WHEN DATING HURTS

The two episodes in this story come with content warnings. This is part one. You may find when listening to this story that the content is too intense for you. If that becomes the case, I strongly urge you: do not continue listening. The descriptions tell of the intense emotional and physical abuse a husband put upon his wife.   I thought many times about whether to publish this story, but I prom...

Abigail was 18 when she met him. She was taken by the idea that he played in a very well-known Seattle band. The idea that he wanted to pay attention to her thrilled Abigail. By the way, this man was 28. See how a young woman who trusted someone she didn't know well was lured into a hyper-unhealthy relationship. She learned the hard way about what can happen. We can each learn from her. Abigail ha...

I was urged to run this episode again. IT'S THAT POWERFUL! So, it's back once more! One of our well-informed WHEN DATING HURTS listeners sent me an email with a list of things you must do before leaving your abuser. In this episode, you will hear the kinds of items a domestic violence counselor will tell you while figuring out your escape plan to safety. This is a short episode, but one of our mos...

There are so few instances when a man has come forward to tell his story of marital abuse. In this case, he was almost murdered. That is why we decided to reprise this story. It is so compelling. We apologize for some of the buzzing on this track, and we hope it does not interfere with your listening to it. J.D. McCabe maintained a loving relationship with his wife for nearly twenty years before t...

Living in Ontario, Canada a few years ago, Maggie and her husband were wondering what was going on with Alyssa. They saw bothersome warning signs around her, but Alyssa's parents were at a loss trying to figure out exactly what was going on. Alyssa had dropped out of many school activities, she stopped interacting with friends, she changed the way she dressed, and her marks dropped. She had alread...

With survivor stories, it is so disturbing to hear what one person has done to another person. In these stories, it is always an ongoing pattern or campaign. It’s never just one instance or one awful act. In this episode, we speak with Josephine. She will tell us about childhood abuse, intimate partner, violence, psychological abuse, sexual assault, and even reproductive coercion. We want to thank...

This is Hera’s story. On Oct. 20, 2012, Hera McLeod’s ex-boyfriend murdered her 15-month-old son. He killed him to get more than $500,000 in life insurance. Few of our episodes have more twists and turns than this one. You will not be able to guess what Hera discovered about her psychopath ex-boyfriend. He was a predator beyond our wildest nightmares. You need to hear this one. Today, Hera McLeod...

This is part two of our two-part interview with Kathleen. She will tell us about more than one ill-fated relationship with the men she dated. With the last one, she became pregnant. That is when all of his abusive behavior, selfish style, and narcissistic personality was on full display. We will see the many times she gave second chances to her boyfriend, Al. But, no matter what she tried, he neve...

This is part one of our two-part interview with Kathleen. She will tell us about more than one ill-fated relationship with the men she dated. With the last one, she became pregnant. That is when all of his abusive behavior, selfish style, and narcissistic personality was on full display. We will see the many times she gave second chances to her boyfriend, Al. But, no matter what she tried, he neve...

In this special episode, we examine 10 classic warning signs of an unhealthy relationship. We also take another look at "The Template Every Abuser Follows". Then we talk about the many differences between a healthy and an unhealthy relationship. Within this episode, we describe what dating abuse and domestic violence are. NOTE: If you are a survivor and want to share your story of abuse on the WH...

This time, I am interviewing Brandon Chadwick, the esteemed host of Narcissist Apocalypse podcast. Narcissist Apocalypse is a raw and unfiltered podcast that gives a voice to survivors of domestic violence. Brandon Chadwick has been interviewing guests since 2019. Specifically, interviewing survivors of narcissistic and domestic violence abuse. Brandon has published over 250 survivor stories. He h...

We reprise a previous episode that deserved to be heard once more for the warning signs that this survivor missed, and the lessons she learned the heard way. Karen Widdoss is a courageous survivor of a murderous assault she suffered when she was a young teen.  In the summer of 1994, her ex-boyfriend attacked her and nearly took her life. How she managed to hold onto her life is a miracle.  Karen h...

This is part one of a two-part story My conversation with Charlee touches on areas we have not visited previously. She was born a twin to a mother who disliked children. Her twin brother might have had it worse because her mother hated men. It is debatable who made Charlee's younger years more miserable: her mother, her alcoholic father, her sexual predator stepfather, or her brother. By the time...

This is part one of a two-part story My conversation with Charlee touches on areas we have not visited previously. She was born a twin to a mother who disliked children. Her twin brother might have had it worse because her mother hated men. It is debatable who made Charlee's younger years more miserable: her mother, her alcoholic father, her sexual predator stepfather, or her brother. By the time...

This is part two of a two-part story from Sarah, who lives in Australia. Sarah and her siblings grew up in New Zealand under the tyrannical reign of a merciless stepfather. This man ruled their home with an iron fist that was directed mostly at Sarah's mother. For ten years, they needed to be on guard from his abusive behavior. Her mother bore the brunt of his emotional and physical abuse. It was...

This is part one of a two-part story from Sarah, who lives in Australia. Sarah and her siblings grew up in New Zealand under the tyrannical reign of a merciless stepfather. This man ruled their home with an iron fist that was directed mostly at Sarah's mother. For ten years, they needed to be on guard from his abusive behavior. Her mother bore the brunt of his emotional and physical abuse. It was...

This is part three of a three-part story. Julia is an Argentinian woman. As a child, she dreamt of coming to the US to further her education and experience all she had seen on TV and read in books. Her path was to become a hard-working au pair as a way to financially make ends meet. She also loved children of all ages. For a while, everything fell into place. She tried dating sites and met America...

This is part two of a three-part story. Julia is an Argentinian woman. As a child, she dreamt of coming to the US to further her education and experience all she had seen on TV and read in books. Her path was to become a hard-working au pair as a way to financially make ends meet. She also loved children of all ages. For a while, everything fell into place. She tried dating sites and met American...

This is part one of a three-part story. Julia is an Argentinian woman. As a child, she dreamt of coming to the US to further her education and experience all she had seen on TV and read in books. Her path was to become a hard-working au pair as a way to financially make ends meet. She also loved children of all ages. For a while, everything fell into place. She tried dating sites and met American...

This is part two of a two-part narrative with Candi Rose. Candi Rose is her actual name. Her full name is Candace Rose. She was bullied in high school to the point where her mother moved her to a different school. There she fell in with the wrong crowd. Things became worse as she made a series of unfortunate decisions. Her lack of experience, wisdom, or good judgment landed her in jail as a convic...

This is part one of a three-part narrative with Candi Rose. Candi Rose is her actual name. Her full name is Candace Rose. She was bullied in high school to the point where her mother moved her to a different school. There she fell in with the wrong crowd. Things became worse as she made a series of unfortunate decisions. Her lack of experience, wisdom, or good judgment landed her in jail as a conv...

I attended a podcast convention earlier this year. I left some leave-behinds and business cards with the hope of landing guests spots on national podcasts. It's another way to get the word out about dating abuse and intimate partner violence. Soon after the convention, I was contacted by Mary Fernandez, the host of the "Leadership, Legacies and Legends Unleashed" podcast. She invited me to speak o...

There is little chance we will ever get an abuser to join us on this podcast and do a recorded interview. But, we have heard enough about the minds of abusers to have insights into what we would hear. It would be the justification of actions taken purely to gain control over another person. It would be a relentless pushback. That is what you will find in this episode. This episode, our third in th...

I was invited to join in an interview with True Crime Connections podcast host, Tiffanie. This was the perfect venue to continue our review of life-saving information like my latest list of warning signs. Only in the past year have I uncovered some new ones worth hearing about. I also shared what I call the "Template Every Abuser Follows". These are important areas to know since intimate partner v...

The following story comes with trigger warnings due to both its content and graphic descriptions. This is part one of a two-part story. Beany Chalfant brought her story to me in an email. I knew she needed to tell her narrative to us. By the time she reached 40, she had never been close to intimate partner violence. But all of that changed with one boyfriend. In the beginning, he seemed to bring e...