- Hi, YouTube.
My name is Dr. Nicole and I'm the host of the new OWN series
"Put A Ring On It."
Welcome, everyone.
I've been helping couples just like you live their best
lives for over 25 years.
So we've come to see the oracle?
NICOLE LABEACH: I was born in Brooklyn, New York
and grew up in Florida.
My parents moved to Florida in middle school.
And the college that I went to was Spelman College--
best college on the planet.
My major in college was psychology.
I decided to become a relationship expert because I
really wanted to help people get right what they really wanted
out of their relationships.
Everybody's got different goals and a different idea of what
a great relationship is.
And I really just wanted to hold the space for them
to move towards achieving that for themselves.
What I really liked about the show concept
was that a lot of times people think they're stuck,
but really they're just refusing to move.
And this was a way that I thought
I might be able to help folks figure out which one fits them.
This season on "Put A Ring On It,"
viewers can really expect to be surprised.
There are some things that you're
going to think that you know.
And as you go through the episodes,
you're going to say, wait a minute,
that's not what I expected.
But I think, more than anything, it's going to inspire you.
And it's going to give you hope for your own relationship,
no matter how it turns out.
It's OK to feel what you feel.
You have to pay attention to how you respond.
What is it that you want?
We have to give ourselves permission
to be honest about being able to say, what is it
that you really want?
Can you verbalize that, and can you
commit to co-creating something together
that you both believe in?
That you both think is worth the energy
and the work of relationship.
Usually, if people can come to a common ground,
they can figure out they're not as far apart as they
may think on the same topic.
But a lot of times, they just can't get
to the point of recognizing--
you can bring your whole self, I can bring my whole self,
and we can actually create something good together.
So they feel like they're going to have to leave
a part of themselves somewhere.
And that can be really scary.
Oh, Darla and Ralph Angel.
I mean, of course.
Well, first of all, because they're not married.
And they've had a lot of ups and downs, right?
So I think the question will pop up at some point.
What do we do now?
Do we move towards marriage?
What does it look like to have a union that
is beyond what is right now?
So I think they would be great.
I think one of the things that's really cool about relationships
is that they're perfectly imperfect.
But if there was a favorite--
if there was a favorite, I would say it
would be Hollywood and Aunt Vi.
They would be my favorite.
There's something there that is--
again, it's perfectly imperfect.
There is an admiration and a respect.
And how they deal with the hard stuff.
It's not easy but it's enduring.
Yeah, I really like them.
CHE: Watching Nicole can be tough.
She makes you think about things.
You have to really dig in deep, let go of the insecurity,
be vulnerable.
It's tough.
I hope the couples watching "Put A Ring On It"
will really take away from it that the journey is worth it.
It's all about the journey.
And wherever it ends up, it was worth moving
through the process to get to know more about yourself.
And get to know more about whether or not this person
that you're with is worth trying to build forever with.