If you’ve ever felt forced to be “the understanding one” while your heart keeps bleeding, this conversation will feel like oxygen. Kim and John dive straight into the cost of kid gloves after betrayal—how minimizing, DARVO, and conflict avoidance prolong pain—and what it actually takes to restore safety. We draw a sharp line between confidence and self awareness, unpack how trauma bonds keep partners stuck, and name the moment the betrayed spouse chooses reality over appeasement.

You’ll hear a clear framework for boundaries and consequences that isn’t about punishment—it’s about safety. We break down the four healthy responses every betraying partner must practice: listen without defense, ask what’s needed, act immediately with proactive transparency, and accept that trust is earned over time. Through a vivid boat analogy, we show why constant course corrections don’t work if the person steering denies the storm, and why stepping into community—therapy, groups, coaching—often becomes the turning point. Healing accelerates when witnesses help separate facts from gaslighting and teach steady presence in conflict.

Throughout, we return to the core truth: reconciliation requires accountability. Sobriety without honesty won’t rebuild trust. Integrity isn’t a speech; it’s a daily pattern of calm, consistent, boring choices that prove safety. If you’re the betrayed partner, expect to hear validation, language for boundaries, and encouragement to stop managing someone else’s emotions. If you’re the betrayer, expect a path forward that is hard, humbling, and absolutely possible.

If this resonates, share it with someone who needs courage today. Subscribe, leave a review to support the show, and tell us: what boundary or action step are you ready to take next?

Thank you for listening! For more information about us and the services we offer, visit www.hurtmeetshealer.com.

Intro & Outro music written, performed, and produced by Kim Capps.

This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be considered legal, medical, or professional advice. The views expressed by the Host or any Guest(s) are strictly their own and in no way constitute legal, medical, or professional advice.
Copyright ©️ 2025, Hurt Meets Healer, LLC. All rights reserved.

I Stopped Acting Out… So Why Do I Still Act Like a Jerk? (The Arrogance Trap in Recovery)

Sobriety stops the behavior, but does it actually make your partner feel safe? We go straight at the hard stuff: why pride can feel like progress, how “ego doping” keeps the reward system hooked, and what real humility looks like when the acting out ends but healing hasn’t begun. Kim and John unpack the difference between dry sobriety and meaningful recovery, naming the subtle dynamics that quietly wreck trust—minimizing, spiritual bypassing, scorekeeping, and defending intentions instead of owning impact.

We don’t stay theoretical. You’ll hear a practical path forward: a handwritten daily inventory that targets selfishness, fear, and dishonesty; direct amends for recovery behaviors like impatience and stonewalling; and a weekly ritual where you ask, “Where was I arrogant or insensitive this week?” and listen without defending. We talk about practicing being wrong on purpose, saying “I don’t know,” and building a support circle that tells you the truth instead of nodding along. You’ll also hear an anchoring question that reshapes the entire journey: if you stayed exactly as unhealed and proud as you are today, even while staying sober, would your partner feel safe and loved?

Rooted in faith and real-world recovery work, this conversation blends scripture’s call to humility with trauma-aware repair skills couples can use right away. Expect candor, tension, and hope as we map how humility becomes the engine of change—replacing ego with empathy and making room for trust to grow back. If you’re ready to trade pride for peace and sobriety for safety, press play and take the next honest step with us.

If this resonated, subscribe, share with someone who needs it, and leave a review to help others find the show. Your story could be the hope someone else is searching for.

Thank you for listening! For more information about us and the services we offer, visit www.hurtmeetshealer.com.

Intro & Outro music written, performed, and produced by Kim Capps.

This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be considered legal, medical, or professional advice. The views expressed by the Host or any Guest(s) are strictly their own and in no way constitute legal, medical, or professional advice.
Copyright ©️ 2025, Hurt Meets Healer, LLC. All rights reserved.

Change isn’t hard because you’re weak; it’s hard because it rewires how you survive. We open up about the messy middle of recovery after sexual betrayal and infidelity, where deep ruts—neural and emotional—fight to keep things the same. Together we unpack why willpower alone fails, how dopamine trains the brain to cling to secrecy and validation, and why early sobriety can feel painfully flat compared to the highs of acting out. Naming the biology clears shame and gives us a plan.

We also draw a firm, necessary line around encouragement. Contrast changes people more than conflict, but timing is everything. Encouragement can pull a willing partner toward risk and growth only when honesty and safety are present. If blame, defensiveness, or deceit continue, the betrayed spouse is in the ICU; their job is not to inspire the person who hurt them. We lay out a simple intimacy pyramid—honesty, safety, trust, vulnerability, intimacy—that keeps recovery grounded. Expecting closeness without the base is a setup for more pain.

From there, we share five non‑negotiables that make change stick: daily recovery work, rigorous honesty that kills secrecy, trauma healing for the roots beneath behavior, building a new identity in sobriety with words and actions, and radical acceptance that your spouse may never trust you again—and recovery must stand regardless. We also talk through real-life moments where small, sincere actions soften hard soil, and when boundaries or separation are the most loving choice. We pray you’ll leave with clarity, hope anchored to practice, and next steps you can start today.

If this helped, subscribe, share with someone who needs it, and leave a review so more people can find the show. Ready for support? Connect with us at www.hurtmeetshealer.com and tell us what you want us to tackle next.

Thank you for listening! For more information about us and the services we offer, visit www.hurtmeetshealer.com.

Intro & Outro music written, performed, and produced by Kim Capps.

This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be considered legal, medical, or professional advice. The views expressed by the Host or any Guest(s) are strictly their own and in no way constitute legal, medical, or professional advice.
Copyright ©️ 2025, Hurt Meets Healer, LLC. All rights reserved.

**Disclaimer: We discuss real issues about our relationship. This, at times, is raw, emotional, and extremely hard. Use caution and employ grounding techniques if you become triggered by this discussion.

What if the story you tell yourself about pain is the very thing keeping you in it? We go straight at faulty belief systems—those sticky, inherited, and often spiritualized narratives that shape how we interpret betrayal, minimize abuse, and call silence “peace.” From the “elephant in the parlor” of family secrets to church myths about divorce, we unpack how bias, fear, and shame create a reality distortion that blocks healing and keeps couples locked in patterns that feel holy but harm the heart.

Together, we name how FBS shows up in marriages hit by sexual addiction and infidelity: apologies without change, entitlement around sex, and the belief that keeping the peace means burying the truth. We contrast enabling with love, and we talk about the real work of repair—honesty, humility, boundaries, and accountability. You’ll hear raw reflections on fear’s grip, why “you don’t know what you don’t know” becomes a shield, and how head‑on collisions with reality—though painful—often expose the lies we’ve been living under.

If you need a compass, we offer three simple questions to test your thinking: What evidence supports this belief? Am I confusing a thought with a fact? Do I know for certain the worst will happen? We also revisit a grounding principle: mental health is a commitment to reality at all costs. Whether you’re the betrayed or the betraying partner, expect practical language, honest tension, and a call to redefine peace as the presence of truth, humility, and accountability. Subscribe, share this with someone who needs clarity, and leave a review telling us which belief you’re ready to challenge next.

Thank you for listening! For more information about us and the services we offer, visit www.hurtmeetshealer.com.

Intro & Outro music written, performed, and produced by Kim Capps.

This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be considered legal, medical, or professional advice. The views expressed by the Host or any Guest(s) are strictly their own and in no way constitute legal, medical, or professional advice.
Copyright ©️ 2025, Hurt Meets Healer, LLC. All rights reserved.

“When you choose you, you lose me” is a hard sentence to hear—and a necessary one to explore. We unpack how selfish patterns, secrecy, and transactional bargains corrode love after betrayal, and why safety-focused boundaries are not punishment but the first scaffolding of repair. From raw personal stories to faith-grounded principles, we trace the slow work of rebuilding trust day by day, drop by drop.

We dig into the difference between self-care and self-centeredness, especially in the wake of sexual addiction or infidelity. The betrayed partner needs protective space; the betraying partner often misreads that space as rejection and withdraws. We reframe boundaries as signals for safety, not walls for distance. Then we get practical: how to replace defensiveness with curiosity, how to offer empathy without centering yourself, and how to establish predictable accountability that lowers anxiety and stops the cycle of wound, promise, repeat.

You’ll hear a vivid metaphor for change—plowing fallow ground. Trust won’t grow in hardened soil. It takes repeated passes: honest disclosure, consistent transparency, and small daily acts that demonstrate care without keeping score. We also face a hard truth about timelines: the distance into deception often equals the distance out. Slower is safer, because slower sticks. Action proves love, consistency proves trust, and change proves sorry.

If you’re navigating betrayal trauma or working to rebuild after breaking trust, this conversation offers clarity, language, and next steps. Tap into group support and trauma-informed coaching, align your actions with your values, and practice empathy that heals rather than explains. Subscribe, share with someone who needs hope today, and leave a review with one takeaway you’ll put into practice this week.

Thank you for listening! For more information about us and the services we offer, visit www.hurtmeetshealer.com.

Intro & Outro music written, performed, and produced by Kim Capps.

This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be considered legal, medical, or professional advice. The views expressed by the Host or any Guest(s) are strictly their own and in no way constitute legal, medical, or professional advice.
Copyright ©️ 2025, Hurt Meets Healer, LLC. All rights reserved.

A single sentence—“When you choose you, you lose me”—can crack open the truth about why relationships crumble after betrayal. We take you inside that reality with a candid look at selfishness versus self-care, what safety actually feels like in the body, and how boundaries function as bridges instead of walls. From the first minute, we name the hard parts: gaslighting that reframes feelings as attacks, entitlement that calls harm “fairness,” and the slow burn of repeated deception that turns homes into places where nervous systems never rest.

You’ll hear why accountability starts where defensiveness ends, and how “sorry” changes shape when trust needs proof, not poetry. We pull from relationship research and lived experience to outline practices that work in the real world: clear boundaries that protect dignity, empathy that holds pain without correction, and routines that remove secrecy from daily life. We talk about the trap of tit for tat thinking, the power of saying what is true before it is comfortable, and the reason unresolved issues don’t disappear—they stack up until someone says stop. Faith meets psychology through a simple call from Zechariah: tell the truth, don’t scheme, and work for peace.

If you’ve wondered whether stepping back is unloving, you’ll find language for healthy detachment that creates space for real change. If you’re the partner seeking repair, you’ll learn how to listen to understand, respect boundaries as acts of love, and sit with pain without dismissing it as punishment. And if your gut has been your only compass, we’ll help you trust it while you build a plan that turns intention into consistent action. Subscribe, share this with someone who needs clarity and courage, and leave a review with the one boundary that helped you breathe again.

Thank you for listening! For more information about us and the services we offer, visit www.hurtmeetshealer.com.

Intro & Outro music written, performed, and produced by Kim Capps.

This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be considered legal, medical, or professional advice. The views expressed by the Host or any Guest(s) are strictly their own and in no way constitute legal, medical, or professional advice.
Copyright ©️ 2025, Hurt Meets Healer, LLC. All rights reserved.

Kim and John wrap up Season 1 by reflecting on their personal and relational growth through recovery from sexual addiction and infidelity. They explore how significant life changes—like Kim's 50-pound weight loss journey—mirror the emotional healing process that requires patience, consistency, and professional help.

• Kim shares her longing for "safety, peace, stability, and consistency" after years in survival mode
• John discusses learning to lead with love and stability despite his own woundedness and past failures
• The metaphor of John's broken foot illustrates how physical and emotional healing both take longer than expected
• Discussion of trauma anniversaries and how "the body keeps the score" even when the mind wants to move forward
• Kim expresses her desire for "newness, not restoration" in their relationship
• Exploration of how men set the tone in relationships and how women respond to feeling safe and cherished
• Acknowledgment that healing requires facing problems honestly rather than avoiding them

Join us for Season 2 where we'll continue peeling back layers of healing from betrayal trauma. Connect with us at www.hurtmeetshealer.com to share your stories and topic suggestions.

Thank you for listening! For more information about us and the services we offer, visit www.hurtmeetshealer.com.

Intro & Outro music written, performed, and produced by Kim Capps.

This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be considered legal, medical, or professional advice. The views expressed by the Host or any Guest(s) are strictly their own and in no way constitute legal, medical, or professional advice.
Copyright ©️ 2025, Hurt Meets Healer, LLC. All rights reserved.

Forgiveness after betrayal isn't simply about saying "sorry"—it demands fundamental change that many struggling couples never achieve. This raw, unfiltered conversation pulls back the curtain on what true reconciliation requires after sexual betrayal tears a relationship apart.

Kim introduces a powerful concept that cuts through empty apologies: "Sorry stops." Genuine repentance means the harmful behavior completely ends, not just gets temporarily paused or hidden better. For betrayed spouses, recognizing true remorse means watching for subtle signs—facial expressions, attitudes, and the absence of blame—that reveal whether their partner has truly changed or is merely performing remorse.

The discussion takes a brutally honest turn when Kim raises the question many betrayed spouses silently ask themselves: "What benefit are you to me?" This seemingly harsh inquiry exposes the legitimate calculus every hurt partner must make—is staying in this relationship bringing healing or further harm? John's struggle to respond emotionally rather than logically to this question perfectly illustrates the communication barriers that make reconciliation so challenging.

Throughout the episode, the hosts' own ongoing journey becomes a real-time demonstration of both the possibility and difficulty of healing. Their vulnerable exchanges—sometimes tense, sometimes tender—show why rebuilding trust requires "provable behavior over time" and why emotional intelligence is so crucial to the process.

For anyone walking the painful path of recovery after betrayal, this conversation offers both validation and practical wisdom: establish healthy boundaries that protect without attempting to control; pursue individual healing regardless of your partner's choices; and understand that successful reconciliation doesn't mean rebuilding what was—it means creating something entirely new from the broken pieces.

Ready to dive deeper into your healing journey? Connect with us at hurtmeetshealer.com and discover resources designed specifically for those navigating the aftermath of betrayal.

Thank you for listening! For more information about us and the services we offer, visit www.hurtmeetshealer.com.

Intro & Outro music written, performed, and produced by Kim Capps.

This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be considered legal, medical, or professional advice. The views expressed by the Host or any Guest(s) are strictly their own and in no way constitute legal, medical, or professional advice.
Copyright ©️ 2025, Hurt Meets Healer, LLC. All rights reserved.