God. Cringe. While maybe it’s not something we’d like to admit, a lot of us have been there, either questioning someone about something that we didn’t like about them, or being questioned. It’s not a great feeling. At the end of the episode, though, we learn the reason behind Jane’s beliefs, which makes us feel for her. She opened up to Ben about why she had reacted that way, and we know how tough it can be to have those difficult conversations.
7. When Adena and Kat have an open conversation
At the end of the episode, Adena speaks to Kat openly about how she’s choosing Kat—she’s living in a country that doesn’t want her there and can’t visit her mom. Kat asks why she didn’t tell her that before, and Adena tells her that she didn’t want to scare her away. We can definitely relate to avoiding a difficult conversation because we were worried it might scare the other person away or make them uncomfortable, and we admire Adena’s honesty. In this moment, Adena tells Kat she loves her, reminding us that despite all of the complexities, maybe dating isn’t always so ugh-worthy.