Rylan wraps up his visualised podcast How to Be in Love this week with a special guest: documentary filmmaker and broadcaster Louis Theroux.
Louis, who has spent decades exploring people’s lives and beliefs, reflects on what his work has taught him about relationships.
Asked whether he could ever be polyamorous, he replies: “I’ve never been, and I’ve no plans to,” but adds, “don’t you want to get to the end of your life and feel that you absolutely tried everything on the buffet?”
He admits some of his research led to awkward moments, recalling: “I did a programme about polyamory, and I went to a sensual workshop. It wasn’t obviously sex, but it was some form of physical intimacy that involved getting naked and being fed strawberries. Embarrassing, it was kind of nice, but kind of embarrassing.”
The episode also brings playful exchanges. Rylan teases Louis about his status as a “sex symbol”, with Louis laughing off the idea but conceding, “I think it’s nice to feel like it’s there if you wanted it.” At one point, the pair break into a rendition of Fat Joe and Ashanti’s What’s Luv?
Louis also discusses his marriage to his wife Nancy, sharing both romantic and difficult moments from their 20-year relationship.
“The moment I fell in love with my wife was when I saw her dancing for the first time,” he recalls. But he also admits, “With Nancy I wasn’t always the man that I needed to be when we were together, and it took moments of uncertainty to bring it to focus which led to us getting married.”
His advice to Rylan, and anyone seeking love, is simple: “You’ve got one life to live and you want to make it count. You’ve got to absolutely throw yourself at the possibility of having something special, with all the risk that that entails.”
The final episode of How to Be in Love is available on BBC Sounds and iPlayer from today, Wednesday 20 August.
