What happens when the routine that used to structure your life suddenly disappears?

Maybe your kids leave home and you become an empty nester. Maybe you retire. Maybe you move to a new city, graduate from college, or simply find yourself with more free time than you’re used to having.

These life transitions can bring freedom, but they can also bring boredom, loneliness, restlessness, and the uncomfortable feeling of not quite knowing what to do with yourself.

In this episode of Relating with Jen Funk, I’m talking about why losing your usual routine can feel so disorienting, the difference between being alone and feeling lonely, and why we sometimes start expecting our spouse, friends, or adult children to fill the empty space for us.

We’ll also talk about how this can affect marriage - especially during retirement and the empty nest years - when one partner suddenly has more free time and begins looking to the other person for plans, companionship, and purpose.

I’ll share practical ways to adjust when life changes, create a new routine without filling every minute, get more comfortable doing things on your own, and build a life that feels like yours while still staying connected to the people you love.

If you’re navigating retirement, empty nesting, a move, a major life transition, loneliness, or simply wondering what to do with more time on your hands, this episode is for you.

For more relationship support and free resources, visit jenfunkcoaching.com.

Download Jen’s free guide, 5 Simple Habits to Improve Your Relationship Today, at https://www.jenfunkcoaching.com/5simplehabits

Or sign up to receive Jen's weekly newsletter filled with relationship tips and tools at https://www.jenfunkcoaching.com/newsletter

You can also check out Jen on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@jenfunkcoaching

Has sex or physical intimacy slowly disappeared from your marriage? Maybe it’s been weeks, months (or longer) and neither of you quite knows how you got here or how to start again.

I’m talking about why couples stop having sex, how stress, kids, low sex drive, hormones, aging and body changes can affect desire, and why waiting for your sex life to magically fix itself can make getting it back so much harder. Plus, I share what KC and I have learned in 25 years of marriage and five simple ways to start talking, touching and reconnecting before months turn into years.

For more relationship support and free resources, visit jenfunkcoaching.com.

Download Jen’s free guide, 5 Simple Habits to Improve Your Relationship Today, at https://www.jenfunkcoaching.com/5simplehabits

Or sign up to receive Jen's weekly newsletter filled with relationship tips and tools at https://www.jenfunkcoaching.com/newsletter

You can also check out Jen on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@jenfunkcoaching

Divorce rates have been falling overall, but among adults over 50, the story looks very different.

Gray divorce has more than doubled since 1990, and today nearly 40% of people getting divorced are 50 or older. But why are couples ending marriages after 20, 30, even 40 years together?

In this episode, I’m talking about what’s really behind gray divorce - and it’s not always an affair or some huge betrayal.

We’ll talk about:

• Why couples can slowly grow apart without realizing it
• What the empty nest can reveal about a marriage
• Four warning signs that disconnection may be growing
• Why resentment can build over decades
• What couples can start doing now to stay close as life changes
• Why getting help earlier can make such a difference

If you’re in your 40s, 50s, 60s, or simply want your marriage to still feel like a marriage long after the kids are grown - this episode is for you.

And this week, I’m giving you one simple place to start: ask your partner a question you haven’t asked in a while. You may be surprised by what you don’t know.

For more relationship support and free resources, visit jenfunkcoaching.com.

Download Jen’s free guide, 5 Simple Habits to Improve Your Relationship Today, at https://www.jenfunkcoaching.com/5simplehabits

Or sign up to receive Jen's weekly newsletter filled with relationship tips and tools at https://www.jenfunkcoaching.com/newsletter

You can also check out Jen on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@jenfunkcoaching

After 25 years of marriage, there are a lot of things I believed about relationships that I absolutely don’t believe anymore.

Like - if you’re with the right person, it shouldn’t be this hard. If you need counseling, something must be really wrong. Solid couples don’t question their relationship. And after you’ve been together long enough, people don’t really change.

Yeah… no. I don't agree.

In this episode, I’m sharing seven marriage myths I’ve learned to let go of through 25 years with my husband, KC - including some really happy years, some really hard ones, three kids, plenty of counseling, and a whole lot of learning along the way.

We’ll talk about why hard doesn’t necessarily mean wrong, why recurring problems don’t automatically mean you’re incompatible, why willingness matters so much more than perfection, and why “this is just how we are” doesn’t have to be the end of the story.

Whether your relationship is thriving, struggling, or somewhere in between, I hope this episode gives you a different way to look at the season you’re in - and a few practical things to think about moving forward.

For more relationship support and free resources, visit jenfunkcoaching.com.

Download Jen’s free guide, 5 Simple Habits to Improve Your Relationship Today, at https://www.jenfunkcoaching.com/5simplehabits

Or sign up to receive Jen's weekly newsletter filled with relationship tips and tools at https://www.jenfunkcoaching.com/newsletter

You can also check out Jen on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@jenfunkcoaching

What if nothing is really wrong in your relationship… but something still feels missing?

You’re not constantly fighting. There hasn’t been some huge betrayal. You may genuinely love each other and have a life that looks completely fine from the outside.

But somewhere along the way, the connection has started to fade.

In this episode, I’m sharing five signs of emotional neglect that can be incredibly easy to miss because they often look like normal life - fewer real conversations, less curiosity about each other, feeling disconnected even when you’re together, and slowly losing that sense of closeness.

We’ll also talk about why this happens in good relationships and, most importantly, what you can actually do about it.

I’ll give you three simple things to try this week to start rebuilding some of what may have gone missing - without blaming your partner or turning it into one giant relationship conversation.

For more relationship support and free resources, visit jenfunkcoaching.com.

Download Jen’s free guide, 5 Simple Habits to Improve Your Relationship Today, at https://www.jenfunkcoaching.com/5simplehabits

Or sign up to receive Jen's weekly newsletter filled with relationship tips and tools at https://www.jenfunkcoaching.com/newsletter

You can also check out Jen on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@jenfunkcoaching

We all like to believe the people closest to us can tell us anything. But what happens when they actually tell us something we don’t want to hear?

In this episode, I’m talking about how our reactions can unintentionally teach our spouse, kids, friends, and other people we love what feels safe to bring to us - and what they’re better off keeping to themselves.

We’ll talk about why people stop bringing up the “little things,” how defensiveness can shut down honesty, and why creating a safe space for the truth doesn’t mean there are no boundaries, consequences, or disagreements.

I’ll also share a few simple ways to respond differently when someone tells you something difficult - including how to watch your first reaction, stop arguing someone out of their feelings, and separate honesty from approval.

Because the question isn’t just, “Are the people in my life honest with me?”

The better question may be: What happens when they are?

For more relationship support and free resources, visit jenfunkcoaching.com.

Download Jen’s free guide, 5 Simple Habits to Improve Your Relationship Today, at https://www.jenfunkcoaching.com/5simplehabits

Or sign up to receive Jen's weekly newsletter filled with relationship tips and tools at https://www.jenfunkcoaching.com/newsletter

You can also check out Jen on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@jenfunkcoaching

What do you do when it feels like you’re the only one trying to hold your relationship together?

You’re the one initiating the conversations, suggesting date nights, bringing up counseling, trying to communicate differently - and your partner seems uninterested, checked out, or perfectly fine with the way things are.

In this episode, we’re talking about the difference between doing your part and taking responsibility for the entire relationship. I’ll share what you actually can change, what you can’t, how to stop managing the relationship for both of you, and how to look for something that matters even more than perfection: willingness.

Because yes, one person can absolutely change the dynamic of a relationship.

But one person cannot create a partnership alone.

In this episode:

• How “trying harder” can turn into carrying too much
• How to ask more clearly for what you need
• Why changing your approach can sometimes improve the relationship
• What it means when your partner still doesn’t engage
• 3 practical things to try this week

If you’ve been feeling exhausted, resentful, or alone in your marriage, this one is for you.

For more relationship support and free resources, visit jenfunkcoaching.com.

Download Jen’s free guide, 5 Simple Habits to Improve Your Relationship Today, at https://www.jenfunkcoaching.com/5simplehabits

Or sign up to receive Jen's weekly newsletter filled with relationship tips and tools at https://www.jenfunkcoaching.com/newsletter

You can also check out Jen on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@jenfunkcoaching

You can love your partner deeply, do a million things for them, and still have them say they don’t really feel loved.

So what gives?

In this episode, I’m talking about the difference between how we think we’re showing love and what actually makes our partner feel cared for. Sometimes it’s not about doing more - it’s about understanding what matters most to the person you’re with.

I’ll walk you through three simple questions and action steps you can try this week:

• Ask: “When do you feel most loved by me?”
• Ask the opposite: “What do I do that I think is loving, but actually doesn’t feel that way to you?”
• Pick just one thing your partner tells you and do more of that.

Because sometimes your partner doesn’t need more effort from you. They just need more of the things that make them feel loved.

Listen in and see how well you really know what makes your partner feel closest to you

For more relationship support and free resources, visit jenfunkcoaching.com.

Download Jen’s free guide, 5 Simple Habits to Improve Your Relationship Today, at https://www.jenfunkcoaching.com/5simplehabits

Or sign up to receive Jen's weekly newsletter filled with relationship tips and tools at https://www.jenfunkcoaching.com/newsletter

You can also check out Jen on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@jenfunkcoaching