Today’s episode of Uncoupled and Unfiltered is unlike any other.

Trigger Warning: Discussion of physical and sexual abuse. Listen only when you are ready.

I sat down with Tina Huggins, a high-conflict divorce coach, mediator, and survivor of a decade-long abusive marriage. Tina didn't just escape; she built a practice helping others do the same.

We explore how abuse escalates, the red flags she missed, why she couldn't call for help, and how she built her exit plan. We also discuss how the family court system routinely fails victims, and why we must stop asking: "Why didn't you just leave?"

If you've ever asked that—or been asked it—this raw, necessary episode will challenge you. It is not for the faint of heart.

Key Topics Covered:

• “Why didn’t you leave?” The question that needs to die and the heavy choices survivors face.
• Non-physical abuse, including gaslighting, control, and a mind that stops trusting itself.
• The slow boil of how isolation, jealousy, and coercive control escalate over years.
• Post-separation danger and why leaving is the riskiest moment, plus how to plan a safe exit.
• Weaponized intimacy when sex becomes a tool for punishment and control.
• Financial abuse through drained accounts, ruined property, and the limits of legal protection.
• Exit logistics and the essential steps for managing money, documents, tech, and safety.
• Systemic failure when navigating courts, police, and family who fail to protect victims.
• The Gabby Petito traffic stop, what went wrong, and what should have happened.
• Trauma to guidance by transforming lived experience into safety planning for others.

“The most dangerous time in an abusive relationship is the moment you go to leave.” - Tina Huggins

About Our Guest: Tina Huggins

Tina Huggins is a certified high-conflict divorce & co-parenting coach, and restorative family mediator with more than 30 years of coaching work and a six-year specialty in high-conflict divorce. As a guest expert and survivor of over a decade-long high-conflict marriage that included severe physical abuse, she brings both lived experience and clinical tools to help clients navigate safety, strategy, and healing. Tina combines trauma-informed coaching, conflict resolution skills, and practical co-parenting strategies to support clients through the legal, emotional, and logistical challenges of high-conflict separation. She hosts the podcast Awakening, where she shares insights, resources, and real-world tactics for survivors and professionals. 

This Episode Is For:

• You've been asked "why didn't you leave" — and you're still trying to find the words to answer it
• You've asked that question, and you're ready to actually understand it
• You're still in it, and you don't know how to get out safely
• You love someone who stayed longer than you thought they should
• You work with survivors, and you want to be better at it

Connect with Tina: 

Website: https://divorcecoachspecialist.com/ | 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tina-lynn-huggins-5a956720/ | 

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@divorcetina?lang=en

Connect with Ksenia Muench:

Website: https://www.thriveagaindivorcecoaching.com/ 

Website: https://www.highconflictplaybook.com/  

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

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kvmuench/ 

Substack: https://substack.com/@thriveagaindc 

Email: [email protected] 

🎧 Listen, Subscribe & Share

Follow Uncoupled and Unfiltered on Spotify, Prime, and Apple Podcasts for weekly conversations about divorce, relationships, dating, and self-discovery. If this episode resonated, please rate, review, and share to help others find the show.

Want to hear more podcasts like this one? Check out Dear Divorce Diary with Dawn Wiggins- https://mycoachdawn.com/divorce-podcast/

Want to work with Ksenia? The next cohort is forming now- https://www.highconflictplaybook.com/