Do you want a simple hack that can help your husband be delightfully engaged—rather than accidentally prompting him to withdraw? Well, pull up a chair and take a few quick notes on what we call the “next-day rule.” This approach may not matter to every man, but in my research studies with men it’s pretty…
Have you ever wished your marriage was just … easier? No retreating to corners, feeling like roommates, or feeling like your relationship orbits around your kids’ lives? We cover all this ground and more on the I Wish You Could Hear This podcast with Arlene Pellicane this week. The author of Making Marriage Easier, Arlene…
Expectations are appropriate in marriage, right? Things should be a certain way. We stepped on a landmine and we’re not even three sentences into the blog. Should. What if our “shoulds” are leading to unnecessary unhappiness? More to the point, what if we have expectations of our spouse that they are just not wired to…
Oh, to be newlyweds again. (And all the long-marrieds just collectively sighed a happy sigh.) The early years are exciting years! Full of planning, promise, and … pitfalls. Didn’t see that last one coming, did you? Googly-eyed at the altar, many young married couples don’t either. In this article and the next one we’re going…
Why does so much conflict happen in our marriages? Jeff and I have found one very important answer. Decades of statistically valid, nationally representative research has revealed one of the main reasons for hurt feelings, withdrawal, anger, and the guest bedroom looking like a much better place to sleep. Are you ready for it? Without…
“Why does my husband seem so ‘fragile’?” The words hung there on the jumbo screens during a live, interactive segment of a marriage conference I led with Jeff last year. Other audience members typed similar anonymous questions, which popped up onto the screen in real-time: The audience skewed pretty young (probably 90% were in their…
