There are two kinds of people in relationships: the ones who think separate vacations are healthy ... and the ones who are already opening Find My Friends to track their traveling spouse.

• A recent New York Times story (gift link) explored the surprisingly divisive topic of solo travel while coupled. The internet, naturally, treats the topic with great nuance, with one Redditor declaring separate travel "the beginning of the end."

🌍 Zoom in: One woman interviewed for the story has taken roughly 40 solo trips across the eight years she's been with her husband, including to Egypt, India and the Maldives.

• ⛰️ Another woman takes an annual trip to the mountains, and described it as a rare opportunity to enjoy time with her mother and away from kid duty.

🧳 Therapists interviewed by The Times mostly landed on the same takeaway: Solo travel itself isn't the issue. The real question couples should be asking is why one person wants to leave.

• Is it healthy independence? A chance to reconnect with yourself? Or is something being avoided?

🇵🇹 There's a difference between "I'd love a quiet few days alone in Lisbon" and "I feel spiritually alive only when packing my bags."

✨ The intrigue: Absence can add a bit of allure and mystery back into long-term relationships.

• One therapist described the return from solo travel as bringing back "dating energy," or the feeling of seeing your partner as someone with stories that you weren't there for.

💭 Natalie's thought bubble: I've loved solo travel since the age I was legally allowed to get a passport. It's a passion I've picked up entirely as an adult, since international travel wasn't part of how I grew up. (We went from Philadelphia to Jersey.)

• Before I met my now-husband — with whom I've traveled to Canada, Europe and Asia — I traveled alone to Berlin, Amsterdam and Barcelona, and with a group through seven cities in Mexico. (I still yearn to go back to Mérida in the Yucatán.)
• 🎤 ⚽ This summer, I'll be doing a few solo nights in East London to see Lily Allen on tour. My husband is heading to San Diego, then up to LA to see a World Cup match with his brother.

The bottom line: We have texts, FaceTime and plenty of ways to stay connected while apart. But the surprise gifts and story-swapping on the other side make the trips even more worth taking.

🏖️ A dispatch from Finish Liner John Holtman's annual family gathering at Siesta Key Beach in Sarasota.