Love Island, coping in a crisis and how to handle a loveless marriage – all on this week’s The Spill

Have you ever had one of those days that screamed for a wine and chats sesh with your girlfriends?  Enter Image.ie’s podcast, The Spill. 

The Spill is hosted by our very own self-proclaimed agony aunts Sophie White and Rhona McAuliffe. With a mix of discussion on current affairs, arts and culture and some healthy advice to our listeners, it’s the best place to unwind and deliberate the issues affecting Irish women today.

The phenomenon of Love Island

Ah Love Island – what’s it all about? As much as they’ve tried to avoid it, our hosts have been dragged into the vortex of the show of the summer and have some choice thoughts to share. Sophie observes that, although the show is so divisive, with people either loving or hating it, it seems to transcend snobbery – so many people watch it, many of whom are intellectual viewers. Why is it so popular? Is it because of its self-awareness, its recognition of its ridiculousness? Rhona is still trying to figure out if Love Island is a parody, or just a manipulation of the cast members. The hosts touch on the show’s highs and lows, its lack of diversity, its standout characters, but what do you think? Is Love Island worth the hype? Is it the new direction of reality TV?

Coping in a crisis

Following the miracle rescue of a boy’s football team from a cave in northern Thailand, Sophie and Rhona take on the subject of crises – specifically, how do people cope in a crisis. Both Sophie and Rhona reminisce on times when they’ve been in crisis mode and, instead of reacting practically, their bodies went into total shutdown. Rhona had crisis births on both of her pregnancies and describes being in denial about the situation, despite it being so dangerous. Sophie agrees and muses on how the term ‘in denial’ is thrown around, but how serious it really is to a sufferer. Where does your mind go in a panic – fight or flight? Have you ever tried to train yourself to get better?

Hit me up: I don’t love my husband, but he’s a kind man. Should I leave him?

In this week’s advice column, Rhona is dealing with heartbreak. Craving a new life from Dublin has been married for seven years, has a young child with her husband, but just doesn’t feel in love with him anymore. Routine and banality have taken over to the point that our reader and her husband don’t even argue about their differences anymore – they’ve just checked out. How do you know when you need a divorce? Can boredom and a loveless marriage ever be rescued from the brink of breaking down?

Listen to the latest episode of The Spill or catch up on the weeks you’ve missed here…