Relationships

Don’t Text Your Ex, No Matter What Mercury Retrograde Says

August 1, 2025

If your phone lights up with a “hey stranger” text to start hooking up with your ex the minute Mercury goes retrograde, you’re not imagining things. There’s something about planetary chaos that makes exes crawl out of the woodwork like it’s their invitation to mess with your peace.

On Da Baddest Radio, host Bretman Rock turns a math class analogy into a relationship clinic with co-host Princess. Rock tees up the theme with “Speaking of x, Princess, have you ever found x?” and Princess answers with the kind of boundary that saves sanity: “I don’t ever be going out looking for my exes. Never that, girl. I look ahead. For the next.”

That is the energy you need when Mercury retrograde circles back. The past may knock, but you decide who walks through your door.

Hooking Up With Your Ex? Nah!

Why hooking up with your ex backfires during retrograde

Retrograde scrambles signals and magnifies drama to the point that mixed messages start looking like destiny. Rock keeps the mathematical framework simple with “Parentheses, exponent, multiplication, division, addition, and subtraction. And that is the order you would solve to find x.” The joke lands because the structure works: When you follow the proper order, you get the correct answer.

Apply that to rekindling a relationship with your ex: subtracting bad habits before adding feelings. You don’t owe anyone confusion just because a retrograde text looks shiny on a slow Thursday.

And if the situation spikes your nervous system, that’s data. If an old fling sends your shoulders to your ears, back away from the reboot. There’s a reason these people are in your past, and a few weeks of planetary confusion shouldn’t change the math.

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The retrograde reality check you need

If you need a boundary pep talk, Rock provides one with a wink: Let your non-negotiables be loud, and let the noise stay outside. If an old flame’s sudden reappearance sends your nervous system into overdrive, that’s valuable information. Your body is telling you what your nostalgic brain might be trying to ignore—this person disrupts your peace.

When Princess struggles through a calculation, Rock offers reassurance until the pieces fall into place; it’s the kind of steady support system you need during retrograde. That’s the vibe you want for yourself: self-coaching that keeps you centered and grounded and friends who remind you of your worth when the universe feels chaotic. And when the moment of clarity arrives, reward it.

Princess proves how simple the answer can be when you refuse to complicate it. Keep that “I look ahead, for the next” mantra on loop when a retrograde planet tempts you with nostalgia and a highlight reel of only the good nights.

What to do when the “hey stranger” text arrives

Retrograde will keep serving pop quizzes. Your job is to show your work and remember why you moved on in the first place. Rock models the calm you need when you’re tempted to sprint back to what you outgrew. Amid another problem, they slow the pace, walk through every step, and arrive at the answer without the theatrics. That’s what clarity feels like—quiet, confident, final.

So, when that familiar number resurfaces, treat it like a worksheet you’ve already mastered. Ask the only question that matters: Does this add peace, or does it add problems? If it’s the latter, take Rock’s gentle nudge—“I’m literally feeding you the answer”—and put your phone down. The correct equation doesn’t require contortions.

Mercury retrograde can reopen doors, but you decide whether they lead anywhere worth living. Rock and Princess keep the lesson crisp enough to tape to your mirror. If hooking up with your ex threatens your growth, you already know the solution.