What happens when you’ve done the work… and now relationships feel harder, not easier?

In this episode, Amanda and Ashton unpack why healing can actually make love, friendship, and partnership more challenging — but also more meaningful.

After a weekend filled with stillness, church, deep conversations, and seven kids running around (because balance), Amanda reflects on the power of quiet and how grounding yourself changes what you’re willing to tolerate. When you’ve fought hard for your peace, you stop handing it away.

We talk about:

• Why you don’t fully heal before love — you heal inside of it
• How relationships expose wounds you didn’t know were still there
• Why second (and third) marriages have higher divorce rates
• The difference between healed and scabbed-over
• What it means to be a “safe container” for someone
• Faster repair vs. perfection
• Why healing raises your standards — and lowers your tolerance
• The truth about conflict: does it bring you closer or push you apart?
• Friendship after growth: depth over drama

We also explore what real love actually looks like — not the highlight reel version, but the patient, kind, accountable, grounded kind. The kind that doesn’t weaponize your wounds. The kind that stays.

If you’ve ever wondered why dating feels harder now that you know yourself…
If you’ve struggled with boundaries after surviving painful relationships…
If you’ve questioned whether you’re “too much” or just unwilling to settle…

This one’s for you.

Because healing doesn’t mean becoming untriggerable.
It means becoming aware enough to respond instead of react.

Cheers to peace. Cheers to purpose. And cheers to depth over drama. 💛

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