Show Notes
Want to submit questions? Email us at [email protected] Our book, Overcoming Infidelity, is OUT NOW: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Overcoming-Infidelity/Carl-Lentz/9781668230497
"Is it really possible to overcome infidelity?" It's the question behind the title of our new book, and we hear it in some form every week. Today, on release day, we answer it live from Nashville, along with your questions about the book.
We talk about why we wrote it, what it is (and what it definitely isn't), and why we built it as ten conversations instead of a formula. Laura explains why sharing your story is one of the last parts of healing, and why the title says overcoming, not overcome. Carl answers the question people keep asking about what comes next, and he doesn't leave much room for interpretation.
Then we take on one of the most common questions we get from betrayed spouses: how do you stop replaying what happened and comparing yourself to the other woman? Laura shares what helped her, including the tools she still uses, and Carl explains the one thing a husband should never do when those replays hit. We also cover what to do when a husband says "you caused this," and what to do when a wife isn't making any progress in her own healing.
Stay for the alternate cover story, "overlords vs. trampolines" (a new way to think about triggers), why the two of us argued over who got to own a mistake, and what it means to be an oasis for a friend whose marriage is falling apart.
If you've been through infidelity, are in it right now, or love someone who is, this one is for you.
Follow Carl at: https://www.instagram.com/carllentz/ Follow Laura at: https://www.instagram.com/lauralentz/ See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
More from Lights On with Carl Lentz
Want to submit questions? Email us at [email protected] Pre-order our book, Overcoming Infidelity, TODAY: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Overcoming-Infidelity/Carl-Lentz/9781668230497
Want to submit questions? Email us at [email protected] Pre-order our book, Overcoming Infidelity, TODAY: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Overcoming-Infidelity/Carl-Lentz/9781668230497
Want to submit questions? Email us at [email protected] Every couple in recovery hits the same three walls at some point. The rage that won't quit. The suspicion that there's more to the story. And the impossible question of how to protect your kids from the fallout of a parent who isn't showing up. In this episode of Lights On, Carl and Laura take on all three, pulled straight from the mailbag. The first: how do you deal with the raw, uncontainable anger you feel toward the person your spouse cheated with? Carl gets honest about why misdirecting rage at the affair partner is one of the most common and most damaging traps a betrayed spouse can fall into, and why the person who actually broke the vow is always the right target for accountability. Laura walks through what to do with the intrusive thoughts that show up unannounced, and the difference between validating a feeling and getting stuck in it. The second: is full disclosure actually necessary, or does bringing everything into the light just cause more pain? Carl and Laura make the case that nothing hidden can be healed, walk through what a real proper disclosure looks like, and get into why offering something like a polygraph isn't dramatic. It's the fastest way to remove the doubt that would otherwise haunt a marriage for years. Full disclosure isn't just for the person who broke it. It's for the person who needs to know they can finally exhale. The third: what do you do when you're the parent trying to lead your kids through healing and the other parent isn't participating? Laura gets direct about building a healthy village around your kids without recruiting them into your anger, the three truths every mom of daughters should be teaching in a season like this, and why the greatest gift you can give your children isn't your commentary on their other parent. It's your own health. Stay for the surgery analogy that will reframe how you think about partial versus full healing, the reminder that stacking new evidence doesn't require erasing the past, and the closer worth writing down: let their actions speak. Not your words. Follow Carl at: https://www.instagram.com/carllentz/ Follow Laura at: https://www.instagram.com/lauralentz/
Want to submit questions? Email us at [email protected] Some of the hardest questions in recovery aren't the big ones. They're the small, daily ones that couples get stuck on for years without ever asking out loud. In this episode of Lights On, Carl and Laura take on two of them, both pulled straight from the mailbag, and get into the honest answers most couples never get. The first: when does accountability start turning into policing, and how do you rebuild the muscle of trust without micromanaging every conversation? Carl walks through the "most gracious story" technique that changed how they approached daily check-ins, why proactive honesty is worth more than any answer given under interrogation, and how to handle the lose-lose questions every betrayed spouse eventually asks (like "do you find her attractive?"). Laura gets honest about the difference between her husband creating safety for her and her needing him to be her safety system, and where that line has to live for a marriage to actually heal. The second: where do you actually get help? Carl walks through the road he took: on-site, rehab, group therapy, the relapse five months in, and the specialized help that finally started to move the needle. Laura shares her own road through betrayal trauma therapy, the red flags of a bad therapist, and why they skipped traditional couples counseling entirely for the first stretch of recovery. Both of them agree on one thing: it's the betrayer's job to find help. Not the betrayed spouse's. Stay for the "am I doing anything currently?" question that reframes accountability entirely, the Vegas story that will make you laugh out loud, the reframe worth writing down (you can create safety, but you can't become her safety system), and the closer that anchors the whole episode: specialized help isn't optional. It's the difference between surviving this and healing from it. Follow Carl at: https://www.instagram.com/carllentz/ Follow Laura at: https://www.instagram.com/lauralentz/ See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Want to submit questions? Email us at [email protected] "Is this normal?" is one of the most asked questions in every marriage counselor's office. It's also one of the most dangerous ones, because "normal" and "healthy" aren't the same thing. In this episode of Lights On, Carl and Laura tackle three real listener questions that get to the heart of what most couples are quietly wondering but afraid to ask. The first: is it normal to be fighting constantly? Carl and Laura draw the line between fighting and healthy conflict using a gym metaphor that will land for anyone in a marriage that feels heavier than it should, and they walk through three questions any couple can use to test whether their conflict is producing growth or just producing damage. The second: what if we have sx very infrequently, is that normal? They get honest about why frequent doesn't mean healthy, why sx is the truest metric of a marriage's overall state, and the exact script a couple can use to start the conversation neither of them wants to start. The third: how much privacy is normal in a healthy marriage? They walk through the difference between privacy and secrecy, why "nothing to hide" is the only real starting point, and where the line falls on phones, passwords, social media, and DMs. You'll hear Laura get direct about the danger of "keeping the peace" when peace is just protecting the problem, and why toleration erodes standards you didn't even know you had. Carl gets honest about the years he lived in fear of being found out, why he believes we weren't designed to live with secrets, and how the bedroom is almost always the report card, not the root issue. Stay for the Gottman notebook trick for non-defensive listening, the "exposed vs. caught" test that will change how you think about privacy in marriage, and the closer worth writing down: presence over performance. In every part of your marriage. Every time. Follow Carl at: https://www.instagram.com/carllentz/ Follow Laura at: https://www.instagram.com/lauralentz/ See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.