Laura Doyle

When Love Doesn’t Conquer All

How I Got a Second Chance at True Intimacy
Darlene, Laura Doyle Certified Coach

In 2000, I was blessed with a second chance: a do-over with Jay, my first love and the father of my only child.

Jay and I had not seen each other or even spoken for almost 20 long years. Somehow, neither of us had married or had other children. When we reconnected, we knew that our love story was one that onlyGod could have written, so this time around we wanted to make it official! We got married and became a family for the very first time.

Although we were so committed to making this renewed love work, as with every relationship, life started to challenge us with bumps on the road and the obstacles that come with marriage and family.

I wish I could say that love conquers all, but I had lived through enough to understand that I had to embrace a new way of thinking and being if I wanted the relationship to work this time.

The problem was, I wasn’t sure what that “new way” looked like.

Fortunately, I discovered just in time exactly how to have a passionate and peaceful relationship. Click To Tweet Read More›

My Husband and I Fight All the Time

What You Can Do when It’s His Fault
Kathy Murray, Certified Master Relationship Coach

My husband and I fought about everything all the time.

Every day I told him what to wear, what to do professionally and around the house. I controlled all the money–how we spent it and invested. I would even redo the laundry he had folded or the way he’d set up the online banking because I didn’t think he had done it right.

He responded by shouting. Our home was tense and volatile, but I was sure that if Doug would only see things my way we could save our marriage.

I started going to therapy, where I would complain about how much I resented him because he never took initiative. I was exhausted from working full time, managing the household budget, and raising four children and my husband too!

There was so much distance between us that we slept in separate bedrooms. I was lonely, unhappy and devastated by the thought of a second divorce, but I also felt powerless to fix things.

I thought our failing marriage was entirely my husband’s fault, just like I believed that my first divorce was entirely my first husband’s fault.

It turns out I did have the power to save my marriage--and even to make it blissful again. Click To Tweet Read More›

The Most Important Step in My Journey

From Arguing to Happily-Ever-After
Becky, Laura Doyle Certified Coach

At age 37, I met the man I would marry. We dated briefly before he proposed, and I figured I had nothing to lose. I was hoping for happily-ever-after and preparing for the worst at the same time.

My happily-ever-after never arrived, but the worst did. My insecurities and fears took control. Early on, I felt lost, hurt, and alone. We argued all the time and immediately grew painfully apart. I was regretting marriage altogether.

Since I did not trust him, I controlled everything: chores, bills, finances, cooking, and practically all the decisions in our household. I felt overworked, taken for granted, and depleted.

I lost myself completely.

Occasional good moments gave me glimpses of hope. Then, in record time, we would be back to arguments and recurring threats of divorce.

I felt stuck. Even though it appeared that we didn’t stand a chance, I did not want to end my marriage until I knew I had tried everything possible!

Here’s what actually worked to stop the fighting and bring about my happily-ever-after. Click To Tweet Read More›

I Am So Resentful

How I Traded in My Resentment for True Partnership
Stefanie, Laura Doyle Relationship Coach

I remember when I learned that the word “resentment” comes from the French word “sentir,” meaning to feel. As in feeling something over and over.

No wonder my opportunities for chronic resentment were on automatic replay in my head.

And I lost no opportunity of telling my husband about them. I was overwhelmed and unsupported, doing everything myself.

My deepest fear had come to fruition: I was alone. Or at least it felt that way.

My definition of marriage had been clear (to me, at least). It would be a partnership, everything split 50/50: the bills, housework, childcare. But for some reason, this was not happening.

How could this be? When I met Marco, I didn’t think people like him existed. He was so happy. He said that the word “stress” was not in his vocabulary and that he was here to simplify my life.

But it wasn’t so simple. Who would want a peaceful romance when I could opt for drama? I seemed addicted to it, with zero experience having a peaceful relationship.

Here’s how I kicked the drama and resentment for lasting peace. Click To Tweet Read More›

My Relationship Is Hopeless

How to Make Marriage Sexy Again
Valerie, Laura Doyle Certified Coach

“Thank you for being a sexy, hot mama,” my husband says, then he kisses me goodbye and leaves for work.

Yum! I lay in my cozy bed feeling thankful for a hardworking and loving husband. Extra thankful, in fact, because of how dramatically our entire lives have changed.

My story actually begins with an exhausted and unfulfilled “heroine”: me, a.k.a. “Superwoman,” who was actually more like Mary Mary Quite Contrary.

Bitter. Mad. Lonely. Sad.

Feeling unloved, uncherished, undesired, and unlovely.

As an extrovert, I have a perversely large desire to be seen, heard, appreciated, applauded, and extravagantly loved. (Maybe I can blame my grandma, who knows practically everyone and can talk to a tree.)

Whatever the cause, it feels like a curse at times. And whatever the personality, I know I’m not alone in having a profound need to be seen, heard, appreciated, and loved.

I had no idea my efforts to get the attention, appreciation, and love I craved were backfiring. Click To Tweet Read More›

I Am Exhausted

How I Went from Doing It All to Having It All
Marissa, Laura Doyle Certified Coach

In my house, I did it all.

If a diaper needed to be changed, I changed it. If a last-minute doctor visit was needed, I rearranged my schedule. If the house was dirty, I cleaned it.

I was exhausted from handling the majority of the childcare and household responsibilities.

I was also suffering from postpartum depression following the birth of my daughter. I’m certain that continuing to do so many things I really didn’t want to be doing contributed to my depression.

With depression, exhaustion and just plain misery oozing out of me, my husband became the enemy in my eyes.

It was ugly. He did very little to help and when he did, he did it wrong. I was so angry about having to do everything to keep up the house and care for our daughter.

I was clearly married to a misogynist and knew it was his mother’s fault for babying him and doing everything for him.

Here’s how I got my husband to step up and be the man I wanted so I could finally kick my feet up. Click To Tweet Read More›

My Husband Irritates Me

How I Went from Annoyed to Adored
Sara, Laura Doyle Certified Coach

I had a hard time talking with my husband from the beginning.

Sitting in the lobby of some hotel, I would feel stifled at his choice of topics for conversation. I felt pressured to read up before we met so that I would look at least somewhat intelligent.

I’d also be annoyed that when the taxi driver didn’t give him change, he would just let it go.

However, I saw that he was sensitive, gentle, good-looking, and very smart.

We got married about five months after we met, and I was a nervous wreck. I wasn’t sure if I liked or respected him that much, but I was afraid that no one else out there
would want me.

As a newlywed, my husband was always thinking of ways to delight me, like bringing home an ice cream cone for us to share. Still, I would be annoyed. Didn’t he know I was trying to diet?!

Here’s how I turned my annoying husband into one who adores me--a feeling that’s now mutual. Click To Tweet Read More›

From Roommates to Romantics

How My Despair Brought Back the Man of My Dreams

Coach Jo

In 2005, I met the man of my dreams: funny, outgoing, romantic, passionate, talented, smart, kind, caring, generous and extremely sexy!

I felt incredible when I was with him. We were engaged eight months later and married soon after.

After nine years of the ups and downs of married life, I was falsely accused of being unfaithful. Shocked and devastated, I started a seven-month pity party. I couldn’t stand the despair of living with a man who had become merely a roommate and business partner.

I had no idea my despair would help me become cherished, adored and romanced. Click To Tweet Read More›

My Husband Betrayed Me

How I Found My Way Back to Love

Rachel Smith

At the age of 20, I met my husband to be. He was charming, a true gentleman with such a beautiful heart. I fell in love quickly, and the next year we were married. I was so happy to be a wife and full of anticipation about the life we would create together.

However, our marital bliss didn’t last for long.

Life seemed to have dealt us an unfair hand. Two weeks before our wedding, my mother had a massive stroke that left her with severe aphasia. The next year, my parents divorced.

I soon found myself responsible for taking care of my mother, helping my two sisters finish high school, and mediating between my parents. To top that off, we had tons of debt from college loans, pressure to succeed in our new careers, a couple moves, not to mention all our past baggage.

We were up a creek without a paddle, and I began to feel incredibly helpless and sad. The only way to numb the pain was to control anything and everything that I could.

This included my husband, who, unfortunately, would not be controlled. Instead, he drifted further and further away.

Here’s how I repaired the rift, even after the ultimate betrayal. Click To Tweet Read More›

How I Got My Happily-Ever-After Back

Sue, Laura Doyle Certified Coach

Once upon a time, there was a prince named Gregory who came across a fair maiden lady named Sue. And as the story goes, after it took them so long to find one another, they were destined to live happily ever after–or so they thought.

The differences between us began to appear when we were engaged and Greg moved into my townhouse. It wasn’t really the everyday things such as cooking, cleaning, and laundry that we struggled with. I was deeply blessed to have found a 55-year-old bachelor who was quite self-sufficient and self-motivated.

Where we struggled was our communication, mutual decision-making, and emotional differences.

I controlled all the finances and planned to continue to control all the decisions regarding my townhouse, along with many other things.

I gave my controlling opinion about his truck-driving job, which had him on the road for weeks on end. As a weekend wife, I was exhausted from doing everything and lonely because he was hardly ever home. I was not handling it emotionally well at all, which made him miserable with regret and unable to make me happy.

Here’s the magical ingredient that was missing from our marriage and how we got it back. Click To Tweet Read More›