ExcommuniDate: Life & Love After Religion

In this year-end recap episode, hosts Austin, Jessa, and producer Miguel pull back the curtain on their first year of podcasting. They share technical disasters (internet outages, mic mishaps, Rubik's cube fidgeting), administrative fails (the "draft" title incident), and lessons learned about audience engagement. Topics include: controversial TikTok comments about Snapchat culture, the importance of guest vetting (enter the "Laz test"), surprising insights from reality TV coverage, and why Mormon Wives content keeps going viral. Expect honest reflections, behind-the-scenes humor, and a look at 2026 plans including YouTube expansion, more reality TV breakdowns, and listener-requested topics. If you're curious about podcasting logistics, love meta conversations about content creation, or have been with the show since day one, this retrospective is for you. Tell us: what do you want to hear in 2026?

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Jack Violently joins Jessa, Austin, and Miguel to share his story of growing up evangelical, slowly losing faith, and figuring out who he is without religion’s script. He opens up about church trauma, purity culture, the fear of questioning doctrine, and the strange freedom that comes after belief collapses. With humor and honesty, they talk about identity, morality outside religion, friendship after deconstruction, and why humor can be a survival tool when everything you believed falls apart. This episode blends vulnerability, storytelling, and sarcasm in classic ExcommuniDate fashion.

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In this play-along episode, we put modern dating under a microscope. Hosts Austin, Jessa, and guest Laz share their biggest dating gripes, then score them as icks or red flags from 1 to 5. Topics include: baby-talk sign-offs ("bye-bye now"), the "females" label, texting vs. IRL tone, food etiquette (string cheese, wings, sharing plates), tipping culture, flag-waving patriot games, and barefoot TSA lines. Expect humor, honest takes, and practical cues for better communication, boundaries, and self-awareness. If you're navigating relationships, deconstructing social norms, or love spicy debates about psychology, language, identity, and airport hygiene, this one's for you. Play along and tell us: ick or red flag?

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What happens when you're raised to believe the world is always ending? Violinist Amber Dobbs unpacks her childhood in The Message, a Pentecostal cult led by prophet William Branham. From apocalyptic fear to shame-based control, Amber shares how she escaped the Branhamites and began deconstructing her faith. Learn to identify brainwashing tactics, understand high control religions, and hear Amber's empowering message of self-validation. Essential listening for anyone navigating religious trauma or deconstruction.

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What happens when the faith you’ve built your life around becomes the very thing that breaks it apart? In this episode, Jessa and Austin sit down with Rip and Steph Graven to explore their journey from leading ministry to walking away from the church they were asked to help create in the Bay Area.

Rip and Steph open up about the heartbreak of spiritual disillusionment, the strain it placed on their marriage and community, and what it means to lose your faith in public. From late-night doubts to watching their church unravel, they share the raw, often untold side of deconstruction: the grief, the guilt, and the quiet courage it takes to start over.

Ultimately, their story is one of resilience and rediscovery. Leaving organized religion made space for something unexpected: creativity, honesty, and a new sense of purpose that didn’t require permission to exist.

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The MomTok divide crystallizes when Jen and Zach uninvite Jesse, Demi, Layla, and Taylor from their baby blessing, separating the "good Mormons" from everyone else. Whitney's poor taste fruity pebbles gift to Demi at Galentine's Day only deepens the rift. From hot-tub tension to Galentine's shade, Austin and Jessalynn dissect the friendship politics, calling out emotional maturity gaps, judgment around sexuality, and how beauty standards collide with religious rules. We examine Utah soda culture vs. alcohol, class signals, the "uninvite," and why code switching shows up so often in tight-knit faith communities. We close with the baby blessing ceremony and its implications for gender and belonging. A recap of Hulu's Secret Lives of Mormon Wives (SLOMW) Season 1 Episode 3. 

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Love is Blind's Amber Wilder opens up about her journey from homeschool and high-control Southern Baptist upbringing to religious deconstruction and finding love after leaving faith. We trace her path through purity culture, patriarchy, early marriages, and the quarter-life crisis that led to therapy and a complete life reset. Amber shares raw insights about religious trauma, family boundaries, spiritual but not religious beliefs, and breaking free from the 'church umbrella.' Plus: why she got off dating apps and what it means to be truly seen beyond the Love is Blind experience. 

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Who is Miguel? We finally sit down with the man behind the chair. Miguel shares his story of growing up in a deeply religious Protestant household in Puerto Rico, the betrayal that shattered his trust, and the slow, sometimes painful process of deconstructing his faith. We talk about cultural shock in the Midwest, finding family through friendships, navigating dating with a religious past, and keeping a strong bond with his devout mother despite their different beliefs. Honest, funny, and heartfelt, Miguel’s journey is a reminder that resilience, community, and kindness matter more than dogma.

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What happens when church rules and family expectations squeeze too tight? You either suffocate—or break free. 

In this episode, Austin Schoen (aka the cooler, younger Austin, now with Bluetooth) shares his story of leaving the Southern Baptist church and navigating life after faith. From purity culture shame to cognitive dissonance, family fallout, and therapy breakthroughs, Austin opens up about the challenges of religious guilt and the healing power of unconditional love. With the support of his wife Bianca, he found stability, emotional growth, and a new identity beyond religion.

If you’ve ever wrestled with faith deconstruction, evangelical upbringing, exvangelical identity, or recovering from religion, this episode will hit home.

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Drama, guilt, and vibrators… oh my! In this Secret Lives of Mormon Wives Episode 2 recap, Jessa and Austin spill the Utah tea on Taylor’s post-arrest pregnancy, toxic relationships, and a brewing alpha female feud with Whitney. We break down the MomTok branding battles, the vibrator deal that shook the group, and how Mormon culture fuels sexual shame and relationship guilt. From Book of Mormon purity rules to messy baby showers, we unpack the family drama, cultural double standards, and reality TV chaos you will not see in the promo clips. A recap of Hulu's Secret Lives of Mormon Wives (SLOMW) Season 1 Episode 2. 

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