In this powerful episode of Surviving Toxic Relationships, with Deana and Lizzie sit down with Brooke DeBoer, author of Living the Free Life and a life coach whose journey from bullying and emotional abuse to healing and freedom is both deeply personal and incredibly inspiring.

Brooke shares how years of peer bullying, emotional trauma, unhealthy relationships, and limiting beliefs shaped her self-worth—and how faith, counseling, self-care, and mindset work helped her break free. From childhood bullying and emotionally abusive relationships to becoming a confident woman, coach, and published author, Brooke offers hope for anyone who feels stuck, unseen, or trapped by their past.

In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

• How bullying and emotional abuse impact adult relationships
• Why limiting beliefs keep women stuck in toxic patterns
• The connection between trauma, faith, and self-worth
• How religious pressure can become a form of emotional control
• Practical steps to heal, rebuild confidence, and live free
• Why choosing yourself is often an act of faith

If you’ve ever struggled with:

• Low self-esteem after bullying
• Emotional abuse or manipulation
• Fear of leaving a toxic relationship
• Religious guilt keeping you stuck
• Feeling “unlovable” or not enough

This episode will remind you: healing is possible, freedom is real, and your past does not define your future.

🔗 Guest Resources:

🌐 Website: https://thebrookdeboer.com
📘 Book: Living the Free Life (available on Amazon & audiobook platforms)

🎙️ Stay Connected with Us!
📺 Subscribe on YouTube: @survivingrelationships12
🎵 Follow us on TikTok: @survivingtoxicrel
🌐 Visit our website: survivingtoxicrelationships.org

Not sure what you’re noticing yet?
↓ Discernment Checklist ↓ https://the-matadoras.kit.com/survivingtoxicrelationships

Contact us anytime at our email: [email protected]

📘 Join our Facebook community: Surviving Toxic Relationships

In this gripping episode of Surviving Toxic Relationships with Deana and Lizzie sit down with Ken Childs, a veteran Los Angeles private investigator whose 25-year career includes celebrity cases, criminal investigations, and exposing double lives.

Ken opens up about the rise of online deception, emotional cheating, and how narcissists use manipulation and control to hide their true selves. He shares insider tips on:

• How private investigators uncover hidden relationships and fraud.
• Why online “truth finder” apps often miss the real story.
• How to recognize early warning signs and trust your instincts.
• Simple steps to protect your identity, safety, and peace of mind in today’s digital dating world.

If you’ve ever questioned someone’s truth—or your own intuition—this episode will open your eyes.

Kenneth Childs, PI:

https://licensed-investigator.com

 LinkedIn 

🎙️ Stay Connected with Us!
📺 Subscribe on YouTube: @survivingrelationships12
🎵 Follow us on TikTok: @survivingtoxicrel
🌐 Visit our website: survivingtoxicrelationships.org

Not sure what you’re noticing yet?
↓ Discernment Checklist ↓ https://the-matadoras.kit.com/survivingtoxicrelationships

Contact us anytime at our email: [email protected]

📘 Join our Facebook community: Surviving Toxic Relationships

In this deeply personal episode of Surviving Toxic Relationships, Lizzie shares her full story—one that spans faith, marriage, motherhood, religious abuse, emotional control, and survival.

From marrying young with the belief that God had ordained the relationship, to enduring years of infidelity, manipulation, and spiritual coercion, Lizzie opens up about what it means to love God deeply while living in a marriage that slowly eroded her safety, identity, and voice.

She shares the realities of:

• Religious abuse and misused Scripture
• Emotional control and walking on eggshells
• Staying “for the children” while losing yourself
• The moment fear became undeniable—and survival became necessary
• Rebuilding life as a single mother of four
• Discovering that not all abuse looks the same, even years later
• Finding clarity, community, and healing after toxic relationships

This episode also honors the power of motherhood, the long road of family healing, and the courage it takes to break generational cycles so that the next generation can live with discernment, freedom, and truth.

If you have ever questioned your faith because of a toxic relationship, felt torn between obedience and safety, or wondered if God could still redeem your story—this episode is for you.

🎙️ Stay Connected with Us!
📺 Subscribe on YouTube: @survivingrelationships12
🎵 Follow us on TikTok: @survivingtoxicrel
🌐 Visit our website: survivingtoxicrelationships.org

Not sure what you’re noticing yet?
↓ Discernment Checklist ↓ https://the-matadoras.kit.com/survivingtoxicrelationships

Contact us anytime at our email: [email protected]

📘 Join our Facebook community: Surviving Toxic Relationships

Episode 81:  If you’ve ever dreamed of writing a book—or wondered if it’s too late—this inspiring episode is for you.

In this powerful conversation on Surviving Toxic Relationships, hosts Deana and Lizzie talk with Terry Whalin—author, editor, literary agent, and acquisitions editor at Morgan James Publishing—about how midlife can become the perfect time to tell your story, share your testimony, and transform your pain into purpose through writing.

Terry has written more than 60 books and worked with over 50 magazines, giving him a unique perspective on both sides of the editorial desk. Together, they explore how to publish your first book, how to choose between traditional, self, and hybrid publishing, and what it really takes to bring your story to life.

If you’ve come out of a toxic relationship, survived trauma, or simply feel called to write and leave a legacy—this episode will give you clarity, courage, and practical steps to begin.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• The three main publishing paths—and how to choose the right one for your goals
• Why midlife is the perfect time to write your story or memoir
• How to start with a strong book proposal that opens doors
• Common publishing myths that keep writers stuck
• How to use magazine writing and short stories to build your credibility
• Faith-based encouragement to turn your healing journey into purpose

Special Resources Mentioned:

• Free book proposal guide: BookProposals.ws
  
  
• Terry’s book 10 Publishing Myths with $200 in bonuses: PublishingOffer.com

🎙️ Stay Connected with Us!
📺 Subscribe on YouTube: @survivingrelationships12
🎵 Follow us on TikTok: @survivingtoxicrel
🌐 Visit our website: survivingtoxicrelationships.org

Not sure what you’re noticing yet?
↓ Discernment Checklist ↓ https://the-matadoras.kit.com/survivingtoxicrelationships

Contact us anytime at our email: [email protected]

📘 Join our Facebook community: Surviving Toxic Relationships

Welcome to Surviving Toxic Relationships, a faith-based podcast created for women who are healing, rebuilding, and reclaiming their voice after emotional and relational abuse.

Hosted by Lizzie and Deana—two women whose lives unexpectedly intersected through a shared past—this podcast offers honest conversations about manipulation, gaslighting, betrayal, trauma bonding, and the long road to recovery. Our goal is not to diagnose or label, but to bring clarity, truth, and hope to women navigating the aftermath of toxic relationships.

Each episode creates a safe space for reflection, discernment, and spiritual renewal—reminding listeners that healing is possible, boundaries are biblical, and your story is not over.

If you’re learning to trust again, rediscover your worth, and walk forward in faith after relational trauma, you’re in the right place.

You are not alone—and healing begins here.

🎙️ Stay Connected with Us!
📺 Subscribe on YouTube: @survivingrelationships12
🎵 Follow us on TikTok: @survivingtoxicrel
🌐 Visit our website: survivingtoxicrelationships.org

Not sure what you’re noticing yet?
↓ Discernment Checklist ↓ https://the-matadoras.kit.com/survivingtoxicrelationships

Contact us anytime at our email: [email protected]

📘 Join our Facebook community: Surviving Toxic Relationships

In this deeply personal episode of Surviving Toxic Relationships, Lizzie opens up about how the holidays can feel different—lonelier, quieter, or unexpectedly emotional—especially after walking through heartbreak, divorce, or the loss of family traditions.

Midlife brings new realities: children growing up, parents passing on, relationships ending, and identities shifting. What once made the season magical—the gatherings, the laughter, the sense of belonging—can now stir up grief, longing, or uncertainty about where we fit.

Through her own story of midlife change, divorce, and rediscovering faith, Lizzie offers encouragement for women who find the holidays bittersweet. She reminds us that we can grieve what’s gone, honor what was, and still find comfort and meaning in what remains.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

• Why the holidays often trigger grief after toxic relationships or loss
• How to handle loneliness when family traditions or roles change
• The emotional shift from being “the one who made the magic happen” to finding peace in stillness
• Faith-based encouragement for navigating change and rediscovering yourself
• Ways to rebuild new traditions with grace and self-compassion
  
  

Even when your world feels different, peace is still possible. Healing doesn’t mean pretending—it means allowing yourself to feel, to grow, and to find joy again.

🎙️ Stay Connected with Us!
📺 Subscribe on YouTube: @survivingrelationships12
🎵 Follow us on TikTok: @survivingtoxicrel
🌐 Visit our website: survivingtoxicrelationships.org

Not sure what you’re noticing yet?
↓ Discernment Checklist ↓ https://the-matadoras.kit.com/survivingtoxicrelationships

Contact us anytime at our email: [email protected]

📘 Join our Facebook community: Surviving Toxic Relationships

The holidays can intensify toxic family dynamics, emotional labor, grief, and high-conflict co-parenting. For many women, this season brings pressure to perform, suppress pain, and hold everything together.

In this episode, Lizzie and Deana talk honestly about why the holidays feel so heavy for women navigating emotionally unsafe relationships and life transitions. We discuss guilt, boundaries, caregiving overload, and why real self-care is not selfish—it’s protective.

This episode offers permission to say no, leave early, grieve what’s changed, and guard your heart without shame. If the holidays are hard this year, you are not alone—and you are not doing them wrong.

🎙️ Stay Connected with Us!
📺 Subscribe on YouTube: @survivingrelationships12
🎵 Follow us on TikTok: @survivingtoxicrel
🌐 Visit our website: survivingtoxicrelationships.org

Not sure what you’re noticing yet?
↓ Discernment Checklist ↓ https://the-matadoras.kit.com/survivingtoxicrelationships

Contact us anytime at our email: [email protected]

📘 Join our Facebook community: Surviving Toxic Relationships

What if the greatest pain in your life was also the beginning of your purpose?

In this powerful episode of Surviving Toxic Relationships, hosts Deana and Lizzie welcome Dr. Wole (Oluwole) Babatunde—a physician, psychiatrist, author, and faith leader whose extraordinary story proves that resilience and divine purpose can rise from even the darkest valleys.

In this deeply moving episode of Surviving Toxic Relationships with Deana and Lizzie, we meet Dr. Wole (Oluwole) Babatunde—a man whose life is a living testimony of faith, discipline, and healing after loss.

Orphaned as a child in Nigeria, Dr. Wole faced profound grief and adversity. Yet through unwavering faith, purpose, and resilience, he chose not to be defined by tragedy but transformed by it. His message of “Adapt and Advance” challenges us all to turn pain into power, heartbreak into healing, and trials into triumphs.

Dr. Wole’s book, Adapt and Advance: A Faith-Based Step-by-Step Guide to Turning Trials into Triumphs, introduces his transformative M.A.P.L.A.M.P. framework —
Meaning-Making, Action, Planning, Learning, Alliance Formation, Mission, and Prayer — a spiritual and practical roadmap for anyone seeking to rebuild after trauma, loss, or toxic relationships.

🎧 Listen in to discover:
-How faith and emotional discipline create lasting resilience
-The power of reframing pain through meaning-making
-Why compassion and service are the ultimate forms of healing
-How to keep walking forward—no matter the fire you face

Dr. Wole’s story reminds us that while grief may visit, grace always remains.

Connect with Dr. Wole Babatunde:
🌐 Website: oluwolebabatunde.com

📘 Book: Adapt and Advance on Amazon

▶️ YouTube: @OluwoleBabatunde1870

📘 Facebook: Oluwole Babatunde

💼 LinkedIn: Dr. Wole Babatunde

✨ If you’re struggling to find hope, this episode will remind you:
You can cry. You can rest. But don’t stop walking forward.

🎙️ Stay Connected with Us!
📺 Subscribe on YouTube: @survivingrelationships12
🎵 Follow us on TikTok: @survivingtoxicrel
🌐 Visit our website: survivingtoxicrelationships.org

Not sure what you’re noticing yet?
↓ Discernment Checklist ↓ https://the-matadoras.kit.com/survivingtoxicrelationships

Contact us anytime at our email: [email protected]

📘 Join our Facebook community: Surviving Toxic Relationships

What happens when the pain and exhaustion isn’t “in your head” — but everyone tells you it is?

In this powerful and validating episode of Surviving Toxic Relationships, Lizzie and Deana talk with Tami Stackelhouse, founder of the International Fibromyalgia Coaching Institute and host of The Fibromyalgia Podcast.

Tami shares her deeply personal journey from being dismissed and misdiagnosed to finally understanding her chronic pain, and how trauma, stress, and fibromyalgia can feel like an invisible toxic relationship with your own body. She opens up about the emotional impact of medical gaslighting, mental health struggles, and the long road to reclaiming your power and trusting your body again.

You’ll learn how to:
✨ Recognize the signs of medical gaslighting
✨ Understand the link between trauma, depression, and chronic pain
✨ Advocate for yourself after misdiagnosis
✨ Practice self-compassion and emotional healing
✨ Find validation and community through awareness

💜 Watch if you’ve ever felt dismissed, gaslit, or unseen — by others or by your own body.

🎧 Guest: Tami Stackelhouse
📚 Author, Fibromyalgia Coach & Founder, International Fibromyalgia Coaching Institute
🔗 Learn more: fibromyalgiapodcast.com
Fibromyalgia Podcast®
International Fibromyalgia Coaching Institute, LLC

Get FREE fibromyalgia books and resources here

🎙️ Stay Connected with Us!
📺 Subscribe on YouTube: @survivingrelationships12
🎵 Follow us on TikTok: @survivingtoxicrel
🌐 Visit our website: survivingtoxicrelationships.org

Not sure what you’re noticing yet?
↓ Discernment Checklist ↓ https://the-matadoras.kit.com/survivingtoxicrelationships

Contact us anytime at our email: [email protected]

📘 Join our Facebook community: Surviving Toxic Relationships

Have you ever worked for a fear-based leader, a toxic bully boss, or someone in authority who used intimidation and harassment instead of emotional maturity? In today’s eye-opening conversation, Kate Lowry, CEO Coach and Author of "Unbreakable: How to Survive Under Fear Based Leaders"  breaks down why so many leaders behave more like emotionally reactive children than competent adults — and how their lack of emotional intelligence can create abusive, chaotic workplaces.

Kate explains the shocking truth: many leaders are not actually adults emotionally.
They operate from fear, insecurity, and power struggles — the same way a child does when they feel out of control. Think: “a five-year-old with car keys.”

This episode teaches you how to understand and navigate the behavior of fear-based, toxic leaders by becoming the grounded emotional adult in the room. You’ll learn how to recognize their emotional limitations, help them name their feelings, interrupt their intimidation patterns, and protect yourself from their bullying tactics.

If you’ve ever been belittled, humiliated, micromanaged, or made to feel “less than” by a boss who used fear instead of leadership — this conversation will validate your experience and give you tools to reclaim your power.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why fear-based leaders rely on control, intimidation, and emotional manipulation
• How toxic bosses use bullying behavior when they lack emotional intelligence
• Why emotionally immature leaders behave like children in adult bodies
• How to identify a leader’s emotional limitations before they hurt you
• How to stay grounded and emotionally regulated around abusive authority figures
• Why being “the adult” protects your confidence and career
• How to guide leaders toward better behavior without being their doormat
• Why supported leaders rely on the emotionally mature people around them

If you’ve ever whispered to yourself:
“I want to be the adult here… but why is my boss acting like a child?”
— this episode will feel like someone finally turned on the lights.

Check out Kate's book here!   https://a.co/d/6V16oL2

🎙️ Stay Connected with Us!
📺 Subscribe on YouTube: @survivingrelationships12
🎵 Follow us on TikTok: @survivingtoxicrel
🌐 Visit our website: survivingtoxicrelationships.org

Not sure what you’re noticing yet?
↓ Discernment Checklist ↓ https://the-matadoras.kit.com/survivingtoxicrelationships

Contact us anytime at our email: [email protected]

📘 Join our Facebook community: Surviving Toxic Relationships