Emotional intimacy is a key part of your having high satisfaction in your marriage. The challenge becomes maintaining this the longer you are together with your partner. There are a number of reasons for this that you will hear in this episode, one of the obvious ones being that each partner feels connection in different ways. 

In this episode you will hear a breakdown of the differences in emotional intimacy for men and women. You will hear 3 different ways that both men and women feel emotionally close so that you can begin to bring more emotional intimacy into your relationship that meet your current needs and preferences. Over time even your partner begins to seem like “just another part of your day” which reduces the potential for connection. You also might think you know what makes your partner feel emotionally close… but you will be surprised to find that idea outdated for what they need in this current season.

Relationship Resources: 

1) The LIMITED EDITION Best of Us 30-Day Couples Challenge, is starting again April 1st, 2025. Over 4000 couples completed this challenge to start this year, many of which felt a real shift even after the first 5 days. We got so many requests for the challenge again, that we are bringing it back for April. But won't be available for another 5-6 months. So do not miss this opportunity to bring back that SPARK 💥

2) After this challenge window closes, take a look at the next available challenges of Prioritize Us or Rebuilding Us. ❣️

Things are going to happen in your life and marriage. When they do, are you on the same team or find that you turn against each other? This is one of the most important ideas when it comes to having a successful marriage. As hard as we try we just can’t avoid conflict or even external situations happening in our lives that we do not like. But the differnece for successful marriages is that they stay on the same team and do not let these stressors amplify an already difficult situation. 

In this episode today you will hear 5 principles for staying on the same team when both small and big things happen in your life together. Remember that whatever situation you find yourselves in is temporary but how you handle it can have a lasting effect on your marriage. When you handle them together you build trust, confidence and your bond; when turn against each other, you make it worse, lose trust, and build resentment.

Relationship Resources ⏬

As mentioned in the episode, get the Family Meeting Guide to help you navigate challenging moments and seasons with the weekly, quarterly, and yearly check-ins to stay on the same team no matter the challenge 👉 https://thecouplesexperience.com/family

Alternatively, you can get the Family Meeting Guide for free as a bonus for starting the Prioritize Us 30-Day Couples Challenge starting in 2 weeks at 👉 https://mycoupleschallenge.com/

Everyone should have the appropriate expectation that things in life won’t always be easy or go your way. This is the same in marriage. Having harder seasons of marriage is a part of the journey a couple needs to accept. Now these harder seasons can come from two places: external circumstances and from poor interactions of your own making! 

In this episode you will hear about the 3 changes that need to be made to better handle these hard seasons. The situation will be different based on whether it is an external circumstance out of your control or whether it is from a series of poor patterns that have formed between you. In both cases, making these 3 changes will allow you to handle the season with more togetherness and come out of it stronger.

Relationship Resources:

➡️ Level 1: “Prioritizing Us” is focused on strengthening your connection, communication, and fun “Love Deposit” ideas. LINKED HERE

➡️ Level 2: “Rebuilding Us” is focused on repairing and rebuilding after a harder season of marriage. LINKED HERE

🥇 Also if you have not watched the Couple Things interview with Shawn Johnson & Andrew East, make sure tune into this great interview about Navigating Happy and Hard Seasons of Marriage on YouTube. 

Set aside all the things you DO in your marriage and answer this question. Is your heart more open or closed to your partner? It is easy to get stuck in all of the tasks and responsibilities within a marriage and even think that getting these done is the main goal. But what is your experience like most of the time? You can get all your tasks done, but have a heart that is closed off to your partner and you experience disconnection, distance, unappreciation, or even resentment. 

The true goal in a marriage is to have an open heart because this is when you experience love, connection, joy, understanding, happiness, and fulfillment. In this episode you will explore this idea of living more with an open heart and get 5 steps to take to keep from closing your heart off to your partner. In the end, we are here to “adult” and get done what we need to, but it will really only add to your marriage satisfaction if you complete these tasks while staying open to each other. 

Relationship Resources:

Join the 30 Day Couples Challenge that is the best fit for keeping your heart open:

➡️ Level 1: “Prioritizing Us” is focused on strengthening your connection, communication, and fun “Love Deposit” ideas. LINKED HERE

➡️ Level 2: “Rebuilding Us” is focused on repairing and rebuilding after a harder season of marriage. LINKED HERE

🌟 For all the other resources, including the guides and webclasses: https://www.meetthefreemans.com/links

Last week was our LIVE Marriage Webclass on effective communication, de-escalating conflicts, and repairing after an argument. If you missed registering for that FREE event, you can still access the replay link here. There was so much that we covered that we did not have time to answer any of the questions pertaining to the Before, During, and After skills that we taught. 

So on today’s episode we will cover the 3 most common questions we received at the end of the class, so that everyone that was on can get those answers. If you did not watch, you can use the link to still watch, even if you did not, these are very common questions that will be very meaningful for you to hear. These answers will be very practical so that you can use them in your own life immediately. These are the questions you will hear answers to: 

✅ What can I do? How do I handle when my partner is defensive/not receptive despite the timing of the conversation. 

✅ How do you communicate when expressed needs go unmet? What to do if/when agreements are broken?

✅ What do we do when our partner usually doesn't allow us to take a timeout from a conflict?

Relationship Resources: 

➡️ As you listen, make sure you watch the REPLAY of our Live + Free Marriage WebClass. We only host this ONCE a year, and this link will only be available for one more week. 

➡️ Find the links to all the guides and 30-day challenges with our resources page here. https://www.meetthefreemans.com/links

When you are not having the same type of conversation it is very easy to misunderstand each other. When there is misunderstanding it is easier to get frustrated and have the conversation escalate into a conflict. It is important to know which type of conversation you are having, a logical or emotional one, so that this doesn’t happen. 

As much as any one of us thinks we are logically minded people, there is still an underlying emotional need such as respect, understanding, love, partnership ect. This is definitely the case whenever there is some tension or upset. In those moments you have to realize that to be effective in your communication with each other, emotions come before logic. This statement can bring up a few questions so dive into this episode to undercover how to better identify when an emotional conversation is needed versus when you can stick to the logical details of a conversation. 

Relationship Resources:

➡️ As you listen, make sure you register for our Live + Free Marriage WebClass coming up February 19th, 2025. We only host this ONCE a year, so don’t miss it!

➡️ Find the links to all the guides and 30-day challenges with our resources page here. https://www.meetthefreemans.com/links

Raising one’s emotional intelligence (EQ) is a critical factor in the long term satisfaction and maturity within a marriage. Without this, the depth of a couple’s connection will be limited and small emotional disruptions will turn into bigger conflicts (and likely never address the root cause). This is a term you have likely heard of before in terms of marriage and other important relationships in your life. But it can often be too abstract and conceptual to be put into practice. 

In today’s episode you will hear 5 skills that build EQ. You will get a clear definition of each of these skills as well as the practical action to take to strengthen that muscle. These 5 skills do build on themselves and can be seen as sequential. So as you work on each of these, be sure you are completing each step before moving to the next. By listening to this episode you will have a clear understanding of how to raise your EQ and the benefit it will be for your relationship.

Relationship Resources:

➡️ As you listen, make sure you register for our Live + Free Marriage WebClass coming up February 19th, 2025. We only host this ONCE a year, so don’t miss it!

➡️ Find the links to all the guides and 30-day challenges with our resources page here. https://www.meetthefreemans.com/links

As fellow parents, we share in that deep responsibility you feel to equip your kids with healthy relationship skills—and conflict is a huge part of that!

How you and your partner handle disagreements doesn’t just impact your marriage; it actively shapes how your kids will navigate conflict in their own future relationships.

In this episode, we’ll break down four key aspects of conflict that your kids need to witness—and how small shifts can make a lasting impact.

➡️ As you listen, make sure you register for our Live + Free Marriage WebClass coming up in February. We only host this ONCE a year, so don’t miss it 🌟

For video content follow on IG: @meet_the freemans

You are likely aware that conflicts are going to happen, they shouldn’t be avoided, but accepted that they will happen. But how you handle the conflict determines whether it can be connecting and clarifying or it escalates and causes hurt. What really causes it to escalate is when you each are triggered and you let that trigger cause you to just react. 

In this episode today you will hear how you can better recognize emotional triggers, which has to be the first step, and then how you can de-escalate before a bigger conflict arises. A key takeaway is that you need to recognize your own triggered events and reaction patterns, but as a partner, how to recognize these in your partner as well.

You will then hear the 2 responsibilities you each have, followed by practical steps to de-escalate as you practice these things. This is the true work to be done in marriage, your marital satisfaction depends on your ability to recognize triggers and keep yourself from reacting in more hurtful ways.

Relationship Resources:

DO NOT MISS the once per year LIVE Marriage Webclass with The Freemans. The date is set for Feb 19th, 2025. This will be a virtual, 1 hour weblcass to communicate more effectively, de-escalate conflicts, and repair from conflicts fully. The class is FREE, but will be limited to 1000 attendees live. There will be a recoding as well, but you will need to register to have it sent to you. We will see you there! Register here: https://onlinecouplesworkshops.com/

After the date passes, you will be able to find the recording and all the other guides and challenges with this link: https://www.meetthefreemans.com/links

Follow us on Instagram @meet_thefreemans

When you have a marriage conflict there are a few options you have as a partner. You can react or you can suppress it. Neither of these are good options. Your two good options are to repair or have a more simple debrief conversation. 

In this episode you will hear the simple steps to take to have a debrief conversation. You will hear the difference between when a repair conversation is needed and when you just need this type of debrief conversation. By implementing these steps you can avoid lengthy conversations and get back on the same page faster with the productive steps to be on the same team to move forward.

Relationship Resources From Epsiode:

DE-ESCALATE CONFLICTS GUIDE: A realistic guide to managing your emotions and keeping simple conversations from escalating into overblown fights. It’s the De-escalating Conflicts & Regulating Emotions Guide and it’s only $19.

REPAIR CONFLICTS GUIDE: A step-by-step guide to repairing after an argument; to ensure it’s resolved for good and get back to being truly connected as a couple. It’s the Making Up & Moving Forward Guide and it’s only $19.