Dating and other bad habits.

Greg Behrendt may not be a household name but you definitely know him. He’s a stand-up comedian and was a consultant for Sex & The City. Oh and there’s that little book called He’s Just Not That Into You which became a movie starring the likes of Drew Barrymore and Jennifer Aniston.

WM: Have you even been to Boulder?

GB: Yep. I love it. It’s cute. I think went shopping for some vintage cowboy stuff at some point. It’s great. I like this state.

WM: Do you get the same questions in every city? Or do you find that it’s different in the deep South than the Midwest or are women across America are asking the same questions?

GB: They’re all the same.

WM: So we’re all the same idiots. Ok.

GB: I wouldn’t say idiots. I would say that it’s all the same problems. Everyone has the same problems. They’re in a relationship with someone they don’t understand and wonder if they should stay in it.

WM: And the good relationships really aren’t that much work?

GB: My experience—and I always have to say my experience—is they shouldn’t be that much work. My relationship isn’t that much work and it’s actually really fun. I actually look forward to seeing my wife.

WM: I love the way you talk about your wife.

GB: You know I waited a really long time to–I mean I didn’t get married until I was 35. I met her when I was 33. I waited a long time to find the awesome. And it’s awesome.

WM: It’s got to be hard to go from being a comedian to writing this book and now it’s a movie. Have you seen the movie?

GB: Yeah. I think anything’s great source material for relationships and there was certainly a lot of good source material there. The way I look at it was they painted a picture of my book but with Scarlet Johansson and Jennifer Aniston. So I’ll take it.

WM: Any final thoughts for the women of Boulder?

GB: I’m not a therapist. I got one answer. I have a pretty good eye for thinking through people’s shit. But it’s a really simple equation. I pretend that you’re my sister which means two things: I love you and I’m not going to bullshit you and I believe you deserve better than what you have.

I think people put a lot of pressure on dating but I also think that’s all we have so you have to make friends with it. But you also have to realize that most of them aren’t going to work out, so if you know that going in, you lower your expectations and go in and have fun with it.

–By Leah M. Charney

Columnist Leah M. Charney writes about relationships and dating in “Dating & Other Bad Habits” every month. She caught up with Greg at the end of his recent comedy tour, “Greg Behrendt Is Totally Into You.”

Excerpts published in Women’s Magazine April 2009 issue.