Empowered Couples

There are particular seasons within a relationship where you will ask yourself “is this the right relationship?”. There is nothing wrong with this question at all. You might be trying to decide to propose to your partner, having a tough week or month, or even deciding to stay in the marriage.  No matter the place you find yourself, the next real question is “how do I really determine this?” Most people default to their recent mood, attitude, or level of love or happiness now. But this is very conditional and conceptual. In this episode you will get the 4 Key Foundations to accurately measure whether you are in the right relationship and will inspire you when you can solidify each of these 4 keys.    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 bo

If you haven’t said this yourself, you’ve at least seen these “love” posts go around: “I accept all of you” or “there is nothing you could do for me to stop loving you”! While this is a great sentiment, the majority of people only know what half of this declaration really means.  Of course this is a great intent to accept your partner, but there is one major area that, if you are not prepared for, will come as a huge disappointment and upset for you in the future.  There are easier areas to accept about your partner because you can see them now, however Emotional Triggers of your partner are aspects that you MUST accept about your partner if you want to face challenges as a team. These individual and unique triggers are not something you see in the beginning, so they can catch you off guard if you are not prepared to accept them too.   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 yo

There's that feeling of trying to pull or "drag" your partner along when you want to grow and strengthen your own relationship. Here you are with good intentions to make certain areas of your relationship even better... but it's almost like you are doing it on your own or that you are literally forcing your partner to participate.  This can feel so draining and frustrating when your positive intention is met with resistance, push back, or even resentment. Almost like trying to get a child to eat his peas!  But does this mean that you have hit the ceiling of where your relationship growth can go? Or that your partner will never be open to the kind of growth you are? NO.. but you do need to take this different approach that Jocelyn herself covers in this episode.    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 l

If you are in a relationship, you have been disappointed at some point. If you are a human being even, you have been disappointed at some point in your life. Any disappointment in a relationship comes from a certain expectation that you had of your partner to do something, act or be a certain way. So is it bad to have expectations in your relationship, is this just a path to an unhealthy relationship? Well not necessarily… you will ALWAYS have expectations while you are alive as a human being and especially inside of your relationship. It's all in how you relate to and communicate about them that will have it be a healthy expectation or an unhealthy one.  In this episode we will cover how you take any expectation and make it a healthy part of your relationship that leads to growth and connection rather than one that leads to disappointment and disconnection.    About Us: We’re The Freemans, your go-to couple for authentic and actionable relationship advice. Send us your relationship questions for the show wit

You have been in an argument before right? You have also had a food or alcohol hangover at some point in your life too right? Well, put these two together and you have the term for how you feel in that period of time after you have a fight with your partner until you reconnect together. You might feel resentful of them, low energy, angry, hurt, or even not wanting to be around them. Whatever the emotion, how long does this last? It can be hours, days, weeks, or even years.  The goal in relationships is not to avoid conflicts however, because they are actually necessary. But you can learn (and should aim) to shorten this period of disconnection from your partner as well as keep arguments from escalating to the point they do damage to your partner. Today we will give you examples of how you can make arguments worse, then give you 2 ways to shorten your Argument Hangovers and get reconnected faster!    About Us: We’re The Freemans, your go-to couple for authentic and actionable relationship advice. Send us your

“I said I’m sorry, can’t we just move past this?” Is this a statement that you hear from your partner, or even one that you have said to them before? It most likely is and for some reason saying “I’m sorry” just doesn’t seem to cut it to resolve a conflict all the way and reconnect you both. Any idea why this is or what you can say (or do) instead? Well that is exactly what we are going to cover this episode today, as “I’m sorry” on its own is just not enough. During this episode you will hear the 7 reasons why it’s not enough, we will share our story of moving (yes we are still waiting on the trucking company over a week later) and how “sorry” was not enough for us, and then the first two steps of the “5 R Process” to being to reconcile and connect with your partner.    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 wha

Would you be willing to sell your house in 24 hours, and move across the country in under 3 weeks? Well we are, and we did! Whether that is something that you even thought about or not, the point is about being able to make BOLD decisions together, even during uncertainty, that will ultimately benefit your life and relationship.  Often there are many decisions that go into a BIG decision, and maybe you feel that you are good at coming up with ideas, but get stuck in taking that leap of faith.  In today’s episode we want to share with you (because we are very excited and want you to be a part of this journey with us too) about how we came to this decision to sell everything and make a big change in our lives. All so that you can get some of the principles so that you can make beneficial decisions faster and with more confidence together that will ultimately better serve your relationship. Even if it still scares you!    About Us: We’re The Freemans, your go-to couple for authentic and actionable relationship a

Yes we know that when you see the word Gratitude or Appreciation you think “I’ve heard that a thousand times”! Yet giving and showing your partner appreciation is one of the secret ingredients to a truly happy and connected relationship, one that barely gets it’s deserved air time. The reason being it’s never taken far enough. Appreciation is actually an art to be given so that it has a real impact and it’s just as important that you allow yourself to receive appreciation from your partner!  In today’s episode you will learn: Why appreciation is so important and why it’s so easily forgotten about. The art to delivering appreciation in a way that will be more meaningful to your partner (which is not just appreciating what they DO) That you might actually be blocking appreciation and the feeling or connection because you are unable to receive it (either from your past, or from a belief you have about yourself)   Best Quote:  “You cannot receive what you do not believe about yourself” - The Freemans    About U

Your immediate reaction to this episode might be “yes my partner definitely has some adult temper tantrums”. Which is probably true at times, so we will of course go more into how you can HELP and SUPPORT them, rather than avoiding or getting mad at them yourself.  BUT if you were really being honest, you might see that you yourself have your own tantrums sometimes. These are places that you just don’t know how else to express yourself or realize what it is you really want and need. Many of us do this (act like hurt or wounded kids) because we just do not know and were not taught any other way.  Maybe this is ok at work or with friends, but when it comes to a healthy, connected, and lasting romantic relationship… you will just do more damage than good. All because you haven’t learned these simple skills. In today’s episode you will learn: Why you, or your partner, express yourself like your child-self when you are feeling hurt or misunderstood. How to best support and communicate with your partner during the

Of course this seems like something that could never happen, but being honest, do you feel like you and your partner are just high functioning roommates? We are not talking about your actual college roommates, but at some point the experience of aliveness, passion, and being prioritized was overtaken by getting things done, having half conversations, and even disconnection.  This is happening for a lot of couples in the season however, as even mentioned by Chris Rock this week on SNL (eluding to the 34% rise in divorce rates over last year). Couples like you are finding themselves in difficult places and reevaluating the relationship. In this episode we give you 3 things to focus on and implement so that you get out of just feeling like roommates and get back to co-creating your life together that doesn’t have to look like anyone else’s relationship, or how your relationship was in the past.   About Us: We’re The Freemans, your go-to couple for authentic and actionable relationship advice. Send us your relati

It’s shocking and contradictory from what you’ve heard (or even believe), but LOVE IS NOT ENOUGH. You might ask: enough for what exactly? It’s not enough for love to last or deepen within your relationship.  Ok, be at ease, love is certainly a requirement for a great relationship and marriage, but what you need for it to last and for you to be a truly empowered couple is learning and implementing relationship skills!  In this 100th episode we explore this topic that we love and give you 3 reasons why love is not enough and then the 3 skills every couple must have to keep love alive. By implementing these skills you will be able to bring love back in any moment that is not feeling as connected or loved by your partner. You will learn that love is not conditional but an experience you always have control over. That’s a truly unconditional, empowered relationship!   About Us: We’re The Freemans, your go-to couple for authentic and actionable relationship advice. Send us your relationship questions for the show w

Hey friends, a special episode to give you straight-talk to get into action around your patterns, challenges, or pain points in your relationship. (Especially if you have already tried to have important conversations with you partner, and it doesn't go anywhere.) The Couples Workshop event is coming up LIVE on October 10th, but can be watched from your own home!    Here is the website to read more and save your seats   The promise of this workshop is that You Will Communicate Better & Resolve Conflicts Faster, in 5 Hours Instead of 5 Months! We’re coming to you live from a super high tech studio that literally will feel like you’re in person with us, yet you’re in the privacy of your own home. This is NOT going to be full of cliches like “communication is the key to a relationship.” Everyone knows that! It will provide you with step-by-step exercises to FINALLY feel understood, and resolve those same 2 or 3 disagreements that keep coming up over and over.   Save your seats here!   Surprise! A $40 off coup

So here you are having a conversation with your partner, then with the slightest hint of emotion arising, they shutdown. They might stop talking altogether or say “I’m not talking about this, move on” or even “get off my back". This could be because you are trying to have an important conversation with them or it can be out of the blue.  Either way, when your partner shuts down, you feel isolated, left out in the cold, or controlled because they are dictating when certain topics can be talked about. When this happens a few times you get frustrated because nothing seems to change and you are unable to make any progress together when your partner is totally unwilling to open up and let you in.  Hope is not lost (Aaron can vouch for that)! In this episode you will understand why this happens for your partner, as well as 3 things you can do differently to keep this pattern from happening. If you use these 3 things you will feel you can actually make progress in the relationship and understand more about each othe

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