ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — According to a recent U.S. Census Bureau report, Albuquerque has the highest divorce rate in the country.

The report finds that 15.1% of adults are currently divorced.

Kelcie Jimenez is a local therapist. She says people in Albuquerque face a lot of trauma, which can transfer to our relationships.

“We all bring some type of baggage if you want to call it, right, to relationships. So I think if we haven’t done our own healing ourselves, then when we come into a partnership, basically all of those patterns are that trauma just kind of follows us,” Jimenez said.

Dating now is very different compared to decades ago. In this online dating generation, you don’t even have to leave your chair to find hundreds of potential partners at your fingertips on countless apps.

That is not necessarily a good thing.

“We kind of are looking at people more superficially, rather than like getting to know them in like a deeper way,” Jimenez said.

A relatively new type of courtship has entered the chat – going from couple to throuple.

Polyamory is the practice of choosing to have multiple partners. Go online and you’ll find Facebook pages like, “Are We Dating the Same Guy? New Mexico” and “New Mexico Polyamory.”

Jimenez says it’s a huge gray area that not a lot of people know how to navigate.

“I would say, if that works for you, communicate that. I think with that, there’s probably a lot of jealousy that comes up, I’m guessing, you know, there are probably issues you still have to work through even more than maybe other relationships,” she said.

Regardless, Jimenez says communication is key.

“If we can say things like, ‘I feel this way when that happens,’ we take more responsibility for our emotions that way. And it kind of creates a little bit more of an environment where our partners maybe aren’t so defensive,” she said.

Jimenez says relationships are hard work. When you do it right, this Valentine’s Day could mean the difference between cuffing season and uncuffing season.

“I’m very traditional. I date very traditionally. So like, I date to marry and I want to marry one person,” she said.

Couples can also study the Five Love Languages, like Acts of Service, Words of Affirmation and Physical Touch, to help their relationship. Click here to read more about that.