Linda Evangelista Is Done Dating, The Baggage We Carry & Stop Saying Everything Is Toxic

In case you haven't heard, Linda Evangelista is done dating.

When I saw that headline 100 times this week, my first reaction was, "Who is Linda Evangelista?"

But after I learned she is one of the most influential supermodels of all time (forgive my ignorance), I also found out she no longer wants to sleep with anybody — let alone "hear somebody breathing."

Let's be real: We've all been there.

Personally, my I'm staying single forever phase happened just weeks before I met my now-husband. So I really stuck to my guns on that one.

Linda Evangelista and her husband Gérald Marie in 1991. (Getty Images)

Naturally, I had to see what Linda was up in arms about.

In the late 80s and early 90s, she was married to a modeling executive named Gérald Marie. And by all accounts, this guy is a real loser.

Linda claims Marie physically abused her throughout their marriage. He's also faced dozens of accusations of rape and sexual misconduct from other models and was even accused of trafficking women and forcing them to use cocaine to keep them thin.

She had other various strings of bad love, including a court battle for child support with a guy she dated for four months.

No wonder Linda is throwing in the towel. Linda is tired.

But it got me thinking about how often we, as humans, have one bad experience with the opposite sex and then forever attribute that person's behavior to his or her entire gender.

One man cheats on you, so they all must be filthy, lying cheaters. One woman maxes out your credit card, so they all must be materialistic gold diggers.

It's how we end up with faux-alpha men like Andrew Tate who speak about women as if they are less than human and the Barbie movie which acts as if men are the worst thing to ever happen to planet Earth.

Everyone has this emotional baggage from their past relationships and — if not checked — that baggage become a huge burden for every potential partner who crosses our path.

To paraphrase Rodney King, "Can't we all just get along?"

The Most 'Toxic' Professions

Let me start by saying that I am tired of the word "toxic." It's right up there with "gaslighting," "narcissism" and "boundaries" as overused therapy speech that people often use to vilify the opposite sex and justify their own bad behavior.

So imagine my annoyance when I ran across this meeting of Mensa candidates.

The women on this podcast are debating who's more toxic: a guy in prison or a guy in the Army?

And not surprisingly — because everything is stupid — the women unanimously agreed they'd rather date a guy in prison than a guy in the military. Why? Because men in prison find religion and men in the military cheat.

I'm sorry, what?

Sure, some men in prison do find religion. Some reform themselves and come out as better citizens because of it. But some men in prison join gangs, sell drugs, shank people and literally committed murder, rape or some other atrocity to end up there in the first place.

But because one dude in the Air Force cheated on that one girl with pink hair, every man in the military sucks. ("They seem like they have too much access to air" might be the quote of the century.)

In other words, she found one bad apple and it spoiled the whole bunch.

Let's check in with Donny Osmond.

Sofia Franklyn's 'One Time Cheat' Rule

Sofia Franklyn made the rounds on my Twitter/X feed this week, thanks to her "one time cheat" rule.

If you're not familiar with Sofia Franklyn, she's a podcaster who rose to fame back when Call Her Daddy belonged to Barstool. She co-hosted with Alex Cooper (who is way smarter than she is) but eventually threw a tantrum and left the show to start her own podcast.

If you've read my columns over the past year, you know I am a girl's girl. I do not denigrate women. But Sofia is a perfect example of someone who is only allowed a platform because she's hot. And we'll leave it at that.

Anyway, she recently said on a podcast that everyone deserves a one-time cheat in their relationship. She then does some mental gymnastics where she says that cheating should be excused depending on how long the couple has been together, if there's an emotional connection with the person you cheat with or what cycle of orbit the moon is currently in.

OK, I made that last one up. But she'd probably go along with it. Watch.

Sofia has admitted in previous podcasts that she has cheated in every relationship she's ever been a part of.

And while I appreciated the comments saying "cheating is never OK" (the correct stance here), I also saw a few too many expressing sentiments like this:

Listen, Johnny Coconut-Spelled-Wrong with the cute dog, Sofia does not speak for us as women.

But if this is how you really feel about females as a whole, you should probably pull a Linda Evangelista and just not date again. Ever.

What The Internet Is Saying

This is what we call making the best of a bad situation.

The good ol' days?

I also remember the days when I used to put on makeup just to come over and watch TV with my then-boyfriend. Now, my husband gets me in full goblin mode every morning and night.

It goes both ways, sister.

What do men actually want?

In all fairness, I want that, too.

This next one is very real. I'm convinced there are morning people and NOT-morning people — and they always marry each other.

Ladies, sometimes we have to laugh at ourselves.

And finally, let's chat about this interview from our own Charly Arnolt that had the Internet buzzing:

Look, the first girl who says a guy needs to make $1 million is clearly being ridiculous. But I saw a lot of dudes hating on her because apparently she is not "hot" enough to bag a man who makes seven figures.

Guys, you're exposing yourselves.

A woman saying a guy has to make a certain amount of money is no different than a man saying a woman has to be under a certain weight, look a certain way or have certain — um — proportions.

Are the chances pretty low that a millionaire is randomly going to throw himself at her? Sure. But so are the chances of you impressing someone who looks like Margot Robbie.

And to suggest that a woman isn't worthy of an accomplished man just because she isn't a supermodel? Gross. That's like saying you don't deserve a successful woman because you don't look like Brad Pitt.

And maybe she herself makes close to $1 million. Who knows?

Let people have their standards — no matter how outrageous they might be. Eventually, they'll have a reality check.

Or they'll OutKick their Coverage.

Harvey Is A Fan

Keep the Womansplaining thing up. It's like an updated Cosmopolitan for us knuckledraggers.

Amber:

You said "knuckledraggers," Harvey. Not me. But thank you for reading. We're having fun here!

I did get one email from someone saying the first column was good overall, but I was "a little lectury." Guys, I'm not here to lecture you. I'm just offering my perspective as a woman. You are free to take it or leave it.

Gido Remembers The Olden Days

We have been having this "Who pays on the first date?" conversation for three weeks now, and I'm here for it.

I'm completely with you on men paying for the first date and, yes, I'm a man. On the other hand, women need to be reasonable about their expectations on the first date. We've all heard the horror stories, like the woman who ordered four dozen oysters at dinner on the first date, or the woman who ordered two dinners — one to eat and one to take home. Interestingly, in both cases the men excused themselves to the restroom and never returned.

I'm old enough to remember the world before social media. In those days, people were able to spend a little real-world time together before actually getting to the first date. It's not fair to expect a man to drop a $100 or more on dinner for someone he has never met and never wants to see again, or the woman never wants to see him again. So, let's hear your opinion on what a woman should do and expect on the first date.

Amber:

A woman ordered four dozen oysters at a restaurant?! Like for herself?! I'd be so embarrassed to do this even with people I know well — let alone on a first date. And ordering a to-go meal on a date is wild behavior. Guys, if anyone ever does this to you, you have my full permission to walk out of that restaurant and leave the bill to her.

Then again, oysters are considered an aphrodisiac. So if you leave, you might just be cheating yourself out of a fun night.

(Getty Images)

Gido, I'm with you that men should not have to drop $100 on a nice dinner for a first date — especially if you don't even know if you jive with this person yet. If you're meeting someone online, I'd highly recommend the first date be somewhere that's still nice, but cheaper. (Think coffee shop, happy hour or a tapas spot.)

If a woman you met on a dating app is insisting on meeting you in a five-star restaurant, then just know she's probably about to order four dozen oysters to go.

Non-Hallmark In Knoxville Does Not Like Hallmark

Amber, I realize hallmark is the middle aged woman's Disney (happy ending and all) but most of them gotta get a reality check this time of year. I mean am I the only one who thinks, "Hey we just met so 3 weeks from now, I'm not spending Christmas with you or taking you home to momma." Is that unrealistic?

Amber:

I was confused at first if my guy here meant Hallmark products, the Hallmark store or Hallmark Christmas movies, but I'm fairly certain he means the movies.

In defense of Hallmark Christmas movies, I am not ashamed to throw one on. I would never just sit down with the sole purpose of watching one from start to finish, but it's perfect brainless background noise while I'm drinking wine, decorating, wrapping presents and filling out Christmas cards. It's a comfort thing for me.

That said, no sane woman thinks these silly movies depict reality. If you are dating someone who expects you to take her home to your family for Christmas after just a couple weeks, you have a stage 5 clinger, and you should run, run Rudolph.

If I had the option to retire comfortably in a sweet little mountain town, own a quaint bed & breakfast and wear nothing but Christmas sweaters for the rest of my life, though, I'd do it faster than you can say "Fa la la la la la la la la."

For Next Week:

Speaking of Christmas, I had a few emails asking me what women actually expect for gifts on Christmas. So we're going to dive in. I have some ideas.

Meanwhile, I want to hear from you. So get your emailin' fingers going!

Send me whatever is on your mind: best Christmas gift you've ever received from a significant other, best gift you've given, holiday traditions with your wife/girlfriend/boyfriend/husband, anything Christmas!

Email me at Amber.Harding@OutKick.com.

Happy Ending

This guy gets it.

Maybe he has a friend or a brother he could introduce to Linda Evangelista.

Womansplaining is a weekly column about dating, marriage, sex and relationships that runs on Fridays.

Email your thoughts, questions, stories and gripes to Amber.Harding@OutKick.com or tweet her @TheAmberHarding.