Empowered Couples

Ever have those times in your relationship where things are going  great, and then BAM... something sabotages it. You might not have identified it as sabotage, but that’s often what it is and it shows up as a pattern from your past!  Sabotaging behaviors keep you and your partner from experiencing: more love, more joy, more connection, more intimacy and more fulfillment together. So yea, sabotage is no fun. In this episode, we dive into how emotional events from either your upbringing or past relationships can/is impacting your relationship now. But here’s what’s taking this to the next level….we also dive into how those past events lead to subtle forms of sabotaging behavior. Before you think, “oh, I don’t do anything sabotaging,” take a listen and hear some behaviors that you might not have noticed before, that could be keeping your relationship in the same place rather than growing.   This is a powerful episode for you to reflect on individually and discuss together. Plus you will get a process to identify

Real talk....we had a 3 hour conversation this weekend about the possibility of ending our partnership.  Not because we haven't been "happy" or that we don't love each other anymore... but because we haven't been living in our full potential as individuals or as a couple. We have high standards for what kind of partnership we're capable of and that's what we invite you into. So we shared openly and candidly with each other about our disappointments, frustrations, and doubts. We used our skills to listen and hold space for each other. Which led to a MASSIVE triumph and feeling more connected and loved than ever. There's too much to tell about this here, so we recorded an entire podcast episode on it. Not only do we share transparently about this deep and vulnerable conversation, but we share with you a COMPLETELY different way of "ending" the relationship so you can truly evolve as a couple.  It's something you never will have heard before and many couples never do...   About Us: We’re The Freemans, your go-to

If you are like Aaron and had a loving upbringing with lots of support from your parents, that means you would be better set up for a strong relationship rather than if you were like Jocelyn and had your parents go through a divorce or tough upbringing right? NOPE! Did you ever think that whatever your past upbringing, it could be what is causing any hiccups in your current relationship? In this episode will hear each of our stories about how we grew up and how Aaron was limited in being able to express and feel love by not seeing examples of emotion and how to handle any conflicts growing up. While Jocelyn’s story is one about feeling she had to be the rescuer and felt there needed to be drama to feel that her partner cared about her.  Whatever your past upbringing, you are not just interacting with who your partner is right now today, but you are being influenced by your own past examples that are most likely not in the best service of your relationship. This episode is about you bringing awareness into jus

You can’t get ‘down’ enough or have a bad enough attitude to positively influence your partner. You just can’t; and we prove it to you today! This episode will light a fire in YOU, and shift a destructive belief you might have about how to truly influence your partner to change. Sure, you could get your partner to be “compliant” because of your bad attitude and they just want to succumb to make you happy or get you off their back. But that’s not a recipe for lasting love and connection. Instead, you’re going to hear a powerful, counterintuitive approach to motivating and positively influencing your partner to shift their attitude or behavior.   About Us: We’re The Freemans, your go-to couple for authentic and actionable relationship advice. Send us your relationship questions for the show with a DM on Instagram. As you listen to the episode, tag us on an IG story and let us know what you loved.    Resources for you: Pre-order The Argument Hangover and get $200 of bonus gifts, including a conflict resolution

This is one of the truest quotes we've ever heard: "There isn’t anything that anyone wants for any other reason than they believe that they will feel better in the having of it." So everything you do in life is all for this one reason-- to feel better! The problem is that this puts your experience of life based on things you don’t have 100% control over. It gets even worse for your relationship if you rely on your partner's mood, energy, or actions to make you feel good. This puts pressure, stress, and overwhelm on your partner as well as you in a passive and reactive state within your relationship. Nothing good comes from that!  In this episode you get the proactive and active (in the moment) ways to take control of your emotional and mental health. This way you don't rely on your partner but be able to positively influence each other and support the health of your relationship!    About Us: We’re The Freemans, your go-to couple for authentic and actionable relationship advice. Send us your relationship ques

Listening is not a passive action! Listening is actually an intentional action. You might not recognize the difference between when you’re listening from your EGO vs your HEART. In this podcast, we’re going to break down the difference- how it sounds, how it feels to you, and how it feels to your partner. None of us were really taught how to LISTEN, which can leave your partner not feeling truly understood. Sure, you might have HEARD them, but did you TRULY listen. You’ll find out how to know.  This episode is critical for all couples to listen to and will help you connect at deeper, more profound levels than you’ve ever imagined.    About Us: We’re The Freemans, your go-to couple for authentic and actionable relationship advice. Send us your relationship questions for the show with a DM on Instagram. As you listen to the episode, tag us on an IG story and let us know what you loved.    Resources For Your Relationship: Pre-order our newest book, The Argument Hangover, and get over $200 of free bonus gifts.  T

Have you ever found yourself or your partner avoiding direct or clear communication, evading problems, fearing intimacy or competition, making excuses, blaming, playing the victim, feigning compliance with requests, being sarcastic, or hiding anger?  All of these behaviors describe being passive aggressive! You might not have thought of this at first, but there are many couples that are experiencing this right now in their marriage.  This topic even comes from patterns we saw in our couples group, so we put up a poll, and this topic was voted on to be this week's topic.  In this episode you will take away:  How to recognize the passive aggressive patterns The 3 reasons why this happens within a relationship 4 things that could be missing so that you do not do not have this pattern start or continue in your own marriage.    About Us: We’re The Freemans, your go-to couple for authentic and actionable relationship advice. Send us your relationship questions for the show with a DM on Instagram. As you listen to

Do you find that you are physically together with your partner more than ever, yet still feeling disconnected? How could this be right? Well, connection isn’t just about proximity. Connection also isn’t something that you can just count on always being there. It takes attention and intention just like anything in life that you want to grow.  Today’s topic came from multiple messages that we received within one hour. One of the questions saying: “What to do when you get disconnected? We are really intense, when we are close we are best friends. But sometimes we get into a cycle of and it’s hard to get out of being disconnected. It gets bad enough that we feel like pushing the wedding away...this is not what we want, we want to be partners and make it work” We also did the drawing for the podcast reviews and the winner is…. Betty on Instagram. So Betty please message us on IG so we can get your address to send your gift!    In this podcast episode you will take away:  What really fuels the feeling of connectio

Trust is the feeling of: “you have my back”. When trust is high in any relationship you can feel that you can fly, fail, and yet still be accepted and loved by your partner. This is so foundational for a healthy, happy relationship that wants to be able to grow. When trust has been broken, whether from a big or small event, it harbors doubt, resentment, and suspicion in the relationship.  Today’s topic came from several DM’s and IG poll votes, plus a financial trust question from Teresa: “After repeat offenses running the gamut of petty to severe in nature on occasion; how do you rebuild trust in a real way? I am between being codependent in needing to trust deeply and frustrated because I feel like I never can 100% trust because of the continued offenses and boundary crossing.”  One other question was: “It was about a promise of not doing something, then doing it and lying about it to my face….multiple times. So broken promises/outright lies/secrets. How to make amends and be consistent with everything?” Tha

So you have had a fight in your relationship, now what…? Right after you might feel angry or sad, certainty disconnected, or even that you do not want to be around them. This is a tough place to be in for your relationship; HOWEVER this is not the part you need to be worried about initially. It's about how long are you going to be in this period of being disconnected! This episode is all about how to reconnect after you have had a fight or disagreement.  Today’s topic came from a question on a DM from Isha on saying: “Can you include in your podcast about how to talk after a fight? How to listen and accept each other’s perspectives regarding a situation that has led to a fight?” Thank you for the question Isha as this is a topic we have gotten many questions about too.  Today from this episode you’ll takeaway: The 3 “Don’ts” for after a big fight  For example the action that has you sweep things under the rug Then the 3 things to “Do” after a fight to reconnect together.  For example how to get to the real r

All of a sudden the personality differences that attracted you to your partner earlier in the relationship, become the things that frustrate you and cause tension! How can this be? Once you find yourself in this place it can feel like your own needs are not getting met. For example maybe you are naturally more spontaneous and playful than your partner who ‘makes decisions slower’ and likes to structure and plan things out.    Today’s topic came from Heather’s question on Instagram that said: “My partner and I realized a key difference in the way we both operate. I have a need for spontaneity and often throw ideas out and expect him to roll with it. He has a need, however, to think things through and plan things out well in advance. How can we both be sensitive to each other’s needs while still feeling our own needs are met?”   Form today’s episode you’ll takeaway: Why this dynamic of tension happens in your relationship  How you can bring awareness to your differences first to leverage them as a team rather

Swinging for the fence right from the start here… criticism in your relationship in one of the top four things that lead to disconnection and divorce (*The Gottman Institute). Even besides that fact, being criticized by your partner just sucks! It leads to arguments, conflicts, and a loss of connection at best.  Though it may seem like a topic that you want to tell your partner to listen to, because this is something that THEY need to work on, there are key things that you BOTH can work on to better receive feedback, give feedback, and the major difference between criticism. With this you will be able to use feedback in your relationship at the right time and to evolve your relationship to be even better!  This topic came up from the question that Aaron G submitted in the Power Couple Book Club. He asked: "how can I take criticism better? I tend to get defensive, then nothing is solved and things are weird for a few days.” From this episode you’ll: Know the difference between criticism and feedback How to ta

So here you are, trying to share with your partner something that is important to you and something that you feel emotion around… Then they say something like: “you are overreacting, it’s not that big of a deal”,  or even “that doesn’t make sense!” You immediately feel invalidated and maybe that your feelings don’t matter, right? This causes many upsets and conflicts for couples and at the very least, disconnects you from love and understanding from your partner.  Today’s topic came from a coaching session we had this week, in which we then posted this question to our couples community: “Do you ever notice that you feel your emotions are invalidated by your partner, what has you feel that way?” There were many replies and great examples of the words and actions that caused people to feel invalidated (we will cover a number of them).  From this episode you’ll take away: What causes you to feel invalidated The 3 reasons why this is used as a  defensive mechanism The new actions to take to keep from invalidatin

You know those things your partner says or does that TRIGGER you? YES trigger, meaning you have an automatic emotion that comes up that then causes you to get upset. Then from there you may both do things that hurt and keep you disconnected for hours, days, or even weeks!  You’re not alone, we received hundreds of comments when we asked the community what triggers them in their relationship. This episode comes directly from a post on FB and Instagram about “what does your partner do that triggers you?”   We share what many of those responses were PLUS: The root cause of your personal triggers 3 things you can do differently when you do get triggered And how to talk calmly to your partner about triggers so they can support you   Quotes: “It’s not your partner’s responsibility to tip-toe around your emotional triggers. It is your opportunity to identify them, heal them and then ask them to support you.” - Jocelyn “Become aware, then share!”  - Aaron   About Us: We’re The Freemans, your go-to couple for authen

Avoiding conflicts in the short term only lead to resentment building in the long term! Though you may have adapted the philosophy of avoiding conflicts from other examples that you saw, or your own past experiences. It hurts your relationship by turning into resentment. You can even be a happy and growth focused couple but can start to build a rift in just a few days time.  So we took this topic of releasing resentment or getting past old hurts from Andrew on Instagram and Teresa on Facebook. They both essentially asked: “How do I let go of resentments or past hurts in my relationship now?”   So in this episode today you’ll takeaway: Why and how resentments build up from avoiding conflicts and withholding communications The steps to take to release any past hurts or resentments How to use the steps to ‘close the circle’ on future arguments, so that they don’t repeat themselves in the future and turn into resentment later on.  From listening you will feel free from keeping things held inside and clear about

Facing any time of challenge let alone a global down economy can have you wondering and doubting if you can pursue your passion. You may be wondering is this really the time to start or even grow a business (especially as a couple)?  You are about to find the answer to that and much more as Chris and Lori Harder share how they went from humiliation in the 2008 crash to building the foundation of the multiple million dollar companies they run TOGETHER.  You will hear how the requirements to be successful especially when you back is against a wall, you pivot, and reinvent yourself individually and as a couple! Learn how even having a good economy is the enemy to a great business! Plus how being business partners will take your romantic relationship to levels other couples won’t ever reach.    Questions Ask In The Interview: You two started a business together in the 2008 crash when you were laid off from what many would say is a steady job. How did you get resourceful rather than victims? Can you really pursue

Ever have those moments that don’t feel like they’re going your way? It could be that you suddenly got into a disagreement on a seemingly great day, your kids aren’t acting like you want them to, maybe one of you lost your job during the quarantine period…..or maybe your dog stepped on a cactus early in the morning (like our story) This episode is all about how to let go of RESISTING the present moment and what is HAPPENING. When you’re resisting what’s happening, you can get frustrated and not have a great attitude.  We’ll share a relatable story from how our day did not go as we expected this week, but how we switched our attitude about it quickly!  Connect More With Us: As you listen to the episode, tag us on an IG story and let us know what you loved.  Get $50 off the Communication Course For Couples. (use coupon code: PODCAST)

Things have absolutely changed in the world and in your life from this pandemic. You probably experience a change in your relationship roles (including taking on additional roles you never thought you would have to) and the amount of time you are in your home and around your partner. Plus, no matter what type of job, career, or business you are in; you probably have felt an impact in your finances!  Of course this has always been a top stressor on marriages, but now it can be glaring at you in the face, having you feel a lot of fear and uncertainty. This can bring up additional tension and pressure in your relationship together causing you to fight against each other.  So get ready to hear from iconic Elena Cardone, as her and her husband Grant are no strangers to challenges, financial downturns, and crashes. What you are going to know from Elena is that marriage is what makes you a better individual and how you can handle financial downturns. You are going to have the ways to stop fighting about ‘small thing

During these times of uncertainty with the coronavirus, do you find yourself torn between wanting to be really productive and taking time out to relax and just slow down? Or do you see many other people talking about finding the opportunity in these times to serve more people and grow your own influence and impact; and feel pressure to try and do the same?  Many couples are finding themselves in this dichotomy, which is putting even more pressure on the relationship, especially when each partner feels differently about this time.  So where is the balance between being productive and rejuvenating or even being able to just stay positive when you have emotions of uncertainty, fear, disconnection from your partner, or just not being on the same page?  In this episode with brilliant, courageous, and inspirational entrepreneur Jasmine Star, you will be able to find your balance, get clarity on what truly inspires you during this time, how to stay on the same page with your partner and be positive and productive du

Start your day off with a dose of laughter + power-packed content! This episode is your moment to gain 3 ways you become Stronger Than Ever during these tough times. If you follow us on social media, you’ve heard us say, “this time will either strengthen your relationship or strain it…..all based on your skills, actions and choices!” Since you’re listening to this podcast, you obviously are committed to it STRENGTHENING. So grab a cup of tea or head on a run to enjoy this episode giving you 3 practical ways to do just that! PLUS, we’re also including 3 clips from our ‘Couples Workshop’ (recorded home edition) so you can get a sneak peek into why couples are BUZZING around the world talking about how they are more connected than ever!  Connect More With Us: On Instagram (and tell us what you took away from this episode) ✅ Get instant access to ‘The Couples Workshop’ HERE (right to your home)