Complacency is that feeling of low energy and lack of engagement in a relationship. Do you or your partner ever have that sense in your marriage? This one will be a bit of a "gut check" for how you've been showing up for each other. Complacency can lead to feeling like "roommates" or just a general lack of aliveness and joy within the relationship. If complacency becomes the norm in your relationship, it can degrade your happiness. But realizing this is happening is what allows you to improve it...
Mar 30, 2021•34 min•Ep. 145
We're sure you've had moments that you are not communicating well with your partner. All of us have then thought to ourselves, "why can't you communicate like I do"! But communication is not one-size-fits-all and you might have a different "Communication Personality Type" than your partner. [Side note- if you haven't taken the Quiz to find out your partner's "Communication Personality Type," take that FREE QUIZ HERE ] By knowing your partner's type, you will better understand how they communicat...
Mar 23, 2021•25 min•Ep. 144
We're sure you've had moments that you are not communicating well with your partner. All of us have then thought to ourselves, "why can't you communicate like I do"! But communication is not one-size-fits-all and you might have a different "Communication Personality Type" than your partner. [Side note- if you haven't taken the Quiz to find out your partner's "Communication Personality Type," take that FREE QUIZ HERE ] By knowing your partner's type, you will better understand how they communicat...
Mar 23, 2021•25 min•Ep. 143
We're sure you've had moments that you are not communicating well with your partner. All of us have then thought to ourselves, "why can't you communicate like I do"! But communication is not one-size-fits-all and you might have a different "Communication Personality Type" than your partner. [Side note- if you haven't taken the Quiz to find out your partner's "Communication Personality Type," take that FREE QUIZ HERE ] By knowing your partner's type, you will better understand how they communicat...
Mar 22, 2021•24 min•Ep. 142
We're sure you've had moments that you are not communicating well with your partner. All of us have then thought to ourselves, "why can't you communicate like I do"! But communication is not one-size-fits-all and you might have a different "Communication Personality Type" than your partner. Side note: if you haven't taken the Quiz to find out your partner's "Communication Personality Type," take that FREE QUIZ HERE By knowing your partner's type, you will better understand how they communicate a...
Mar 22, 2021•27 min•Ep. 141
The Argument Hangover book was released this week! Do you think you could write a book with your partner, what would that even take? Well let's dive into the behind the scenes of how we wrote this book together, where the ideas came from, who wrote each chapter, and any challenges that came up! The intention is to have some fun hearing about how this process went and some interesting things that you would otherwise never hear about. All for the bigger purpose of having you ... (well you will hav...
Mar 18, 2021•29 min•Ep. 140
Challenges arise in every relationship and this is not something you have to try and change. It's about whether you approach the challenges as a team or against each other. To have the best shot at staying on the same team, you need to be prepared before they show up. Then you will respond rather than react to them. Today's podcast goes into 5 Root Causes of Most Relationship Challenges. Of course there are others, but these are some of the most common ones we see. By knowing these 5 challenges,...
Mar 16, 2021•40 min•Ep. 139
Toilet paper, the cost of rice, who changes the water dispenser more. These are just a few of the submissions we received from you all on IG about: the silliest things that have caused arguments. This will be an episode that you just chuckle and realize that we're all human in relationships. We all have those moments where we're fighting like it matters to us a lot, but isn't life altering in hindsight. As you listen to the episode, make sure you order The Argument Hangover book! It's shipping t...
Mar 11, 2021•10 min•Ep. 138
How good are you at managing your emotions as an argument begins? Do you recognize the emotion that you're feeling, but still choose your words and actions consciously? Or do you find that your emotions (anger, sadness, etc) drive your words and actions that lead to disagreements escalating to the point of hurting your partner and the relationship? The thing is, it's absolutely OKAY whatever emotion you're feeling. The goal isn't to get to a place where NO emotion comes up for you in argument (t...
Mar 09, 2021•28 min•Ep. 137
Life is on your side, even if you don't always feel that way! We wanted to take 10 minutes to share the crazy, unexpected, miraculous story about how we got this book deal. Why? Because it provided a life lesson that we think will inspire you in any season. P.S. Did you order your copy of The Argument Hangover yet? It's shipping in just a few days, and you can claim $200 of bonus resources HERE About Us: We're The Freemans, your go-to couple for authentic and actionable relationship advice. Send...
Mar 04, 2021•12 min•Ep. 136
You got into your relationship for one big reason… LOVE. More specifically to have the experience of being loved unconditionally by your partner. Yet this doesn't always happen right? Especially for men to show up as, and express, unconditional love. Now does this mean something is wrong? No not at all. BUT it is a sign that one of 3 major needs of men are not being met. This is not to put pressure on you, the partner of a man, because often men do not even realize, let alone vocalize, any of th...
Mar 02, 2021•38 min•Ep. 135
When your partner seems off somehow, do you ask them, "what's wrong?" I know your desire is that they express themselves, but asking this question can only make them shut down more. Odd, right? So in today's quick episode, I'll chat with you about: Why asking "what's wrong" has the opposite effect on your partner What to ask them instead if they seem "off" And what to do if they keep saying "I'm fine," but you feel like they're really not Also, make sure to CLAIM YOUR BONUSES for pre-ordering Th...
Feb 25, 2021•10 min•Ep. 134
Being able to fully express yourself is one of the most important aspects of being in a relationship. This is what allows you to be known by and connected with your partner! This is what leads to a healthy and loving relationship. However there is one thing to this, that could have you be dependent on them for. It will also lead to diminishing your own ability to self-sooth and self-regulate your emotions. On the other hand, by not relying on your partner for this one thing, you will feel more f...
Feb 23, 2021•28 min•Ep. 133
The Couples Workshop is coming up on February 21st, 2021. Save your seats before it passes. To get a bonus copy of The Argument Hangover with it, enter this code when you check out: podcast2021 Your relationship is meant to be about experiencing love and connection. As time passes, there is a subtle and sneaky thing that arises that blocks you from feeling connected to your partner. This is a short "check yo' self" motivational episode so that you can be aware of this one thing that is sure to c...
Feb 18, 2021•9 min•Ep. 132
Healthy relationships consist of both time together and time apart. Which of course can feel much harder (and even more necessary) right now. Perhaps you've been needing some "alone time," but haven't expressed it to your partner. Or, you've mentioned it before, but no action was put in place so it's a point of tension between you two now. In today's episode, we'll discuss: Signs that alone time would be helpful for your relationship How much alone time is healthy How to bring it up to your part...
Feb 16, 2021•33 min•Ep. 131
Don't get discouraged if your partner isn't taking as much initiative. Or if you're still running into challenges, even though you're really trying to 'work on things'. This episode will give you the dose of perspective and the encouragement you need to keep staying on track in your relationship. Real quick, did you check out the 5 Day Couples Challenge that's starting February 15th ? We don't want you to miss out on this time to be more intentional in your partnership, overcome communication pi...
Feb 11, 2021•21 min•Ep. 130
"You are being too sensitive, just get over it, that's not what happened."... Have you caught yourself or your partner saying things like that to each other? While you might say these from a seemingly innocent place, they do NOT lead to your partner feeling good, connected, or even validated. In this episode you will get: 6 phrases to never say to your partner The negative impact they can have (especially if said repeatedly over time) 5 phrases to say instead, that respect & honor each other...
Feb 09, 2021•31 min•Ep. 129
You have heard it said that your past is in the past, or some version of don't cry over spilled milk. So of course that means there is nothing you can do about it right? What if we told you that your past is not fixed? What if you could actually change your past? In relationships, it is the things that happen in the past (what your partner said or did) that we find hard to let go of. These keep you feeling disconnected, angry, or disappointed. This of course does not lead to more love, connectio...
Feb 04, 2021•21 min•Ep. 128
Small things in your relationship can be what build up and cause you to feel disconnected or upset with your partner. Of course when this happens there isn't room for the love, connection, and happiness that you desire to experience. It could be things you say to yourself like: "Ugh, if they'd only pick up their socks, if only they'd stop being on their phone at night, if only they would eat healthier with me." Though it might seem that these little things are the way they are and you wish your ...
Feb 02, 2021•26 min•Ep. 127
Our happiness and motivation can't be reliant on outside circumstances. Yes, times are crazy. But we have the ability to shift our focus and mood by our daily and weekly habits. In this episode with Jocelyn, you'll hear: A story she's barely ever told about breaking her back and spiraling down to depression Our daily and weekly habits we've been doing for years How these will lead you to taking control of your mood and how you show up for yourself and your partner Resources For Your Relationship...
Jan 28, 2021•18 min•Ep. 126
Communication is not "one size fits all" and your partner might never communicate EXACTLY like you do. So you can stop trying to get them too! You can either fight against it when you get frustrated or you learn to flow with it for even more effective and connecting ways of communicating (no matter what circumstances or emotions come up). But guess what...your communication can significantly improve as you understand the "4 Communication Personality Types" and by determining which type represent...
Jan 26, 2021•29 min•Ep. 125
Can this be true, do you really feel discouragement or difficulty in life and within your relationship? Absolutely. If you have listened to this podcast before, you know that the point is not to avoid these types of feelings or even talking about them with your partner. But it can feel difficult to shift out of this state even as an individual. Plus there are a lot of outside factors that contribute to life feeling hard. So is the goal to try and wait it out and hope that things get better? NO! ...
Jan 21, 2021•10 min•Ep. 124
When your partner gets triggered, what do you do?... #1: Do you react back, get defensive, and it triggers an argument? #2: Or do you lovingly hold space and help them process what came up for them? Don't feel guilty if you fell into the first category, as that is where most people fall into. We weren't taught how to recognize and SUPPORT someone while they're triggered, especially in a romantic relationship. And instead of it bringing healing, they often create arguments and emotional distance....
Jan 19, 2021•31 min•Ep. 123
I'm an assertive woman and Aaron tends to be more reserved. This used to lead to him feeling dominated or overpowered when communicating, even about seemingly simple matters. In this episode, I share simple but massively helpful shifts I made to still be myself (assertive), but to better work with his Communication Personality Type….a framework we breakdown in our new book, The Argument Hangover. Did you claim your $200 of pre-order bonuses, including 2 communication and conflict trainings and a...
Jan 14, 2021•18 min•Ep. 122
When you bring up a challenging/hard conversation, does it tend to trigger defensiveness and lead to an unintended argument ? You could have every intention of just trying to share how you feel and get to a positive solution, and STILL have it lead to a massive misunderstanding. You're not alone if this tends to happen in your relationship. In this episode, you'll hear: Ways to initiate the challenging topic so that it doesn't spark into an argument How to handle times your partner gets defensiv...
Jan 12, 2021•33 min•Ep. 121
Is there any place in your relationship that you shutdown and isolate from your partner by saying nothing or getting away from them? Are you even on the other side of things where you lash out at your partner to get them off your back? In either case this is probably because you are not "good with emotions". Which is not something to feel bad about because not many of us start out with the ability to even identify exactly what we are feeling to even be able to articulate it. This episode is all ...
Jan 07, 2021•20 min•Ep. 120
Love is kind of the point of a relationship right? We know that you felt a lot of love for your partner early in your relationship and now that love probably feels different or maybe less. As you progress through your relationship your feeling of love will be different as you have more trust and comfort with each other. Maybe some of the challenges in your relationship have led you to a place of currently not feeling as much love. So how do you keep love not only alive but growing? You should no...
Jan 05, 2021•34 min•Ep. 119
Let's be honest, we all have said to our partners one of these statements: "that's not what I said, that's not what actually happened, what you are saying doesn't make sense". Especially for those partners (like Aaron) that are logical left brained people. As soon as this happens the predictable next sequence will be an argument or conflict, or at least not feeling like your partner is on your side. Though this can feel like one of those areas where you and your partner are just different (male ...
Dec 29, 2020•28 min•Ep. 118
Whether you can't wait to end this year or you are just excited to keep the momentum you have going, this is the episode for you. The end of the year just so happens to be a "made up" time that you can truly reset and refocus. For some you don't want the next year to be like this past year. For others, you realize you just want to experience life and your relationship newly. Either way it comes down to a lot more than just setting new goals like most everyone talks about at the end of each year....
Dec 22, 2020•31 min•Ep. 117
You aren't alone if you've dealt with body image challenges. In this episode, I share the vulnerable truth about my relationship to my body growing up, and specifically how it negatively impacted my romantic relationships. You will hear the 6 things I did to start loving myself (inside and out) so that I could show up as an authentically confident partner. Feel free to steal any one of them for yourself so you can show up more confident in your own relationship. Resources For You: After you list...
Dec 17, 2020•20 min•Ep. 116
