Episode Details

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In this episode of The Art of Imperfect Adulting, Amy Stone speaks with Blythe Alpern about choosing self-fulfillment over the pressures of dating and conventional adulthood. Blythe calls Atlanta, Georgia home and listeners will enjoy candid reflections on how Blythe’s decision to stop “finding her person” led to personal growth, renewed focus on her passions, and a powerful reframing of self-worth.

Blythe Alpern is a copywriter and podcaster. As the founder of Wordwoman Creative, she helps beauty and lifestyle brands create website, email, and blog post content that makes their audience stop, stay, engage, and buy. As the host of The GenX Experience, which was recently recognized by AARP, she gives latch key kids a place to reminisce and share the joys of navigating midlife as an 80s kid. When she's not podcasting or copywriting, she's taking her dog, Buster, for long walks and working on maintaining her status as the coolest aunt to her nieces and nephew.

Main Topics Covered:

1. The emotional toll and fatigue of dating apps: Blythe’s firsthand experiences with ghosting, bad dates, and lackluster connections.
2. The impact of grief and family loss on personal priorities and capacity for relationships.
3. Societal pressure to couple up and the myth of completion through partnership—especially as a Gen X woman.
4. Navigating acceptance: Making peace with not having children and embracing the “cool aunt” role.
5. Strategies for thriving solo—how Blythe channels energy into creative work, friendships, and solo adventures.
6. Anxiety, introversion, and the challenge of doing things alone, from solo travel to coffee shop visits.
7. The value of supportive friendships and reframing singlehood as a choice, not a deficit.
8. Blythe’s work as a copywriter and her podcast “Gen X Experience” as creative outlets and platforms for fellow Gen Xers.

Quote from the Episode: "I just got tired. I'm like, why am I putting effort when I'm not getting the effort back? And I deserve better. Every woman deserves better than a man with a picture of a fish." — Blythe Alpern

Timestamps: [00:00:05] Amy Stone welcomes Blythe for a role-reversal interview; Blythe calls Atlanta, Georgia home. [00:00:45] Blythe’s creative life, copywriting, and beauty industry work. [00:01:11] Introduction to the pivotal “relationship choice” of 2023. [00:01:46] Blythe recounts dating during perimenopause and the realization triggered by love bombing. [00:02:28] Key turning points—being unsupported during family loss and making a conscious shift away from dating apps. [00:04:11] Memories of app fatigue and “terrible, lazy, lackluster men”; Atlanta’s unique dating frustrations. [00:05:11] Ghosting, rudeness, and security concerns on dating apps. [00:06:29] Expanding beyond the apps—fatigue from singles events and choosing personal growth over dating urgency. [00:08:02] Processing the decision with friends, and recognizing shared pain points among single women. [00:09:28] Feedback and camaraderie from Blythe’s support network. [00:11:13] The freedom and fulfillment of focusing on solo living