The Naked Marriage with Dave & Ashley Willis

When your kids have been the center of your relationship, their leaving can expose a painful gap between you and your spouse. Use this season to intentionally revisit your connection and companionship before it's too late. We want your marriage to thrive! Learn more at http://xomarriage.com __________ Dave and Ashley Willis spent thirteen years in full-time church ministry before devoting their wo...

After 36 years of marriage and a life in ministry, Marty and Stephanie know how easy it is for your calling to consume your time, energy, and identity. They join Dave and Ashley to talk about setting healthy boundaries, finding support, and continuing to pursue each other so your marriage gets your best, not just what’s left over. Connect with Marty & Stephanie: martymcclain@bellsouth.netMarriage...

Grab your headband and cue the synth: Dave and Ashley are going totally 80s for this one. Behind the mullet and the windbreakers, though, is a real conversation about how marriage has changed over the last 40 years. They dig into the stats: why the median age of first marriage jumped from around 22 to nearly 30, why fewer young people are dating or marrying at all, why the divorce rate has actuall...

What you schedule, who you surround yourself with, and what you consume are silently shaping your marriage every single day. Be intentional about all three, and watch how your relationship starts to reflect the values you actually want. _______________ We want your marriage to thrive! Learn more at http://xomarriage.com Dave and Ashley Willis spent thirteen years in full-time church ministry befor...

Psychotherapist and author Jason VanRuler joins Dave and Ashley to unpack five communication styles: Peacemaker, Advocate, Thinker, Harbor, and Spark. Drawing from his work in communication, attachment, and relationships, Jason explains how understanding these styles can help couples stop misreading each other, navigate conflict, and communicate in ways their spouse can better understand. Connect...

Carl and Laura Lentz open up about rebuilding their marriage after infidelity, betrayal, and the very public fallout that followed. They join Dave and Ashley to share what healing has required of each of them, why rebuilding trust takes evidence, and how they stopped trying to recover their old marriage and began building a new one. Listener Question: My husband and I have been married almost 20 y...

The real sign of a healthy marriage isn't how often you fight, but how quickly you repair after conflict. Your "repair time" reveals more about your relationship's strength than avoiding disagreements ever will. _______________ We want your marriage to thrive! Learn more at http://xomarriage.com Dave and Ashley Willis spent thirteen years in full-time church ministry before devoting their work ent...

In this behind-the-scenes bonus episode, Dave and Ashley introduce Karina “Nina” Lopez – part of the XO Marriage team for seven years, where she produces audiobooks, works with distributors, and holds down the publishing fort. Best friends long before they dated, Karina and her husband Mark spent years long distance before marrying, and she shares the wisdom that’s shaped their seven years togethe...

Patrick and Theresa Abec share how discovering Patrick was on the autism spectrum helped them make sense of years of differences in communication, emotional connection, and conflict. They join Dave and Ashley to talk about understanding how a neurodivergent spouse processes emotions differently and learning to better meet each other's needs in marriage. Listener Question: I read about love languag...

Sometimes a wife feels unseen and alone without understanding why – and the missing piece is undiagnosed Asperger’s or neurodivergence in her spouse. In this Marriage Minute, Patrick and Theresa share how conflict gets misread as criticism, and why fewer words and one topic at a time can change everything. Tune in Monday for the full conversation. _______________ We want your marriage to thrive! L...

In this special bonus episode, Dave and Ashley take you behind the scenes at XO Marriage to introduce Aliya Scott – a team member of seven years and, as Dave puts it, part of the glue that holds the ministry together. Married 35 years, Aliya shares how she and her husband met at a pizza place, what it's like to take on big projects together (including a six-month master bath remodel), and the less...

After years of adventure, ministry, and moving around the world together, Joel and Emily Malm learned that even good things can become too heavy to carry. They join Dave and Ashley to talk about recognizing when your spouse is overwhelmed, making space for conversations, and learning what to take out of the "backpack" before resentment builds. Listener Question: I've thought about starting a marri...

When you choose your family over career or personal ambitions in the right season, God often returns what you gave up in a greater form. This episode reminds you that timely sacrifice isn't loss — it's an investment in something far more glorious. _______________ We want your marriage to thrive! Learn more at http://xomarriage.com Dave and Ashley Willis spent thirteen years in full-time church min...

What if the world could tell you were a follower of Jesus – not by what you post, but by how you live? Pastor Nirup Alphonse, lead pastor of LIFEGATE Church in Denver, joins Dave and Ashley to talk about his brand-new book Defiant Lights and why ordinary Christians are called to live noticeably different from the culture around them. He unpacks the seven countercultural postures believers can embo...

Nate and Noemi Parsons share how PTSD affected their marriage and what it looked like to walk through a season neither of them could fix on their own. Their conversation explores the power of asking for help, bearing one another’s burdens, and learning how to show up for your spouse when they’re hurting. Listener Question: I vent to my husband about my day and he immediately tries to fix it, which...

When your spouse shares a problem, simply asking "do you just want me to listen, or do you want solutions?" can transform how connected you both feel. This one small question helps you meet your partner's real need instead of accidentally making them feel dismissed. _______________ We want your marriage to thrive! Learn more at http://xomarriage.com Dave and Ashley Willis spent thirteen years in f...

Dean and Jill Berg have spent years helping other couples build stronger marriages, but their own story was shaped by two very different pasts colliding. Now married for 37 years and working as marriage coaches, they open up about the struggles that forced them to confront what they had carried into their relationship and what was really underneath the conflicts they couldn’t seem to resolve. List...

Childhood trauma can silently shut down your ability to emotionally connect with your spouse, but restoration begins the moment you choose honesty over self-protection. You can't be healed from something you're not willing to be vulnerable about – and your marriage is worth that first brave step. _______________ We want your marriage to thrive! Learn more at http://xomarriage.com Dave and Ashley W...

After 26 years of marriage, Jason and Elizabeth Settle are facing something they never imaged when they first promised "in sickness and in health." The Southlake-based faith counselors have spent years walking alongside couples through difficult seasons, but Jason's sudden cancer diagnosis has brought those words much closer to home. They share how this season is reshaping their understanding of v...

Jason and Rosalind look back on more than 30 years of marriage, from getting married with little preparation to facing conversations that challenges how well they really knew one another. In this episode with Dave and Ashley, they open up about the hidden struggles, conflict, communication, and the changes in intimacy that come with different seasons of marriage. Listener Question: My spouse and I...

When life's roles of spouse and parent take over, it's easy to forget that your first covenant is with God, not each other. Rediscovering that your marriage exists to glorify Him can restore the purpose and focus your relationship was always meant to have. _______________ We want your marriage to thrive! Learn more at http://xomarriage.com Dave and Ashley Willis spent thirteen years in full-time c...

Dave and Ashley are back with the second half of their rapid-fire Hot Topics round, tackling more of your biggest questions and the culture's most talked-about marriage debates. They cover why smart, capable people suddenly act helpless about finding a babysitter, why couples should choose to have kids (and why fur babies don't count), why forcing your spouse into a sexless marriage is a form of i...

According to Dr. John Gottman's research, rolling your eyes at your spouse is one of the most accurate predictors of divorce because it reveals deep-seated contempt – the #1 predictor of divorce. Before the eye rolls come the negative thoughts, so guard your mind, choose honour, and bring your struggles before God to protect your marriage. _______________ We want your marriage to thrive! Learn mor...

In this first-of-its-kind episode, Dave and Ashley tackle a rapid-fire round of the most-asked and most-provocative questions from listeners and the culture right now. They cover the line between a preference and a fetish, what to do in a sexless marriage, how the "manosphere" is shaping men's view of marriage, the "de-centering your marriage" trend among women, why couples who combine their finan...

Many couples find themselves in a sexless marriage, but it often doesn't happen overnight. Here's the hard reality: if you don't have a medical reason for withholding sex from your spouse, you may be unknowingly starving your marriage. Sex is what separates a friendship from a marriage, and both of you have a responsibility to protect that intimacy and seek solutions together during difficult seas...