Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from a story that appears in the 2025 issue of PLAYBOY Magazine.

Q: I’ve been married for six years, and I love my husband. But I want to try ethical non-monogamy. How do I get my reluctant husband to agree?

JB Smoove: Sometimes the best way to learn how to swim is just to dive in—or, in your husband’s case, to get pushed. Now, metaphorically speaking, you clearly wanna swim. My advice (metaphorically, of course) is: Take your husband to a pool party. Nothing is more damn enjoyable to watch than some free-spirited-ass people frolicking. Hop in, then ask your reluctant hubby to bring you a drink. Ask him to hand it to you. Get him to come right to the edge—trust me, he won’t get close if he’s not comfortable. And when he reaches to hand it to you, pull his ass in! He’ll thank you in the end.

Q: The great thing about your character Leon Black — the best part of Curb Your Enthusiasm —is that he always tells women exactly what he wants. Can I be that direct without offending?

JB Smoove: Leon is all about speaking his truth! He may seem offensive, but that isn’t his intention. He’s not about the bullshit, and people read that right away. He tells you exactly what the daily special is, details and all, and you either want it or you don’t. And like in baseball, Leon is about getting in his at bats. He knows the more times he steps to the plate with his bat in his pants, the more chances he has of sliding across home plate.

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Q: When I watch porn, I like it when the women talk dirty. I’d love for my girlfriend to try that, but that’s just not her style. What can she do to get wild?

JB Smoove: A: I’m guessing you’re watching porn by yourself. That’s your first mistake. You need to watch it together. Your second mistake is: You’re trying to be yourself! If you want a filthy-mouthed partner, tell her to leave that tame shit outside the door. To really get that household cracking, you have to be two different people. Recast one of the pornos you’re watching, your go-to, the one with your favorite filthy-mouthed actress. You and your partner take the lead roles and match it frame by frame. Call it porn movie night. To get shit popping, make some popcorn — pun intended — with plenty of butter. Shit’s about to get slippery. You see, it’s all designed to help her lose her inhibitions. Don’t forget, though, as she loses her inhibitions, you also need to relax your expectations. Rome wasn’t built in a night. Most importantly, don’t forget to turn that shit off before you go to bed. The last thing you want to do is create a dirtier mouth than you want…be careful what you ask for.

Q: What are Leon Black’s three major rules for a successful first date? And what are JB’s?

JB Smoove: For Leon, the No. 1 is: Location. On a first date he never wants random ladies to see where Larry lives…for obvious reasons. No. 2: Check your back. This is extremely important in order to avoid the possibility of the whole date being a setup orchestrated by an ex or a jealous boyfriend. Leon’s been through that too many damn times. No. 3: Never pay for your date…unless it’s a good one. Which means sometimes ya gotta dip.

For JB, the first rule is Look Good. Show up to the simplest place fashionably overdressed. All eyes on you. Second, Be You. I’m carrying no negative energy, only a single red rose. Third, Shut the Fuck Up. Listen more than you speak.

My bonus rule: Show Up With a Full Tank. Never have to stop to get gas on a date. Fill ’er up early, dumbass.

Q: What do you make of the “tradwife” trend and what this whole movement does to gender equality?

JB Smoove: Now, I had to look this one up. Listen, what works for you and your partner is all that’s important. Who’s the breadwinner? Who’s the homemaker? Who cares? I grew up with those roles being so defined, and then I watched a renaissance as things shifted. And now the tradwife movement is here and it’s shifting back? The thing with trends is they change with the time. But just like decorating your house, sometimes the best motifs include elements from different time periods. It’s all about balance—you need that feng shui.

Q: I’m a 43-year-old guy with a toddler, and my wonderful wife gives everything to pacify our little bundle of joyful terror. How do I make her feel seen for all her efforts?

JB Smoove: You better be celebrating that damn queen! There’s no more noble thing that anyone can do than raise a child. And even when couples say they’re co-parenting, there’s always one parent with the lion’s share of the responsibility. Find a way to help out. Chip away at that toddler’s reliance on his mom. It’s delicate, though. You don’t want to blur the roles for that. Kids are observant sponges and can be real smart-asses. They’ll manipulate shit. The last thing you wanna do is create a good cop, bad cop situation with that kid playing back and forth between the two of you. As for your lady, though, here’s what you do: You love her, hug her, celebrate her, give her breaks each and every day. Let her know that watching the grace in which she goes about her tasks makes her even more attractive to you. You remind her that she has two titties…I’m just saying.

Q: I want to be a hat guy. What are your tips for pulling it off?

JB Smoove: First of all, not every head is a hat head, so be ready to be honest with yourself. Take people you trust hat shopping with you and encourage them to be brutally frank. If they tell you that you look like a fucking idiot, take it to heart. But you also need confidence, as if that hat has to choose you. Once you and your hat have selected each other, you wear that damn hat everywhere—to dinner, to sleep, on walks, on a hike. You are trying to cultivate a relationship with it. That is your hat for all seasons. You want people to say, “Hey, here comes that hat guy!” See that when you and your hat have established a persona, you are inseparable.

Read the rest in PLAYBOY’s newest issue, now on sale online and at Barnes & Noble.