We Love Our Family...But Damn Podcast

EPISODE SUMMARY: Your kid watches 30 minutes of TV and suddenly you're a bad parent. But here's what nobody's talking about: the control, the shame, the perfectionism... it's not protecting your child. It's killing your marriage. In this episode, Kristen and Roger unpack their journey from being the judgiest parents who swore they'd never let their daughter watch screens—to realizing that their ex...

This is a bonus episode with us interviewing our friends Keith & Erin on vacation Keith and Erin met at Delta Sonic (a large car wash/oil change facility) in Buffalo—they knew each other for two years before dating. The story gets deeper when Erin shares that she had her first son at 17, and Keith was notably more attracted to her when she returned from maternity leave, not less. This seemingly si...

We just returned from a week-long family vacation in Mexico—rated an 8 out of 10 overall. But mid-vacation, we got into a significant conflict that revealed something critical: vacation doesn't fix your marriage; it reveals where you've stopped working on it. The fight started over a seemingly small moment—different expectations about how the day would unfold, miscommunication about Kristen's need...

Today's launch day for 8 Money Dates , and Kristen sits down with Roger—the man who lived this experience while she built it—to reveal what happens when couples turn money conversations into emotional breakthroughs. The episode opens with a story: Roger's friend came over to the house and literally offered to pay Kristen to design his dates. That moment crystallized a pattern Kristen had been noti...

EPISODE SUMMARY: It's not the money. It's never been the money. When couples fight about finances, they're really fighting because they don't know what they each actually value—and they're not being honest about what their current choices reveal. This episode walks you through the uncomfortable, honest exercise that transforms couple finances: looking at your real spending patterns and getting cle...

We're going there — Roger and I both committed financial infidelity against each other, at the same time, without fully realizing it. In this episode, we get real about the sports gambling Roger hid, the stock account my mom told me to keep secret, and why most financial secrets aren't about money at all — they're about fear, control, and inherited patterns. We also break down the His, Hers, Ours...

In this raw and surprisingly vulnerable episode, Kristen and Roger walk through something that just happened in their real lives: Kristen decided to back out of a wedding they had both RSVP’d to — and the ripple effects touched everything from friendship dynamics, to codependency patterns, to the legacy they’re building for their daughter Maya. What makes this episode different isn’t just the stor...

If you've ever sat across from your partner during a money conversation and felt completely alone, this episode is for you. Kristen and Roger open up about one of the most common and most misunderstood conflicts in modern marriage: what happens when one partner is ready to invest and the other is terrified to. Using their own origin stories — Roger, the son of immigrant parents who grew up watchin...

Episode Summary:Most couples think they're stuck on home buying because they can't afford it. Roger and Kristen are calling BS on that. In this episode, they tell the unfiltered story of how they left West Hollywood after Kristen was attacked in broad daylight by a mentally unwell woman — and how the part that broke her wasn't the attack, it was that bystanders kept scrolling past her bleeding on...

Kristen and Roger get brutally honest about the decade they spent having surface-level money fights, the moment Kristen realized she'd been acting more like Roger's "momager" than his wife, and the one shift that finally changed their dynamic — and their bank account conversations. If money talks in your marriage feel like dread, explosions, or avoidance, this one's for you. Recording from Sedona...

Most couples think being financially responsible means they’re financially aligned — but they’re wrong. In this episode, Roger and Kristen break down why even responsible couples feel tension around money, and introduce the concept of “money dates” — intentional, sensory-rich experiences that rewire how you and your partner relate to finances together. If money feels heavy in your relationship, th...

Money stress doesn’t always come from how much you make — it often comes from how supported you feel. In this episode, we explore the hidden emotional pressure that can arise when one partner carries more financial responsibility, and how couples can create a sense of equality even when income isn’t equal. If you want more harmony, intimacy, and teamwork around money, this conversation will change...

Many couples are surprised by how emotional buying a house can feel… While home buying is often seen as a financial milestone, it can also highlight differences in how partners think about money, risk, security, and long-term planning. One of the most common sources of stress when buying a house is not just affordability… it is communication. womp womp Couples often discover they have different be...

Kristen and Roger are knee-deep in a kitchen remodel with no sink, no countertops, and a 2-year-old in peak tantrum mode. In this episode, they get real about the anxiety, budget stress, and disorienting chaos that comes with major life transitions—and share the tools that help them stay grounded as a team. If you're navigating any big change right now, this conversation will remind you that you'r...

When buying property, family help can feel like a lifeline—until emotions, expectations, and different risk tolerances collide. In this episode, Kristen and Roger share their personal story of nearly co-investing with family on a $1.4M Sedona property, why they ultimately walked away from financial help, and how they navigated the guilt, triggers, and tough conversations that came with choosing in...

Are your arguments really about what you think they’re about? We dive deep into the hidden root cause of most couple conflicts: security—and how men and women need it in completely different ways. Click play above! In this episode, you’ll discover: • Why “security” isn’t just about money—and what women actually crave from their partners• The immigrant family patterns that shape how we handle confl...

In this episode of "We Love Our Family, But Damn," Kristen interviews her husband Roger about his Armenian-Iranian heritage and how his family's history of war and immigration shaped their family dynamics and values. Roger shares the anxiety and strictness he experienced growing up, influenced by his parents' struggles and cultural norms that discouraged vulnerability, especially among men. He ref...

For as long as I can remember, I never had a good answer to the question: “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Not because I lacked ambition. Not because I didn’t care…. …but because there was no job title for what I felt called toward. What I wanted, though I didn’t have language for it yet, was influence. Not fame. Not authority. Influence in the truest sense: the ability to shape what con...

In this episode of We Love Our Family… But Damn , we’re reflecting on a fight we didn’t see coming—one that happened right after the New Year, during a season when things were actually going well. The argument escalated enough that we didn’t realize the bathtub had been left running… until our house started flooding. Rather than replaying the fight itself, this conversation focuses on what the mom...

Fun holiday experiment: Go to a family gathering totally in love, regulated, and aligned. Now leave and explain why the vibe is off in the car without starting a fight. We’ll wait. If you’ve ever had that moment — where nothing technically went wrong, but everything feels a little… off — you’re not alone. In today’s episode, the final day of We Love Our Family… But Damn , we’re unpacking the invis...

In today’s episode, we’re breaking down one of the biggest relationship questions couples ask: “How do I get my partner to support me… without nagging, fighting, or feeling alone in everything?” If you’ve ever felt like you’re doing it all, holding it all, or drowning in emotional labor — this episode gives you practical tools to shift your communication, strengthen your partnership, and create su...

[Download the Shared Holiday Plan Worksheet] Money is one of the most triggering topics for couples — not because of the dollars, but because of what money represents: safety, identity, control, childhood wounds, pressure, fear of the future… and the million unspoken expectations that hit especially hard in December. Today’s episode is the one we wish every couple could listen to before the holida...

Day 2 is here — and honestly, this one is tender. Today we’re talking about something that happens to every couple … but almost no one admits out loud: Why we regress around our parents,why tiny comments turn into big feelings,and how two people who love each other can suddenly feel like they’re on opposite sides. This episode walks through a real moment that happened recently with my dad — one of...

Today’s episode kicks off our 5-day series with a raw, honest conversation about why December brings out the best and the worst in all of us —and how couples can stay connected even when everything around them feels chaotic. We start with personal stories (including our Thanksgiving week meltdown moment) , break down why the holidays activate old patterns, and share the simple tool that helped us...