Love Is Beautiful. The Tab Is Aggressive.

Love doesn’t start expensive—it gets that way once you stay. In this episode of Brunch Behavior, we retire the fairy tale that “love don’t cost a thing” and pull out the real receipt on modern relationships. Because while the spark feels free, the follow-up charges hit different: time, money, emotional labor, patience, compromise, and the quiet tax on your pride.

Joined by Big Smash from I’ll Explain All This Later, we break down the real cost of love across every phase—dating, commitment, and the long haul. From late-night calls, fresh fits, and spontaneous dates, to shared bills, bruised egos, kids, mortgages, and emotional maintenance nobody warned you about. Love doesn’t drain you all at once—it compounds, especially when you ignore the balance.

To make it plain, we pour the lesson into a glass. Prosecco for the honeymoon glow. Orange juice for sweetness. Cranberry for the arguments that bite back. Triple sec for the depth you didn’t see coming. Just like a brunch cocktail, love looks light, goes down smooth, and still finds a way to hit harder than expected.

The shift happens when you stop paying blindly and start paying with intention. When your partner matches your pour, the cost stops feeling like a loss and starts looking like an investment—trust, peace, rhythm, and shared meaning. This episode is for anyone questioning what love is really asking of them and whether the return is worth it.

Tap in, subscribe, and share this with someone who still thinks love is free. And if this hit home, check out the Free Pour Pack—five drinks, five sermons, zero fluff—or grab the Brunch Behavior: Summer Pack for deeper pours and real-life relationship wisdom. Drop your biggest “cost of love” moment in the reviews. Let’s talk receipts.

Chapters

• 0:00 Opening: The Myth Of Free Love
• 0:25 Big Smash’s Poor Report On Love
• 0:50 The Phases And Their Price
• 1:20 Everyday Costs: Time, Pride, Money
• 2:38 The Mimosa Metaphor For Love
• 3:17 Takeaway: From Bill To Investment
• 4:05 CTA: Refill With Intention

Transcript

Styles: 0:00

Today's pause about one of the biggest lies ever sold. Love don't cost a thing. Yeah, that's cute on the hook, but real life doesn't run on lyrics, does it? My guy Smash from I'll Explain All of This Later is here to explain why love does cost something. And if you lived long enough, you already know that the receipts pile up quick. Let's get into it. Here's Smash with the Poor Report. Welcome to the Brunch Behavior, the Poor Report.

SPEAKER_01: 0:30

I'm Big Smash, the Big Smash, host of I'll Explain All This Later Podcast. And today's Poor, Love. Because whoever said it don't cost a thing was lying. Or they were single. Love has phases, and every one of them comes with a price tag. And first it's the sparkle stage, the dentist, the trips, the calls that last until 3 a.m. That costs money and time. Then comes the real stage, the arguments, the compromises, the sacrifices you swore you'd never make. That costs patience and pride. And then the forever stage: kids, mortgages, life, bills, stacked high. The cost consistency, energy, and sometimes your last nerve. These are all facts.

Styles: 1:20

Side note, y'all quote and love don't cost a thing, while Venmo, Amazon, and your therapist all say differently.

SPEAKER_01: 1:30

Facts, Styles. Love gonna drain your pockets and your peace. Dumps two currencies right there. And if you can't afford both, don't sign up for the ride. So what does love cost look like in real life? Let me answer that. It's sitting in the Target parking lot for an hour while she runs in real quick. It's splitting the last wing when you really wanted it. Damn, I really wanted that wing. It's saying sorry, even though you know you weren't wrong, because peace is cheaper than pride. Pride is an ego killer for sure. It's putting a brunch bill that you didn't plan for because love costs flexibility. So at times that you know you you didn't have all the money because you didn't think that she was gonna go get five, six mimosas at brunch time. Type shit. And sometimes it gives energy you don't have. Just to make sure they know you care. Like, yeah, you pissed me off, but I still care. I'm still gonna put this umbrella out for you in the rain, baby.

Styles: 2:38

Let me break this down in the glass for you. From Le Brunch Behavior Summer Pack. This one's called Mimosa. Hold the feelings. And it's a whole love story, I promise you. What's going in the glass? Prosecco, that's the sparkle, the honeymoon stage when everything feels perfect. Orange juice, that's the sweetness that makes it seem effortless. Cranberry, that's the tart bite. The arguments that creep in while the shine wears off. I meant to say when the shine wears off. It's not what I said though. And triple sec, that's the depth you didn't plan for, but definitely feel later. And just like love, it looks light, goes down smooth, but it'll cost you later.

SPEAKER_01: 3:24

Yeah, that's it. Love is exactly like that drink. You think it's light, but the more you pour into it, the more you realize there's always a price. That tab never misses. So here's my takeaway: love ain't free. It costs money, time, energy, patience, and sometimes pride. But when the person matches your poor, the cost don't feel like a bill. It feels like an investment. That's the poor from Big Smash. Y'all already know what it is.

Styles: 3:58

Salute to my guy Smash from I'll Explain All This Later Podcast for keeping it honest and for his perspective as well. Love always comes with a price tag. What matters is how much you're willing to pay for. If you're running on empty, do what we do. Refill with intention. That's where the brunch behavior pour report comes in. Hey, new year, definitely owe me. So let's talk from the top. That's where the brunch behavior comes in. Grab the free pour, five drinks, five sermons, and a moment to breathe. And when you're ready to toast the love, lessons, and balance, sip the brunch behavior summer pack. Links in the description. Just another reminder that even love comes with a tab. Make sure it's one you actually want to pay. Catch you on the next pour.