Previous research demonstrates that when individuals observe conversations, their evaluation of what constitutes appropriate and empathetic gaze behavior for the listener varies with emotional context. For instance, stable direct gaze is preferred for neutral discussions, while occasional downward gaze shifts are seen as more adequate during emotionally negative topics. However, it remains unclear whether listeners naturally adopt these ‘optimal’ context-dependent gaze patterns when they are active interaction partners rather than external observers. In our study, we used a dual mobile eye-tracking setup to examine spontaneous gaze behavior during dyadic conversations. Participant pairs alternated between recounting short biographical episodes of varying emotional valence (neutral, negative, positive, embarrassing) and listening to their partner. Eye-tracking data were analyzed to assess context-dependent differences in the proportion of time spent fixating on the interaction partner’s face and gaze shifts away from the face. While replicating general expected patterns, such as more direct gaze during listening than during talking, gaze behavior remained largely stable across emotional contexts, with consistently high levels of listener direct gaze regardless of topic. We discuss this overall stability, smaller context-specific variations, as well as potential reasons for the discrepancies compared to previous paradigms where participants rated interactions as observers.