In January 2016, the iconic jilted lover of the 90s, Alanis Morissette, launched her advice column in The Guardian. The column ran in the Guardian Weekend magazine, and Morissette actually took over the mantle from actress Molly Ringwald, who answered readers’ burning questions from September 2014 to September 2015.
Morissette, meanwhile, seemed born to play the role of agony aunt, an extremely specific colloquial term meaning “a woman who runs an advice column.” At the time, she was also recording a podcast on her own website, where she would dish out relationship advice. This natural inclination to help others stemmed from what she called her role as “the family therapist.”
“Parents, brothers, even extended family members, that was the role I took on, because I suppose I had this combination of intuition and empathy,” she said. “I cut my teeth, basically, listening for a living.”
That intuition carried over into her music, where she often exposed the raw nerves of heartbreak and relationships. But in her personal life, she explained that she’s a big supporter of getting professional therapy.
“I’m definitely a therapy girl. I think that’s quite obvious,” she said, per The Guardian. “I don’t want to say everyone should [have therapy], but do I think everyone might benefit from it? Yes. But I’m aware that a lot of people have great resistance to it.”
Maybe for those who were resistant, sending letters to Alanis Morissette about their messy personal lives was the next best thing. It’s free, in any case.
Alanis Morissette Discussed Emotional Affairs in Her First Advice Column
For her first column on January 16, Alanis Morissette answered a question from a woman who feared she was having an emotional affair. She was married, but met a man in her evening class who made her feel seen and appreciated.
“I’ve realized that seeing him has become the highlight of my week,” she wrote. “I don’t think I want anything to happen between us, but it has changed how I behave around my husband. Is this a phase, or a sign of something more serious?”
In response, Alanis Morissette noted that emotional affairs often occur when there are needs not being met in a relationship. She also admitted that she’s been in the same situation before. “In the past, when I was dating and sniffed an emotional affair coming on, I would look at what it was I was attracted to,” she replied.
“In your case, are you compatible in an area that means a lot to you? Is it that he listens well? Does he find you funny? Then I would ask myself whether that need could be met by friends, or by work,” Morissette continued. “Unless you are unhappy in your marriage, or don’t value emotional monogamy … I would limit your interaction with this new classmate.”
In conclusion, Morissette offered some sage wisdom. “In my experience, the excitement with the new guy wanes anyway,” she wrote. “Far better to let your spark be grist for your marriage’s mill, rather than a reason to end it.”
Photo by John Shearer/Getty Images for FIREAID
The post On This Day in 2016, Alanis Morissette Launches Advice Column, Becomes Everyone’s Favorite ‘Agony Aunt’ appeared first on VICE.
