What happens when childhood sexual trauma silently shapes every relationship, every decision, and every belief about your worth?

In this powerful episode of Surviving Toxic Relationships, Tiffany Brearton shares her deeply personal story of childhood sexual abuse, shame, exploitation, toxic relationships, and the long road to healing.

Tiffany opens up about how trauma affected her self-worth, why so many survivors struggle with relationships, and the freedom she found through faith, counseling, community, and God's healing grace.

In this episode:

• Childhood sexual abuse and trauma
• Shame, secrecy, and emotional healing
• How trauma impacts adult relationships
• Human trafficking and exploitation awareness
• Why survivors often feel "too far gone"
• The power of safe community
• Faith-based healing and restoration
• Practical first steps toward recovery
• Finding freedom from the lies of the past

If you have experienced abuse, betrayal, trauma, or deep shame, this conversation offers hope that healing is possible and your story is not over.

You are not alone.
You are not crazy.
You are deeply loved.

To connect with Tiffany Brearton, learn more about her ministry, or explore her books and resources, you can find her here:

Website:  https://www.tiffanybrearton.com/

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/tiffanybrearton/

Book on Amazon:  From Stilettos to Grace. https://a.co/d/0hQDzVLL

Support the show

🎙️ Stay Connected with Us!
📺 Subscribe on YouTube: @survivingrelationships12
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https://www.joinpodmatch.com/deanalizzie

Contact us anytime at our email:  [email protected]

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Disclaimer:  The views expressed by our guests are their own, and this show is for educational purposes only. It is not therapy, medical, or professional advice, and listening does not create a therapeutic relationship. If you need personalized support, please reach out to a licensed professional. If you’re in crisis or immediate danger, please call 911 for help. 

What happens when the relationship you've been fighting to save turns out to be something entirely different than you believed?

In this powerful episode of Surviving Toxic Relationships with The Matadoras, Heather Justice shares her personal story of emotional abuse, trauma bonding, narcissistic manipulation, and the shocking discovery that changed everything.

After two and a half years of an on-again, off-again relationship, Heather uncovered an expunged felony record that forced her to confront the reality she had been unable to see clearly.

Together we discuss:

• Trauma bonding and emotional addiction
• Breadcrumbing and intermittent reinforcement
• Why survivors struggle to leave
• Hidden red flags in toxic relationships
• Narcissistic abuse and manipulation
• Loneliness inside a relationship
• Faith, healing, and recovery
• Rediscovering your identity after abuse
• How God can bring beauty from painful seasons

Heather also shares her devotional resource designed to help survivors heal through biblical truth, prayer, and rediscovery.

If you've ever wondered:
"Why couldn't I leave?"
"Why did I keep going back?"
"How did I miss the warning signs?"

This episode is for you.

You are not alone. You are not crazy. You are deeply loved.

Connect with Heather Justice using the links below:

Website:  http://heathernjustice.com/

YouTube: https://youtube.com/@hnjustice?si=hrhrK9dOZ2vk7KTt

Book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/4bKemyt

Support the show

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

Looking to be a guest or host a guest for your podcast?

https://www.joinpodmatch.com/deanalizzie

Contact us anytime at our email:  [email protected]

 📘 Join our Facebook community: Surviving Toxic Relationships with The Matadoras: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61556560386678

Disclaimer:  The views expressed by our guests are their own, and this show is for educational purposes only. It is not therapy, medical, or professional advice, and listening does not create a therapeutic relationship. If you need personalized support, please reach out to a licensed professional. If you’re in crisis or immediate danger, please call 911 for help. 

At 63 years old, David Nassif unexpectedly lost his job after nearly two decades with the same company. Faced with the possibility of financial collapse, he chose to rebuild instead of giving up.

Six years later, he had achieved financial freedom and created a simple one-page framework to help others avoid the mistakes he made.

In this powerful conversation, David shares practical financial wisdom for anyone facing a major life transition, especially women navigating gray divorce, financial abuse, job loss, or the challenge of starting over later in life.

Together we discuss:

• Rebuilding after financial devastation
 • The emotional impact of losing your identity
 • Why many people feel trapped financially
 • Faith, perseverance, and resilience
 • The importance of financial education
 • Simple investing principles anyone can understand
 • Hope for those starting over after 50

This episode is a reminder that your story isn't over, and it is never too late to build a stronger future.

To learn more about David Nassif and download his free One Page Wealth Compass, visit:  https://onepagewealthcompass.com/

Support the show

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

Looking to be a guest or host a guest for your podcast?

https://www.joinpodmatch.com/deanalizzie

Contact us anytime at our email:  [email protected]

 📘 Join our Facebook community: Surviving Toxic Relationships with The Matadoras: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61556560386678

Disclaimer:  The views expressed by our guests are their own, and this show is for educational purposes only. It is not therapy, medical, or professional advice, and listening does not create a therapeutic relationship. If you need personalized support, please reach out to a licensed professional. If you’re in crisis or immediate danger, please call 911 for help. 

This conversation originally aired during our 2025 Breaking the Chains… Escaping Abuse telesummit with financial coach Suzanne Skolian, where we discussed one of the most overlooked forms of abuse: financial control.

Financial abuse rarely begins with obvious manipulation. Often, it starts slowly through secrecy, monitoring, “allowances,” restricted access to accounts, damaged credit, or being made to feel incapable of surviving independently. Over time, money becomes more than a financial issue—it becomes a tool of fear, dependency, humiliation, and control.

In this episode, we discuss:

•  the hidden warning signs of financial abuse 
•  how toxic partners use money to create dependence 
•  the emotional and spiritual toll of financial control 
•  credit destruction and economic sabotage 
•  practical steps toward rebuilding independence safely 
•  resources available for women trying to leave abusive situations 
•  why financial abuse keeps so many women trapped longer than people realize 

Suzanne Skolian of Grace Financial Coaching shares practical financial guidance for women navigating difficult transitions, including budgeting, rebuilding credit, emergency planning, financial literacy, and understanding available support systems. 

If you have ever felt trapped, ashamed, financially dependent, or afraid of starting over, this conversation was created to remind you that you are not weak, and you are not alone.

Because you are not alone.
 You are not crazy.
 And you are deeply loved.

Support the show

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

Looking to be a guest or host a guest for your podcast?

https://www.joinpodmatch.com/deanalizzie

Contact us anytime at our email:  [email protected]

 📘 Join our Facebook community: Surviving Toxic Relationships with The Matadoras: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61556560386678

Disclaimer:  The views expressed by our guests are their own, and this show is for educational purposes only. It is not therapy, medical, or professional advice, and listening does not create a therapeutic relationship. If you need personalized support, please reach out to a licensed professional. If you’re in crisis or immediate danger, please call 911 for help. 

Many women do not realize they are experiencing financial abuse until they try to leave the relationship and suddenly discover they have no access to accounts, damaged credit, overwhelming debt, or no safe financial path forward.

In this deeply personal conversation, Lizzie and Deana discuss the hidden red flags of financial abuse inside toxic relationships, including:

• financial control and surveillance
• hidden debt and secret credit cards
• shame around spending money
• being monitored through banking apps and technology
• losing access to passwords and accounts
• bankruptcy, damaged credit, and starting over
• fear of leaving because of finances
• gray divorce and midlife financial abuse
• rebuilding after financial devastation
• practical wisdom for creating a safe financial exit plan

Both Lizzie and Deana share personal experiences of financial abuse, bankruptcy, damaged credit, and the emotional toll that financial control takes on women trying to survive toxic relationships.

We also discuss the difference between healthy financial hardship and financial abuse, and why emotional safety, accountability, and transparency matter deeply in healthy relationships.

If money has been used to shame you, monitor you, silence you, or control you, we want you to know that you are not weak, and your future is not over.

Scripture:
Galatians 5:1 — “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.”

Because you are not alone.
You are not crazy.
And you are deeply loved.

Support the show

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

Looking to be a guest or host a guest for your podcast?

https://www.joinpodmatch.com/deanalizzie

Contact us anytime at our email:  [email protected]

 📘 Join our Facebook community: Surviving Toxic Relationships with The Matadoras: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61556560386678

Disclaimer:  The views expressed by our guests are their own, and this show is for educational purposes only. It is not therapy, medical, or professional advice, and listening does not create a therapeutic relationship. If you need personalized support, please reach out to a licensed professional. If you’re in crisis or immediate danger, please call 911 for help. 

Have you ever looked back on a relationship and wondered… “How did I miss the red flags?”

In this deeply honest conversation, Lizzie and Deana unpack the emotional, psychological, and spiritual reasons people stay in toxic relationships longer than they expected. From trauma bonds and manipulation to confusion, shame, love bombing, and slowly adapting to unhealthy patterns, this episode explores why the warning signs often don’t feel obvious until much later.

If you’ve struggled with self-blame after betrayal, emotional abuse, narcissistic relationships, or manipulation, this episode is for you.

In this episode:

• Why toxic relationships slowly train you not to trust yourself
• How confusion becomes part of the trauma bond
• Why charm can hide a lack of character
• The emotional aftermath of “coming out of the fog”
• Faith-based healing after betrayal and manipulation
• 7 ways to give yourself grace while rebuilding self-trust
• How to stop blaming yourself for missing the signs

This conversation is part one of a healing series designed to remove shame, create awareness, and help survivors rebuild confidence after toxic relationships.

Scriptures referenced:

• Proverbs 27:12
• Romans 8:1
• Psalm 34:18
• Joel 2:25
• 1 Corinthians 14:33

If this conversation resonated with you, share your thoughts in the comments and subscribe for more faith-based conversations on healing, discernment, toxic relationships, and emotional recovery.

Support the show

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

Looking to be a guest or host a guest for your podcast?

https://www.joinpodmatch.com/deanalizzie

Contact us anytime at our email:  [email protected]

 📘 Join our Facebook community: Surviving Toxic Relationships with The Matadoras: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61556560386678

Disclaimer:  The views expressed by our guests are their own, and this show is for educational purposes only. It is not therapy, medical, or professional advice, and listening does not create a therapeutic relationship. If you need personalized support, please reach out to a licensed professional. If you’re in crisis or immediate danger, please call 911 for help. 

Why does betrayal cut so deeply—and why do so many people stay stuck for years, even decades?

In this eye-opening episode, we sit down with Dr. Debi Silber, founder of the Post Betrayal Transformation Institute, to unpack the science and psychology behind betrayal trauma—and what it really takes to heal.

Dr. Debi shares her groundbreaking research across 100,000+ people and reveals:

✔ Why betrayal is a distinct type of trauma (not all trauma is the same)
✔ What Post-Betrayal Syndrome is—and how it may be affecting your body
 ✔ The 5 proven stages of betrayal recovery
✔ Why most people get stuck in Stage 3 (and don’t even realize it)
✔ How betrayal impacts your trust, identity, and nervous system
✔ Why repeating toxic relationship patterns happens
✔ What true healing actually looks like (and how to get there)

This conversation is especially powerful for anyone navigating:

• Narcissistic abuse
• Infidelity or double lives
• Emotional manipulation
• Trauma bonding
• Chronic stress or unexplained health issues

If you’ve ever felt like:
 “I should be over this by now… but I’m not”
 —you are not alone, and there is a path forward.

Healing is possible. But it requires more than just “moving on.”

You can reach Dr. Debi here:   https://thepbtinstitute.com/

Support the show

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

Looking to be a guest or host a guest for your podcast?

https://www.joinpodmatch.com/deanalizzie

Contact us anytime at our email:  [email protected]

 📘 Join our Facebook community: Surviving Toxic Relationships with The Matadoras: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61556560386678

Disclaimer:  The views expressed by our guests are their own, and this show is for educational purposes only. It is not therapy, medical, or professional advice, and listening does not create a therapeutic relationship. If you need personalized support, please reach out to a licensed professional. If you’re in crisis or immediate danger, please call 911 for help. 

What if the relationship you thought was “just difficult”… was actually harmful?

In this powerful episode of Surviving Toxic Relationships with The Matadoras, we sit down with licensed therapist and trauma specialist Zulma Williams, founder of Dragonfly Therapy Services, to unpack the hidden reality of emotional abuse, gaslighting, and toxic relationship cycles.

Zulma shares her personal story of surviving a narcissistic and abusive relationship—and why so many strong, intelligent women don’t recognize abuse until they are deeply affected.

We dive into:
 • The subtle ways abuse begins (and why it’s easy to miss)
 • Emotional, verbal, and sexual abuse that doesn’t leave visible scars
 • Gaslighting and how it makes you question your reality
 • Why women stay—and why it’s NOT what people think
 • The cycle of abuse (and why it feels impossible to leave)
 • How trauma, anxiety, and depression are connected to toxic relationships
 • A powerful step-by-step exercise to challenge negative thoughts

Zulma also shares how she rebuilt her life after abuse, overcame breast cancer, and found healing, purpose, and peace—proving that it’s never too late to start over.

If you’ve ever felt:
 • Like you’re “walking on eggshells”
 • Confused, anxious, or emotionally drained
 • Like you’re the problem

This conversation is for you.

You are not crazy.
You are not alone.
You are deeply loved.

Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and share with someone who may need this message.

Connect with Zulma: Links & Resources:

https://dragonflytherapyservices.net/

https://www.youtube.com/@theswearingtherapist

https://open.spotify.com/show/62zkFh5mzb5mkScrew0HCX?si=1LoBTAUuT7qXBRkbmYDgTA&utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&nd=1&dlsi=cb49a17d12904ab0

Support the show

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

Looking to be a guest or host a guest for your podcast?

https://www.joinpodmatch.com/deanalizzie

Contact us anytime at our email:  [email protected]

 📘 Join our Facebook community: Surviving Toxic Relationships with The Matadoras: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61556560386678

Disclaimer:  The views expressed by our guests are their own, and this show is for educational purposes only. It is not therapy, medical, or professional advice, and listening does not create a therapeutic relationship. If you need personalized support, please reach out to a licensed professional. If you’re in crisis or immediate danger, please call 911 for help. 

Are you going through a difficult season… or is something deeper happening in your relationship?

In this episode of Surviving Toxic Relationships with The Matadoras, we continue our Love With Eyes Wide Open series by unpacking one of the most confusing and important questions many women face.

Sometimes conflict, stress, and outside pressures can make a relationship feel overwhelming. But how do you know if what you’re experiencing is temporary… or part of a harmful pattern?

We walk through 5 clear signs to help you discern the difference, including:
• Effort vs. resistance to change
• Safety vs. fear
• Growth vs. repeated harm
• Identity vs. losing yourself
• Conviction vs. confusion

If you’ve ever questioned your reality, felt like you were walking on eggshells, or wondered if you’re the problem… this conversation is for you.

We also share powerful reflection questions to help you process what you may be experiencing and begin to move toward clarity and truth.

If this message resonates, please share it with someone who may need it. Your support helps this reach others who are quietly searching for answers.

You are not crazy.
You are not alone.
You are deeply loved.

Support the show

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

Looking to be a guest or host a guest for your podcast?

https://www.joinpodmatch.com/deanalizzie

Contact us anytime at our email:  [email protected]

 📘 Join our Facebook community: Surviving Toxic Relationships with The Matadoras: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61556560386678

Disclaimer:  The views expressed by our guests are their own, and this show is for educational purposes only. It is not therapy, medical, or professional advice, and listening does not create a therapeutic relationship. If you need personalized support, please reach out to a licensed professional. If you’re in crisis or immediate danger, please call 911 for help. 

Can you forgive someone and still walk away?

In this powerful episode of Surviving Toxic Relationships, we sit down with award-winning author Eva Marie Everson to unpack one of the most misunderstood topics in relationships:
forgiveness vs. reconciliation.

Through personal stories, biblical insight, and themes from her upcoming novel Miss Beth Betancourt, Eva shares:

• Why forgiveness does NOT always mean restoring the relationship
• How to set healthy, God-honoring boundaries
• What toxic relationships look like in families, workplaces, and life
• The emotional and spiritual cost of holding onto bitterness
• How healing actually happens over time

This conversation is for anyone who has ever asked:

• “Why can’t I just move on?”
• “Am I wrong for setting boundaries?”
• “What does God really expect from me in toxic relationships?”

Plus, hear about Eva’s new book releasing May 12, filled with rich storytelling, faith, and even Southern recipes passed down through generations

Giveaway:
Listen to the episode and enter to win a free copy of her book by visiting her website (linked below) and mentioning this podcast.

https://evamarieeversonauthor.com/

Support the show

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

Looking to be a guest or host a guest for your podcast?

https://www.joinpodmatch.com/deanalizzie

Contact us anytime at our email:  [email protected]

 📘 Join our Facebook community: Surviving Toxic Relationships with The Matadoras: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61556560386678

Disclaimer:  The views expressed by our guests are their own, and this show is for educational purposes only. It is not therapy, medical, or professional advice, and listening does not create a therapeutic relationship. If you need personalized support, please reach out to a licensed professional. If you’re in crisis or immediate danger, please call 911 for help.