A licensed therapist on the real reason couples drift — and what to do about it
What if the disconnection you feel in your marriage isn't really a communication problem — but an intimacy problem? That's the reframe Dr. Genee Francis brought to this conversation, and it's one every couple needs to hear. Genee is a licensed therapist, holds a doctorate, and serves as Assistant Director of Content and Programming for Winshape Marriage. She's been married 18 years and has walked her own marriage through grief, legal battles, health crises, and the slow work of building real community — and she shares all of it here.
Dr. Genee Francis is a licensed therapist and the Assistant Director of Content and Programming for Winshape Marriage, a ministry of the Winshape Foundation. She has been working with couples, individuals, and families since 2008 and holds a doctorate degree completed during her marriage while raising two boys. Married 18 years to her husband Rashad, the two also lead their own marriage events and retreats to create community for couples in their area.
3:32 — A grandmother's words that stuck — A seed that shaped an entire career in counseling
5:28 — Growing up between two pictures of marriage — With divorced parents and grandparents married over 70 years, Genee developed a deep curiosity about what makes marriages survive — and it never left her
7:59 — Covenant as the deciding factor — Why the marriages that make it aren't the ones with fewer problems, but the ones committed first to God and then to doing the work together
11:02 — Navigating grief, legal battles, and a new baby at the same time — Within their first five years, Genee and Rashad walked through her father-in-law's terminal illness, a two-year estate battle, and the birth of their first child — and what carried them through
16:30 — Prayer as a window into your spouse — When her husband couldn't find words for his grief, their shared prayer life gave Genee eyes into what he was actually feeling and thinking
19:01 — A second unexpected crisis — After two pregnancies, Genee learned she needed a full hip replacement — a blindside for someone who had jogged five days a week for her entire adult life
22:10 — Nine years of couples' Bible study — Why being embedded in a community of couples for nearly a decade was one of the most formative things for their marriage, and what they lost when they relocated
28:27 — Why infertility is a rising theme — One of the most common struggles Genee sees at Winshape retreats, and what she believes is driving it
38:03 — It's not a communication problem — it's an intimacy problem — The reframe Genee offers couples who say they "can't talk": spiritual, emotional, and recreational intimacy are all lacking, and naming that honestly is the first step forward
40:42 — The power of naming things out loud — Why confession — saying "I feel disconnected from you" — is the most underused first step couples have available to them
43:25 — What actually feeds your marriage in community — Why Genee stayed committed to a Bible study that wasn't always speaking directly to her, and what it gave her husband that came back into their marriage
46:05 — A reason for hope — Divorce rates are slowly declining, and marriage is trending — what Genee sees as genuinely encouraging about where couples are headed
Resources from This Episode
Winshape Foundation Winshape Marriage retreats — North Georgia, 27,000-acre retreat location, all-inclusive, all stages of marriage
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