The Empowered Wife Podcast: Marriage Help with Laura Doyle

It's lonely to be married to a workaholic. If he's not at work, he's sleeping or working from home. Or he's too tired from working so much to be much fun. He neglects not just you but also the kids. You feel like a single mom going to get-togethers without him, always for the same old reason: he has to work. If only you could get him to spend more time with the family. Well, you can. On today's episode of The Empowered Wife Podcast we're talking about how to get more couple time with a workaholic. I'll share 4 ways to inspire him to linger and lounge with you. My guest Sandy was so miserable and lonely in her marriage that she would sit in her closet and cry every day. Finally she got her husband to agree to go to marriage counseling! But she was mortified when he blew up at the counselor, saying it wasn't helping them at all. She felt hopeless and worried that he would always be resistant and harsh to her. But today her husband takes her on trips where he treats her like his girlfriend, and he helps around the house like never before. She describes their relationship as life-giving and says it's even more fun than when they were dating. She's going to explain how she did it. The Worst Relationship Advice of the Week is about how boundaries are supposed to work but really don't. At all! Download the FREE Adored Wife Roadmap now and start transforming your relationship today! Click here: lauradoyle.org/roadmap Here's what you'll get: 6 SIMPLE steps to bring back playfulness, passion, and connection to your marriage. The 3 COMMON mistakes wives make when trying to fix things (and how to avoid them!). A clear, actionable plan to create the joyful, loving marriage you deserve. Don't wait—your playful, passionate marriage is just one click away. Get started now: lauradoyle.org/roadmap

On today's episode of The Empowered Wife Podcast we're talking about whether you should fake it. When I say "fake it," of course I'm talking about pretending you respect your husband even if you're not feeling it because he doesn't seem to deserve your respect. Wait, what did you think we were going to talk about? Oh, faking it in the bedroom! Funny you would bring that up while we're talking about respect because respect and passion are so thoroughly intertwined, in my experience. But what if you're struggling to muster respect when your husband has made so many bad choices or is so hostile or is always disappointing you or has hurt you so much? Then what? I'll share how to bring back the capable, considerate guy you married and get to relax more while you're at it. My guest Amber's husband was so full of anger and rage that she and her son lived with a lot of verbal and emotional abuse. Affection and physical intimacy were scarce, but there was plenty of name-calling, yelling and disrespect. She was overwhelmed at the prospect of fixing her marriage. But she took action, which she's going to tell us all about, and today they are happy and constantly telling each other "I love you" and sharing gratitudes. Even the relationship between her husband and son is fun and kind. She's going to describe exactly how she transformed her marriage into something beautiful. The Worst Relationship Advice of the Week is about what to do if you're married to a narcissist, according to one misinformed clinical psychologist. Wait until you hear this uninspiring and unoriginal bit of unwisdom. Download the FREE Adored Wife Roadmap now and start transforming your relationship today! Click here: lauradoyle.org/roadmap Here's what you'll get: 6 SIMPLE steps to bring back playfulness, passion, and connection to your marriage. The 3 COMMON mistakes wives make when trying to fix things (and how to avoid them!). A clear, actionable plan to create the joyful, loving marriage you deserve. Don't wait—your playful, passionate marriage is just one click away. Get started now: lauradoyle.org/roadmap

Can you think of someone you have a difficult time with? Whether it's a family member, colleague, or someone in your circle of friends, who in your life is driving you buggy? If you have someone in mind, good! Because today's episode of The Empowered Wife Podcast is about using the Six Intimacy Skills™ with everybody. You get to be a fly on the wall in our monthly storytelling meeting, which is normally for coaches' ears only. But my coaches were vulnerable enough to let me share this private meeting because it's so empowering we couldn't keep it to ourselves. That's because we're talking about how we use the Intimacy Skills not just with our husbands but with others in our lives too. And how this not only helps us create connection, ease and love everywhere we go but makes us feel more dignified and confident. I'll share true stories of how Certified Laura Doyle Relationship Coaches have used the Intimacy Skills with everyone they want to feel connection and love with (or at least not animosity and tension), including in-laws, parents, children and friends. Download the FREE Adored Wife Roadmap now and start transforming your relationship today! Click here: lauradoyle.org/roadmap Here's what you'll get: 6 SIMPLE steps to bring back playfulness, passion, and connection to your marriage. The 3 COMMON mistakes wives make when trying to fix things (and how to avoid them!). A clear, actionable plan to create the joyful, loving marriage you deserve. Don't wait—your playful, passionate marriage is just one click away. Get started now: lauradoyle.org/roadmap

When you have unpleasant things happening at your house, things that seem embarrassing or shameful, you tend to keep them a secret. At least that was my strategy early on and that of many of my students. We didn't want anyone to know that our marriages were dysfunctional, distant, and falling apart. There aren't many places you can go to share about the painful, scary parts of your marriage without either losing status or feeling judged, both of which feel terrible. Especially if everybody else appears to have a happy family pictured right there on social media--everybody but you. Keeping your marriage shame a secret seems like a smart strategy, but it's also a heavy burden. On today's episode of The Empowered Wife Podcast we're talking about the magic of telling your marriage story. During our free Adored Wife Challenge twice a year, where we all experiment with the 6 Intimacy Skills™ together for five days, I interviewed Master Coach Kathy Murray, who has been practicing the Intimacy Skills and Connection Framework for nearly 20 years. She shares so much wisdom in such an engaging way that I knew I wanted you to hear this interview. Her story was a powerful catalyst for transformation during that Challenge, with so many women hearing themselves as she revealed her own experience. See if you too hear yourself in Master Coach Kathy's story. The Worst Relationship Advice of the Week goes to the third largest newspaper in the U.S. for what I wish were satirical notions of self-love. Download the FREE Adored Wife Roadmap now and start transforming your relationship today! Click here: lauradoyle.org/roadmap Here's what you'll get: 6 SIMPLE steps to bring back playfulness, passion, and connection to your marriage. The 3 COMMON mistakes wives make when trying to fix things (and how to avoid them!). A clear, actionable plan to create the joyful, loving marriage you deserve. Don't wait—your playful, passionate marriage is just one click away. Get started now: lauradoyle.org/roadmap

Let's say you get a diagnosis for your husband. So you finally know What's Wrong with Him. But what if his being passive aggressive or bipolar, exhibiting adolescent syndrome, or having ADD, OCD or NPD is not what keeps you sleeping in separate rooms or has every conversation turn into an argument? Imagine that the real issue were something completely unexpected, like it was in my lonely marriage. Today it's as if my husband never had a deficit disorder, even though he was diagnosed with and medicated for an incurable one years ago. Turns out that treating the illness is not what got me closer to feeling connected and cherished. In my experience, it's something YOU can change that will have his face light up when you come home and have him chasing you into the bedroom. On today's episode of The Empowered Wife Podcast we're talking about how to cope when he's mentally ill. During our free Adored Wife Challenge twice a year, where we all experiment with the 6 Intimacy Skills™ together for five days, I interviewed Virginia, who has had such a powerful transformation in her marriage that I knew I wanted you to hear it. I'm excited that Virginia agreed to let me share with you what she did so you can do the same things to make your marriage thrive. The Worst Relationship Advice of the Week had one of my students sobbing when her marriage counselor prescribed it. No wonder since this exercise only heightens the unpleasantness and hopelessness. Download the FREE Adored Wife Roadmap now and start transforming your relationship today! Click here: lauradoyle.org/roadmap Here's what you'll get: 6 SIMPLE steps to bring back playfulness, passion, and connection to your marriage. The 3 COMMON mistakes wives make when trying to fix things (and how to avoid them!). A clear, actionable plan to create the joyful, loving marriage you deserve. Don't wait—your playful, passionate marriage is just one click away. Get started now: lauradoyle.org/roadmap

Explore how family patterns impact marriages and learn three transformative techniques to break negative cycles. Strategies like emotional honesty and non-judgmental listening can significantly enhance intimacy. The journey through motherhood and postpartum anxiety is shared, revealing the importance of self-care in relationships. Join in on the power of gratitude to shift focus from criticism to appreciation, ultimately fostering growth and stronger bonds between partners.

If you're anything like I was, some fights come up in your relationship more often than a hit song plays on Top 40 radio. You don't want to have the same fight over and over, but it keeps happening. You're just talking about the leftovers from dinner and next thing you know, your mother–who isn't present–is involved, and you're both yelling things you would be embarrassed to repeat. It makes you question whether this relationship is even sustainable because these blow-ups are so draining and painful. And so distracting from the things you were planning to do because the fight keeps replaying in your head. Happily, you don't have to stay stuck in wall-to-wall hostility or a week-long cold war. On today's episode of The Empowered Wife Podcast we're talking about 3 moves to restore peace after a fight. Twice a year we host a free Adored Wife Challenge, where we all experiment with applying the 6 Intimacy Skills™ together every day for five days. As part of our Challenge, I interviewed Alison, who was so inspiring and authentic that I knew I wanted you, dear podcast listener, to hear what she did to make her marriage last. So we asked her permission, and Alison agreed to let me share it with you! She's going to reveal what she did so you can do the same things to make your marriage thrive. The Worst Relationship Advice of the Week is part 2 from an article on how to get your husband to take out the garbage, guaranteed to kill the romance and make you sound like a condescending, nagging kidney stone of a person. Download the FREE Adored Wife Roadmap now and start transforming your relationship today! Click here: lauradoyle.org/roadmap Here's what you'll get: 6 SIMPLE steps to bring back playfulness, passion, and connection to your marriage. The 3 COMMON mistakes wives make when trying to fix things (and how to avoid them!). A clear, actionable plan to create the joyful, loving marriage you deserve. Don't wait—your playful, passionate marriage is just one click away. Get started now: lauradoyle.org/roadmap

Wouldn't it be a wonderful world if marriage came with an easy-to-follow instruction manual? But since it doesn't, most women bumble along trying out relationship advice from the hair salon, well-meaning friends or even strangers at bars. There's a lot of bad relationship advice floating around disguised as "common sense." Maybe that's why so many marriages are falling apart. On today's episode of The Empowered Wife Podcast we're talking about 3 Mistakes Wives Make Trying to Get His Time and Attention. I'll share how to get the consideration you want the way you want it. My guest Darla's marriage felt like a cold war mixed with moments of peace. The lack of intimacy was excruciating, but she didn't know how to break out of it. Then she learned about a secret affair from five years ago, back when she was a new mom. But today she feels like she's in love! The intimacy is great. Her husband flirts with her and says he feels butterflies when he kisses her. She's going to tell us exactly how she did it. The Worst Relationship Advice of the Week is about how to get your husband to take out the garbage, but this advice should be left at the curb on trash day. Download the FREE Adored Wife Roadmap now and start transforming your relationship today! Click here: lauradoyle.org/roadmap Here's what you'll get: 6 SIMPLE steps to bring back playfulness, passion, and connection to your marriage. The 3 COMMON mistakes wives make when trying to fix things (and how to avoid them!). A clear, actionable plan to create the joyful, loving marriage you deserve. Don't wait—your playful, passionate marriage is just one click away. Get started now: lauradoyle.org/roadmap

An affair is a betrayal that hurts like crazy and seems impossible to recover from, both personally and as a couple. It's human to want to make him hurt too, to yell and throw things. As you desperately seek relief from the sharp ache, the doorway marked "End this relationship!" will look like the fastest way to stop the hurt. Unfortunately, the hurt won't die with the end of the relationship. Fortunately, you can absolutely end your suffering and save your marriage. On today's episode of The Empowered Wife Podcast, we're talking about how to get past cheating. I'm going to share 3 specific ways you can recover and make your relationship better than ever. My guest Marybeth had been happy in her marriage for years and never dreamed anything would go wrong. But after a serious car accident and a death in the family, things started to fall apart. Her husband was so angry and detached that she didn't see how her marriage would ever get better. She was terrified. But she decided to do things she had never done before to have the relationship she'd never had before. Today her marriage is full of laughter and love, and she says it's a source of strength and confidence that she has turned it all around. She's going to tell us exactly how she did it so you can do it too. The Worst Relationship Advice of the Week is from a well-known magazine's advice columnist who advises her dear reader what to do about her husband not helping when she asks. Download the FREE Adored Wife Roadmap now and start transforming your relationship today! Click here: lauradoyle.org/roadmap Here's what you'll get: 6 SIMPLE steps to bring back playfulness, passion, and connection to your marriage. The 3 COMMON mistakes wives make when trying to fix things (and how to avoid them!). A clear, actionable plan to create the joyful, loving marriage you deserve. Don't wait—your playful, passionate marriage is just one click away. Get started now: lauradoyle.org/roadmap

Over twenty years ago I was shocked to find out that I could single-handedly make my crumbling marriage thrive using the 6 Intimacy Skills. I felt a strong desire to share this information with other women, the only way that I could get myself to stick to the new practices myself. A lot of women reached out for help, but without a team of coaches or any structure at that time, I got completely overwhelmed. So, I'm not proud to say, I ran away. I'll share why the Intimacy Skills weren't enough for me on today's episode of The Empowered Wife Podcast, where we're talking about 3 Insights from 20 Years of Empowering Happy Wives. My guest Milcah refused to be intimate with her husband, who was cold, critical and so tight with money he would not contribute financially except for rent. She was just waiting for her five kids to grow up so she could file for divorce and get away from him and his parents, who put her down and made fun of her. But today she says she's married to a cute, generous, loving man who brings her flowers and says wonderful, kind things. Same guy! They love to sit in the garden and talk, and she says the change is unreal. She's going to describe the steps she took so you can do the same thing. The Worst Relationship Advice of the Week is from a well-meaning PhD and professor who explains how to know if you're falling out of love. Like you need a quiz to tell you that! But wait until you hear what he says is a very bad sign. This approach guarantees more loneliness. Download the FREE Adored Wife Roadmap now and start transforming your relationship today! Click here: lauradoyle.org/roadmap Here's what you'll get: 6 SIMPLE steps to bring back playfulness, passion, and connection to your marriage. The 3 COMMON mistakes wives make when trying to fix things (and how to avoid them!). A clear, actionable plan to create the joyful, loving marriage you deserve. Don't wait—your playful, passionate marriage is just one click away. Get started now: lauradoyle.org/roadmap