Can two people deeply love each other and still struggle to stay connected? Absolutely. In this week's episode, Michelle challenges one of the most common beliefs about relationships: that love should be enough.

Love may bring two people together, but love alone does not teach us how to regulate our emotions, communicate when we are hurt, repair after conflict, challenge our assumptions, or create emotional safety. Michelle shares what she learned from the end of her first marriage, the struggles in her marriage to Brian, and the realization that changed the way she understands relationships: sometimes the problem is not a lack of love. It is a lack of the skills that love requires. You’ll discover why good intentions do not always create connection, how missing relationship skills can make loving couples hurt each other, and why you should never confuse a skill gap with a love gap. Because people may marry for love—but many divorce for lack of skill. And the hopeful truth is that skills can be learned.🔗 Website: www.monarchforlove.com 📘 Book: www.awakenedheartsbook.com Instagram: @Monarchforlove TikTok @monarchforlove

Is your spouse using silence to punish you—or are they emotionally overwhelmed and shutting down? In this episode of the Monarch for Love Podcast, Michelle explains the important difference between the silent treatment and stonewalling—and why confusing the two can create even more hurt and distance in a relationship.

You’ll learn how silence can become a weapon, why some partners withdraw when their nervous system becomes overwhelmed, and how the stories we tell ourselves during those quiet moments can make conflict feel even more threatening. Michelle also shares a healthier alternative to staying and fighting or walking away indefinitely: leave and return. You’ll discover how to ask for space without abandoning your partner, establish a clear time to reconnect, and protect the relationship while emotions settle.

Because space is not the problem. Avoidance is. The strongest couples are not the ones who never need time apart. They are the ones who know how to find their way back to each other.🔗 Website: www.monarchforlove.com 📘 Book: www.awakenedheartsbook.com Instagram: @Monarchforlove TikTok @monarchforlove

Why can you be deeply loved by your spouse and still feel completely unloved? In this episode of the Monarch for Love Podcast, Michelle explores how quickly assumptions can shape the way we see our spouse. A missed text, a distracted response, or a lack of affection can easily become, “They don’t care,” “I’m not important,” or “Nothing will ever change.” But assumptions are not facts. You’ll learn how negative stories create defensiveness, distance, and confirmation bias—and how one simple shift can open the door to greater curiosity, compassion, and connection.

Michelle also shares a powerful seven-day challenge: whenever you feel hurt or disconnected, ask yourself, “If I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that my spouse loved me, how would I interpret this moment differently?” Because just because you don’t feel loved does not mean you are not loved. Sometimes your marriage doesn’t need more love. It needs a different lens.🔗 Website: www.monarchforlove.com 📘 Book: www.awakenedheartsbook.com Instagram: @Monarchforlove TikTok @monarchforloveWhy can you be deeply loved by your spouse and still feel completely unloved? In this episode of the Monarch for Love Podcast, Michelle explores how quickly assumptions can shape the way we see our spouse. A missed text, a distracted response, or a lack of affection can easily become, “They don’t care,” “I’m not important,” or “Nothing will ever change.” But assumptions are not facts. You’ll learn how negative stories create defensiveness, distance, and confirmation bias—and how one simple shift can open the door to greater curiosity, compassion, and connection.

Michelle also shares a powerful seven-day challenge: whenever you feel hurt or disconnected, ask yourself, “If I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that my spouse loved me, how would I interpret this moment differently?” Because just because you don’t feel loved does not mean you are not loved. Sometimes your marriage doesn’t need more love. It needs a different lens.🔗 Website: www.monarchforlove.com 📘 Book: www.awakenedheartsbook.com Instagram: @Monarchforlove TikTok @monarchforlove

Grief isn’t only about death. It can show up when we get married, become parents, move, face infertility, become empty nesters, care for someone we love, or realize life didn’t unfold the way we expected. In this episode of the Monarch for Love Podcast, Michelle talks with compassionate transition coach and bestselling author Laylani Colibri-Jack about the conflicting feelings that come with change—and how those unrecognized emotions can quietly affect our closest relationships. You’ll learn why validation can prevent so many misunderstandings, what to say when someone you love is grieving, and how to offer meaningful support without trying to fix everything or carrying their pain yourself. Laylani also shares powerful tools for protecting your emotional energy, including why it helps to be a “bucket, not a sponge,” and how seeing people as the heroes of their own stories allows us to love them without losing ourselves.This conversation will change the way you understand grief, compassion, and the emotional transitions we all experience.🔗 Website: www.monarchforlove.com 📘 Book: www.awakenedheartsbook.com Instagram: @Monarchforlove TikTok @monarchforlove

Most marriages don't end with a dramatic fight or a single heartbreaking moment. They begin to fade when one or both partners quietly stop trying. The conversations become fewer. The hope starts to dim. The effort slowly turns into resignation. In this week's episode of Monarch for Love, Michelle Hays explores the subtle moment when emotional withdrawal begins, why it happens, and what couples can do before distance becomes disconnection. If you've ever thought, "Nothing I do makes a difference anyway," this conversation is for you. Love rarely disappears overnight. More often, it fades when we stop engaging, stop hoping, and stop believing change is possible.
What if the biggest threat to your marriage isn't conflict but the moment you quietly decide it's no longer worth trying?🔗 Website: www.monarchforlove.com 📘 Book: www.awakenedheartsbook.com Instagram: @Monarchforlove TikTok @monarchforlove

Do you ever feel like you're having the same argument with your spouse over and over again...just with different details? In this episode of Monarch for Love, Michelle Hays explores why recurring conflict isn't usually about the issue you're discussing. More often, it's about the deeper feelings hiding beneath the surface: feeling unheard, misunderstood, unappreciated, or unloved. Learn how to identify the emotional patterns driving your disagreements, why emotional safety is essential for lasting connection, and how understanding what's really happening underneath the conflict can transform the way you communicate. Sometimes you're not stuck in the same argument. You're stuck in the same emotional pattern. What if the argument you've been trying to solve isn't the real problem...and the real issue has been hiding underneath it all along?🔗 Website: www.monarchforlove.com 📘 Book: www.awakenedheartsbook.com Instagram: @Monarchforlove TikTok @monarchforlove

If your marriage stayed exactly as it is today, would you feel fulfilled staying in it? It's a simple question, but it has the power to reveal what's really happening beneath frustration, disappointment, and uncertainty. In this episode of Monarch for Love, Michelle Hays explores why clarity matters more than impulsive decisions, and how understanding what isn't working can be the first step toward creating the relationship you truly want. Sometimes the question isn't whether you should stay or leave. It's understanding what needs to change. If your marriage never changed from what it is today, would you honestly want to spend the rest of your life in it and what does your answer reveal?🔗 Website: www.monarchforlove.com 📘 Book: www.awakenedheartsbook.com Instagram: @Monarchforlove TikTok @monarchforlove

In this week's episode of Monarch for Love, Michelle Hays explores how the stories we create about our partner's behavior often shape our feelings more than the behavior itself. Learn why assumptions create disconnection, how curiosity creates connection, and how one simple question can transform the way you experience your marriage. The meaning comes first. The emotion follows. And that awareness can change everything. Before you assume the worst about your spouse, listen to this conversation—it could completely change how you see your marriage.🔗 Website: www.monarchforlove.com 📘 Book: www.awakenedheartsbook.com Instagram: @Monarchforlove TikTok @monarchforlove

Many people believe they're unhappy in their marriage when they're actually exhausted, overwhelmed, and emotionally depleted.
In this episode of Monarch for Love, Michelle Hays explores a powerful distinction that could change the way you see your relationship. Before deciding something is wrong with your marriage, learn why your internal state influences how you experience your partner and how self-love, self-care, and emotional awareness can restore clarity, connection, and hope. Sometimes it's not the marriage that's breaking down. It's our capacity to stay present inside of it.🔗 Website: www.monarchforlove.com 📘 Book: www.awakenedheartsbook.com Instagram: @Monarchforlove TikTok @monarchforlove

Your marriage looks good from the outside. There’s no major betrayal, no constant conflict, and yet something feels missing.
In this episode, Michelle explores why feeling unloved doesn't necessarily mean you aren't loved. Learn how communication, expectations, emotional exhaustion, and the way we give and receive love can create a disconnect between love that exists and love that is felt. Sometimes the problem isn't a lack of love. It's a lack of understanding. Love is a decision supported by skills. Choose wisely. Choose love.🔗 Website: www.monarchforlove.com 📘 Book: www.awakenedheartsbook.com Instagram: @Monarchforlove TikTok @monarchforlove