This episode of The 3L’s Podcast tackles one of the quiet killers of marriage. The dry season.

Eman and Miriam speak honestly about what happens when life takes over. Kids arrive. Sleep disappears. Stress builds. Work drains you. Before you realise, intimacy drops off and you start living like housemates.

They break down how childbirth, exhaustion, emotional disconnect, and unresolved conflict affect desire. Miriam shares how recovery after birth, hormones, and being “touched out” leave many women with nothing left to give. Eman speaks from the male side. Rejection hits hard. When intimacy stops, men often feel unwanted, unseen, and unappreciated.

They explore a key difference. Many women need emotional safety to feel close. Many men see sex as connection, release, and affirmation. When couples fail to talk, both sides suffer in silence.

The conversation moves into discipline, expectations, and responsibility inside marriage. You hear why waiting for perfect moods does not work. Why routine arguments should not shut down intimacy. Why timing matters. Why tired evenings often fail. Why mornings or planned moments sometimes work better.

They stress communication. Say what you need. Say when you feel rejected. Say when you feel overwhelmed. Guessing breeds resentment. Silence creates distance.

A listener dilemma brings everything into focus. After a second child, intimacy disappears for six months. He says he’s tired. She says she’s touched out. He says sex should not sit at the centre of marriage. She feels the absence like a warning sign.

Eman argues faith, purpose, and shared values matter, but intimacy still plays a major role. Money and sex sit among the top causes of divorce. Ignore either and your marriage pays the price.

Miriam adds balance. Sex does not need candles and roses every time. Neither should scripture become a weapon. Start with conversation. Find the root. Seek counselling. Pray together. Adjust routines. Share the load. Put kids to bed together. Create space for rest. Be honest about performance, desire, and needs.

They also speak on ageing, hormones, self-care, and attraction. Letting yourself go affects connection. So does pretending everything feels fine when it doesn’t.

The core message stays clear.

Marriage needs effort. Intimacy needs intention. Love needs communication.

Dry seasons happen. What matters is whether you face them together or drift apart in silence.

Church sits at the centre of many faith journeys. Online stories often frame church as a safe home, full of guidance and community. Many lived experiences show a darker side, where power, judgement, and culture take control. The episode pushes past polished language and asks what church life does to people when leadership fails.

The conversation focuses on marriage, and the role church leaders and parents sometimes take. Consent between two adults often loses weight when families object. Culture and tribal loyalty step into the space where scripture should lead. Status, class, and immigration pressures shape opinions, then church authority gets used to enforce personal preference.

A real example grounds the discussion. A Christian woman asked churches for nappies and food for her baby. No support came through. She called mosques next. The mosques offered help without debate, and some even sent someone to buy supplies from a shop. The contrast raises one clear question. Where did compassion go inside church spaces.

Personal experience adds depth. Gossip spread. Accusations followed. People spoke with certainty, then walked away from the damage. Healing required distance, prayer, and a rebuilt relationship with God outside church walls. The episode ends with no rules, only a focus on one truth. Faith stays personal, boundaries protect peace, and God does not equal church culture.

Cheating sits at the centre of many modern marriage debates. Online culture treats infidelity as a final act, with little room for reflection, repair, or responsibility. This episode pushes back against simplified answers and explores what betrayal truly does to a relationship.

The conversation looks beyond the act itself and focuses on trust, intention, trauma, and boundaries. Cheating rarely lives in isolation. Lies, secrecy, emotional distance, and repeated patterns often cause deeper harm than sex alone. Forgiveness then becomes less about grace and more about safety, self respect, and emotional survival.

You also explore how upbringing, gender expectations, faith environments, and pressure to marry shape behaviour. Many people enter marriage wanting change before readiness exists. When growth fails to match commitment, damage follows. This episode questions whether every betrayal signals the end, or whether context, accountability, and change carry weight.

A real dilemma grounds the discussion. A woman forgave infidelity, rebuilt through therapy and prayer, then faced flirtatious behaviour again. The wound reopened. Trust never fully settled. Her question cuts through everything. When forgiveness happens once, what happens when patterns return.

This episode does not give rules. You offer perspective, lived experience, and uncomfortable honesty. The focus stays on one truth. Every marriage sets its own non negotiables, and every decision carries a cost the couple must live with.

Managing family money sounds simple until real life hits. Bills rise. Goals move. Family asks for help. One partner feels pressure. The other feels kept in the dark.

In this episode, Eman and Mariam talk through what keeps a household steady when money feels tight. They get honest about budgeting, bank statements, joint accounts, and the spending habits nobody wants to admit.

Mariam talks about cutting off “small” spending that adds up fast, including Vinted. Eman talks about responsibility, family support, and why secrecy damages trust more than the amount ever will.

You also get a dilemma that hits home. A wife finds out her husband has sent £300 a month to his brother behind her back. They are saving for a house. She has cut back on everything. He acts broke, yet money leaves the house every month. Eman and Mariam break down what fair looks like. They talk through family obligations, shared goals, and the one rule that protects a marriage when money gets tense.

If you and your partner want a calmer year with money, start here. Talk early. Share numbers. Agree rules. Stick to the plan.

Key moments you will hear

Why a budget means nothing without bank statements

Joint accounts for shared bills, plus personal spending money

The “leakage” problem, where cash disappears without a clear reason Saving for children, and why consistency beats big one-off deposits

The £300 secrecy dilemma, and what to do next as a couple

Family support, duty, and where boundaries sit inside a marriage

Share your take in the comments. Would you tell your partner before sending family money each month, or after?

We spent Christmas in Dubai as a family. Sun, space and time together. No pressure. No rush. Just memories.

This episode reflects on travel, parenting and money. You hear why shared experiences matter more than things. You hear how keeping costs low at home creates freedom later. You hear what discipline looks like after motivation fades.

We talk about children as travellers. Calm flights. No tablets. Pool days over presents. Those moments reshape how you view work and income.

We also unpack the new year mindset. No fake reset. Same people. Higher standards. Clear non negotiables. Discipline over motivation.

We speak on boundaries. Protecting energy. Choosing who gets access. Staying focused when noise grows louder.

There is a real dilemma too. One partner plans. The other rolls eyes. Vision boards. Fasting. Goals. One person fixes the fallout. We break down contentment versus growth. Leadership versus dragging someone along.

This episode speaks to families who want more and accept the work behind it.

Topics covered

• Christmas away from home

• Raising children through experiences

• Money choices and low fixed costs

• Motivation versus discipline

• Protecting time and energy

• Faith, focus and long term vision

• Marriage and mismatched drive

Watch. Reflect. Then decide how you want to move through 2026.

Christmas looked different when we were kids. One of us grew up with double celebrations in Nigeria but no real presents. The other waited years for one gift and saw parents stretch every pound to make the day special. Those early years shaped how we see the season now. We speak about childhood memories, immigration struggles, catalogue shopping, trees that came late, and the joy that came from food and family. We share how our own trauma pushed us to overspend in the early years with our children and how we learned to focus on meaning instead of piles of presents. We explain our simple gift plan. One thing they want. Something to read. Something to wear. A small extra treat. We talk about donating toys, buying smart after Christmas, and avoiding the trap of early pay that drains January. We open up about hosting. Why the load should be shared. Why guests need to bring something. Why you protect your home and your budget. We speak about loneliness at Christmas and give a reminder to call people who might be struggling. This year we prepare for our first Christmas abroad. We look forward to warmth, new sights, and watching our kids experience the season in a new country. You get honest talk. You get humour. You get a real look at how our family does Christmas, how far we have come, and why gratitude guides us through the season.

This episode asks a hard question. Do people stay in marriages they regret. You walk through real stories and raw moments. You look at partners who stay out of guilt. You look at people who fear being alone. You look at couples who stay for the kids while losing years they will never get back.

You speak about health issues that trap people in place. You speak about men who leave when sickness hits and the women who stay through it. You speak about partners who settle because their first choice moved on. You share a story about a wife hearing her husband admit he settled for her. You break down what regret does to a home.

You also show the other side. You talk about how real love is worth fighting for. You stress the value of time apart when tempers rise. You push couples to seek the root cause instead of jumping to divorce. Stress at work. Family pressure. Burnout. Silence. Loss of intimacy. All of these shape how someone shows up.

You explain why divorce should be the last step. You look at the cost of wasting ten years in a dead relationship only to start life over in your fifties. You talk about comfort zones and how they limit growth. You challenge people to choose honesty. You ask them to stop coasting.

The conversation ends with a reminder. People withdraw for reasons that have nothing to do with you. Give grace. Look for the root. Offer space when needed. Support your partner before you assume they have checked out.

This episode shows a softer side of our marriage. You hear honest moments about grief, growth, confidence, and commitment. Eman speaks about the waves of emotion that still hit after losing his dad. Small moments with the kids now trigger deep memories and gratitude for the years they shared. He talks through the early struggles, the seasons when money was tight, and the pressure of rebuilding his life from scratch. He reflects on humility, leadership, and why serving your family matters more than any public success.

Mimi shares her journey through self doubt and how she learned to see value in her own voice. She talks about walking into her speaking course feeling out of place, wanting to hide in the corner, and then leaving with a stronger sense of purpose. She explains how motherhood shaped her identity and why she often downplays her achievements. This episode shows her stepping into new confidence and being seen by her husband in a way she has not always allowed herself to be seen.

Together we speak about partnership, faith, and responsibility. We explore what support looks like when life is heavy, why couples must put each other first, and how outside opinions damage relationships that were never theirs to judge. We talk about building a home where love sits above ego, raising children who feel safe, and creating a life that protects your peace. You also hear why we want to move our family to Dubai and the practical challenges that come with that decision.

This episode is for anyone carrying grief, raising children, rebuilding confidence, or trying to grow with their partner. You hear honesty, humour, love, and two people choosing each other through every season.