Modern Love The New York Times

Zoe Fishman couldn’t stop thinking about the man she called her “subway crush.” For years, she saw Ronen on the train and admired him from afar.

When they finally connected, it turned out Ronen felt the same, and they began a blissful life together. But when their story took a devastating turn, Zoe had to grapple with longing for Ronen at a distance again.

For the final episode of our season, we hear about the joy and loss that showed up in Zoe’s life, and the remarkable way she learned to live with both of them.

Zoe Fishman is the author of several novels, most recently “The Fun Widow’s Book Tour.”

Zoe Fishman reads her Modern Love essay, “The Subway Crush Who Crushed Me."

To hear our conversation with Zoe, listen to the episode: “I Married My Subway Crush.”

Zoe Fishman is the author of several novels, most recently “The Fun Widow’s Book Tour.”

Sonja Falck reads her Modern Love essay, “Our 34-Year Age Gap Was Showing."

To hear our conversation with Sonja, listen to the episode: “Our 34-Year Age Gap Didn’t Matter, Until It Did.”

Sonja Falck was immediately attracted to Colin, the professor who was renting her a room. He was intellectual and lively, with bright eyes that drew her in. It was only after they were already dating that Sonja found out Colin’s age: He was 34 years older than her.

Their age gap didn’t give them pause. Sonja and Colin got married, had kids and built a fulfilling life together. But when Colin reached his 80s, and Sonja was in her mid-40s, Sonja realized she was craving a level of physical intimacy that Colin could no longer provide.

So Sonja and Colin had to make a decision: Could they transform their relationship into something that gave both partners what they wanted? Or had their age gap finally caught up to them?

Eric Darnell Pritchard reads their Modern Love essay, “Two Boys on Bicycles, Falling in Love."

To hear our conversation with Eric, listen to the episode: “Two Boys on Bicycles, Falling in Love.”

Eleven-year-old Eric Darnell Pritchard was a solitary kid. They preferred reading romance novels to playing sports, and watching soap operas to hanging out with the neighborhood kids. Although they were obsessed with love, they felt too different to find a romantic connection of their own.

Then, a cute boy moved in across the street. To Eric’s surprise, they both “like liked” each other. But when Eric told the wrong person about their new boyfriend, things quickly spun out of control.