How to Stay in Love with Your Soul Mate, with Special Guest Ester Brooks
July 6, 2026
AI Summary
5 min readHow to Stay in Love with Your Soul Mate
Arthur Brooks and his wife Esther Moon Brooks have been married for 35 years, and they open this episode by telling the story of how they met: at a music festival in Dijon, France, on Bastille Day 1988. She was a Spanish trumpet player who spoke no English; he was an American French horn player who spoke no Spanish. After one week together, Arthur told his father he had met the woman he would marry. Esther sold her trumpet and her car, bought a plane ticket to New York, and lied to everyone that she was going to buy a new instrument. "I met you and I had that strong intuition that you were trustworthy," she says. "And I fell in love with you." That risk—trusting someone when you cannot be certain of the outcome—is the central theme of the conversation.
Falling in Love Is an Entrepreneurial Act
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What you'll learn
- 1 (00:00) **Episode Intro & Guest Introduction** - Arthur Brooks introduces the episode's theme of staying in love and welcomes his wife, Ester Brooks (Mrs. B), as a special guest.
- 2 (09:08) **The Entrepreneurial Act of Falling in Love** - The couple explores the idea that falling in love requires risk and trust, much like starting a business.
- 3 (14:22) **The Story of How They Met** - Arthur and Ester recount the early, risky, and romantic story of their meeting at a music festival in France.
- 4 (19:37) **The Proposal and a Change of Heart on Marriage** - Ester describes her philosophical shift from not believing in marriage to accepting Arthur's proposal.
- 5 (24:51) **Complementary Strengths and a Life Built Together** - The couple discusses how their different personalities have created a strong, complementary partnership over 35 years of marriage.
- 6 (28:24) **Defining Love: More Than a Feeling** - Ester introduces the core philosophical definition of love, moving beyond sentimentality to an act of will.
- 7 (37:51) **The Object of Love is the Good** - Ester deepens the definition of love by explaining that its true object is the good of the person, not the person's every whim.
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Guests on this episode
Show Notes
Thirty-five years ago, I somehow convinced an extraordinary woman to marry me. Our relationship began like any other—attraction, a leap of faith, and eventually the decision to embark on the unknown journey ahead of us together.
In this episode of Office Hours, my wife, Ester Munt-Brooks, and I reflect on what we’ve learned over 35 years of choosing each other—from the risks we took early on, to why love is much more than a feeling. Drawing on the wisdom of Thomas Aquinas, we explore what it truly means to love—and how that understanding can transform every relationship.
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Brought to you by:
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Where to find Ester Munt-Brooks:
• Website: https://www.fevaloryalegria.org/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/estermunt
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/FAITHWITHJOYTALKS/
Where to find Arthur Brooks:
• Website: https://arthurbrooks.com/
• In-person Retreats: https://retreats.arthurbrooks.com/
• Newsletter: https://www.arthurbrooks.com/newsletter
• X: https://x.com/arthurbrooks
• Instagram:
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