Beyond Broken Vows | Christian Marriage, Adultery, Pornography Addiction, Sexual Betrayal, Infidelity

The trauma in Heidi’s marriage didn’t start with a slow fade. It started the day after her wedding, when she answered a phone call from a woman her new husband had been sexually involved with.
 
For the next 17 years, Heidi lived in the fog of a marriage that looked fine on the outside. But inside, she felt married to a stranger.
 
Then the facade broke again when she discovered extensive pornography on her husband’s phone, and everything she had buried came rushing to the surface.
 
Heidi opens up about the “messy middle” of healing—the exhausting vigilance, the high highs and low lows, the daily choice to ask hard questions instead of retreating into silence.
 
And she shares the deepest truth she has discovered along the way: that God sees her. In the middle of the wreckage, He has been calling her His beloved daughter all along.
 
If you have spent years silently carrying the weight of a marriage that feels hollow, Heidi’s story will remind you that you are not invisible. You are not forgotten. You are seen by the One who never looks away.
 
We pray this blesses you,
 
Johnny and Emily
 
💜Work with us! coaching.beyondbrokenvows.com
💜Hang out with us and support our ministry on Patreon, beyondbrokenvows.com/partner
💜Become a Beyond Broken Vows Insider! Receive our weekly newsletter with behind-the-scenes stories, marriage tips, podcast previews and early access to giveaways and promotions! insider.beyondbrokenvows.com
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RESOURCES:
Download our e-book, “9 Steps to Healing After Sexual Betrayal: For Couples Who Have Chosen to Stay Married”
Covenant Eyes Use promo Code BBV to get 30 days free! (website purchase only)
 
RELATED EPISODES:
Episode 165. Summer Stories of Hope: Healing From Sexual Betrayal and Relapse, with Suzanne
Episode 166. Summer Stories of Hope: Beyond Extortion and Trickle Truth, with R.D.
 
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On paper, R.D. and his wife had a life built on a foundation of faith and family. But in the quiet moments, the immense weight of family life and financial strain left R.D. looking for an escape.
 
He found it in pornography and online chat rooms—a secret life that kept him isolated from the people he loved most.
 
When a digital extortionist threatened to expose his hidden life, the secret didn’t just leak—it exploded.
 
What followed was the agonizing process of “trickle-truth” and the devastating, slow revelation of how deep his betrayal actually went.
 
R.D.’s story is a raw look at what happens when a marriage is forced to reckon with the absolute wreckage of a life built on lies.
 
But there is always hope when we surrender our mess to the only One who can redeem it!
 
Whether you are the husband fighting to kill the shame, or the wife trying to make sense of the deceit, this episode offers a glimpse of the grueling—but necessary—work of recovery.
 
Listen now to hear how R.D. moved from the darkness of hidden sin into the light of radical honesty.
 
We pray this blesses you,
 
Johnny and Emily
 
💜Work with us! coaching.beyondbrokenvows.com
💜Hang out with us and support our ministry on Patreon, beyondbrokenvows.com/partner
💜Become a Beyond Broken Vows Insider! Receive our weekly newsletter with behind-the-scenes stories, marriage tips, podcast previews and early access to giveaways and promotions! insider.beyondbrokenvows.com
💜Send us a voice message on SpeakPipe
 
RESOURCES:
Download our e-book, “9 Steps to Healing After Sexual Betrayal: For Couples Who Have Chosen to Stay Married”
Covenant Eyes Use promo Code BBV to get 30 days free! (website purchase only)
 
RELATED EPISODES:
Episode 164. Summer Stories of Hope: Discovering True Intimacy After Infidelity, with Jacob and Leah
Episode 165. Summer Stories of Hope: Healing From Sexual Betrayal and Relapse, with Suzanne
 
NEXT STEPS:    
✔️FOLLOW so you don’t miss a show!    
✔️Leave a 5-star rating & written review on Apple Podcast.
✔️ You can connect with us at support@beyondbrokenvows.com.

Note: Our guest’s name has been changed for privacy.
 
Before she and her husband got married, he told her about his childhood sexual abuse and same-sex attraction. He said he was in counseling. She thought it was handled.
 
It wasn’t.
 
Thirty-eight years, four children, multiple betrayals, a rehab stint, and a relapse later, Suzanne knows the truth: healing is not a one-time decision. It’s a daily surrender.
 
This story does not wrap up in a nice neat bow. It is a raw, honest account of a wife who walked through the fog of betrayal, held her family together while her world fell apart, and clung to God in the midst of her fear and doubt.
 
But it is also a story full of hope. Even in the messy middle, Suzanne has seen the miraculous hand of God at work in her life and marriage.
 
If you are tired of pretending everything is fine, you need to hear her story.
 
In this episode, Suzanne shares:
The weight of keeping secrets to protect his reputation
What it felt like to discover betrayal after betrayal over decades
How she endured separation, rehab, and relapse
What God has been teaching her layer by layer in the long war
 
Listen now to be reminded that God sees you in the fight, and He is not finished yet.
 
We pray this blesses you,
 
Johnny and Emily
 
💜Work with us! coaching.beyondbrokenvows.com
💜Hang out with us and support our ministry on Patreon, beyondbrokenvows.com/partner
💜Become a Beyond Broken Vows Insider! Receive our weekly newsletter with behind-the-scenes stories, marriage tips, podcast previews and early access to giveaways and promotions! insider.beyondbrokenvows.com
💜Send us a voice message on SpeakPipe
 
RESOURCES:
Download our e-book, “9 Steps to Healing After Sexual Betrayal: For Couples Who Have Chosen to Stay Married”
Covenant Eyes Use promo Code BBV to get 30 days free! (website purchase only)
 
RELATED EPISODES:
Episode 164. Summer Stories of Hope: Discovering True Intimacy After Infidelity, with Jacob and Leah
Episode 163. Summer Stories of Hope: Beyond Porn-Fueled Infidelity, with Felicia
 
NEXT STEPS:    
✔️FOLLOW so you don’t miss a show!    
✔️Leave a 5-star rating & written review on Apple Podcast.
✔️ You can connect with us at support@beyondbrokenvows.com.

They met at a homeschool ski lesson when they were eight. Married young. Kids came fast. On paper, it was a dream.
 
Behind closed doors, it was falling apart.
 
Poor communication. Resentment. Faith tension. And in secret, Jacob’s pornography addiction escalated into sexual experiences outside his marriage. They were living entirely separate lives.
 
Then God showed up at a marriage retreat.
 
During deliverance prayer, Jacob experienced supernatural freedom from lust. On the drive home, he told Leah everything.
 
The confession broke them. But it also saved them.
 
Through family, church leaders, recovery programs, coaching, and even a therapeutic separation while Leah was pregnant, they fought for their marriage.
 
Today, he is nearly three years free from sexual sin. Real character change. A stronger marriage and faith than they’ve ever had.
 
If your marriage feels like it’s quietly crumbling, take heart. The God who met two eight-year-olds on a ski hill is the same God who meets us in the valley.
 
He’s still in the business of rebuilding what sin tried to destroy.
 
Listen now to hear their full story.
 
We pray this blesses you,
 
Johnny and Emily
 
💜Work with us! coaching.beyondbrokenvows.com
💜Hang out with us and support our ministry on Patreon, beyondbrokenvows.com/partner
💜Become a Beyond Broken Vows Insider! Receive our weekly newsletter with behind-the-scenes stories, marriage tips, podcast previews and early access to giveaways and promotions! insider.beyondbrokenvows.com
💜Send us a voice message on SpeakPipe
 
RESOURCES:
Download our e-book, “9 Steps to Healing After Sexual Betrayal: For Couples Who Have Chosen to Stay Married”
Covenant Eyes Use promo Code BBV to get 30 days free! (website purchase only)
 
RELATED EPISODES:
Episode 162. Summer Stories of Hope:- From Isolation to Connection, with Kevin
Episode 163. Summer Stories of Hope: Beyond Porn-Fueled Infidelity, with Felicia
 
NEXT STEPS:    
✔️FOLLOW so you don’t miss a show!    
✔️Leave a 5-star rating & written review on Apple Podcast.
✔️ You can connect with us at support@beyondbrokenvows.com.

For decades, Felicia believed she was in a close, happy marriage—until a quiet afternoon in October 2022 revealed a
hidden reality that shattered her world in an instant.
 
 
Felicia walks us through the profound shock of discovering her husband’s secret pornography addiction. She shares the painful aftermath: the feelings of isolation, the well-meaning but misguided advice to “just forgive,” and the difficult journey of navigating despair and anger toward God while her entire sense of reality was being dismantled.
 
 
This isn’t just a story of betrayal, though; it is a powerful testimony of what happens when a couple commits to radical, transparent recovery. 
 
 
If you are currently navigating the fallout of infidelity in your marriage, or if you are wondering if intimacy can ever be restored after such a deep betrayal, this episode is for you.
 
 
Felicia’s journey is a powerful reminder that recovery is a lifelong commitment, but God’s grace is sufficient for every step of that journey.
 
 
We pray this blesses you,
 
Johnny and Emily
 
💜Work with us! coaching.beyondbrokenvows.com
💜Hang out with us and support our ministry on Patreon, beyondbrokenvows.com/partner
💜Become a Beyond Broken Vows Insider! Receive our weekly newsletter with behind-the-scenes stories, marriage tips, podcast previews and early access to giveaways and promotions! insider.beyondbrokenvows.com
💜Send us a voice message on SpeakPipe
 
RESOURCES:
Download our e-book, “9 Steps to Healing After Sexual Betrayal: For Couples Who Have Chosen to Stay Married”
Covenant Eyes Use promo Code BBV to get 30 days free! (website purchase only)
 
RELATED EPISODES:
Episode 161. Summer Stories of Hope: Beyond Infidelity, with Aimee
Episode 162. Summer Stories of Hope:- From Isolation to Connection, with Kevin
 
NEXT STEPS:    
✔️FOLLOW so you don’t miss a show!    
✔️Leave a 5-star rating & written review on Apple Podcast.
✔️ You can connect with us at support@beyondbrokenvows.com.
 

In this episode of our Summer Stories of Hope series, we speak with Kevin about his recovery journey and the restoration of his marriage. For years, Kevin struggled with a cycle of pornography use and secrecy that created significant distance in his relationship with his wife.
 
Kevin shares his experience of the discovery process, the difficult season that followed, including time spent apart, and the immediate start of counseling and support groups. Three and a half years later, Kevin describes the progress they have made through consistent honesty and active recovery.
 
Today, he has learned that true freedom comes from humility, dependence on God, and allowing oneself to be fully known by others.
 
If you are feeling stuck in a pattern of secrecy, Kevin’s story offers a realistic look at how recovery can transform a man and a marriage. While the path requires hard work and ongoing vigilance, it leads to a deeper connection and a genuine life of freedom.
 
We hope this conversation encourages you to keep pursuing healing. Whether you are beginning this process or are well into it, there is always hope for a marriage centered on Christ.
 
We pray this blesses you,
 
Johnny and Emily
 
💜Work with us! coaching.beyondbrokenvows.com
💜Hang out with us and support our ministry on Patreon, beyondbrokenvows.com/partner
💜Become a Beyond Broken Vows Insider! Receive our weekly newsletter with behind-the-scenes stories, marriage tips, podcast previews and early access to giveaways and promotions! insider.beyondbrokenvows.com
💜Send us a voice message on SpeakPipe
 
RESOURCES:
Download our e-book, “9 Steps to Healing After Sexual Betrayal: For Couples Who Have Chosen to Stay Married”
Covenant Eyes Use promo Code BBV to get 30 days free! (website purchase only)
 
RELATED EPISODES:
Episode 161. Summer Stories of Hope - Beyond Infidelity, with Aimee
 
NEXT STEPS:    
✔️FOLLOW so you don’t miss a show!    
✔️Leave a 5-star rating & written review on Apple Podcast.
✔️ You can connect with us at support@beyondbrokenvows.com.

Welcome to our “Summer Stories of Hope” series.
 
 
In this episode, we share Aimee’s story—a journey that forces us to look at how we survive when the ground beneath our feet shifts, not once, but repeatedly.
 
 
After thirty years of marriage and surviving the unimaginable agony of losing both her daughters, Aimee’s husband delivered the final blow: a confession of a long-term pornography addiction and a betrayal that shattered her reality.
 
 
Aimee is currently on a journey of healing and is in the “messy middle,” where the weight of grief and the sting of infidelity collide.
 
 
She doesn’t offer easy answers or quick fixes; instead, she shares the raw truth of navigating three years of trickle truth, the necessity of firm boundaries, and the quiet, persistent work of anchoring herself in Scripture and community.
 
 
If you’ve spent years in survival mode, waiting for the other shoe to drop, this conversation is for you. Aimee’s story is a testament to finding peace that doesn’t depend on perfect circumstances, but on a God who sustains us when everything else is falling apart.
 
 
We pray this blesses you!
 
 
Johnny and Emily
 
💚TIP JAR If this, or any of our episodes, brought you hope or encouragement, please leave us a little blessing to help us keep our content ad-free!
💜Work with us! coaching.beyondbrokenvows.com
💜Hang out with us and support our ministry on Patreon, beyondbrokenvows.com/partner
💜Become a Beyond Broken Vows Insider! Receive our weekly newsletter with behind-the-scenes stories, marriage tips, podcast previews and early access to giveaways and promotions! insider.beyondbrokenvows.com
 
RESOURCES:
Download our e-book, “9 Steps to Healing After Sexual Betrayal: For Couples Who Have Chosen to Stay Married”
Covenant Eyes Use promo Code BBV to get 30 days free! (website purchase only)
 
NEXT STEPS:    
✔️FOLLOW so you don’t miss a show!    
✔️Leave a 5-star rating & written review on Apple Podcast.
✔️ You can connect with us at support@beyondbrokenvows.com.

We started the Beyond Broken Vows podcast with nothing but a desire to obey God’s call in the middle of our own shattered marriage.
 
Now, looking back after three years of walking through that fire with Him, we know one thing for certain: He is the ultimate Redeemer.
 
Our journey has been defined by the hard, holy work of surrender, and we are here to invite you into that same hope.
 
If you’re listening to us today and questioning if your marriage can survive this season, don’t lose heart—God is already at work in the middle of your mess.
 
We want you to know that the hard work of recovery is definitely worth it and that God has a purpose for your pain.
 
Your story isn’t finished!
 
Johnny and Emily
 
💜Work with us! coaching.beyondbrokenvows.com
💜Hang out with us and support our ministry on Patreon, beyondbrokenvows.com/partner
💜Become a Beyond Broken Vows Insider! Receive our weekly newsletter with behind-the-scenes stories, marriage tips, podcast previews and early access to giveaways and promotions! insider.beyondbrokenvows.com
💜Send us a voice message on SpeakPipe
 
RESOURCES:
Download our e-book, “9 Steps to Healing After Sexual Betrayal: For Couples Who Have Chosen to Stay Married”
Covenant Eyes Use promo Code BBV to get 30 days free! (website purchase only)
 
RELATED EPISODES:
Episode 55. Our Podcast is One Year Old!!! Marriages Redeemed, Hearts Renewed
Episode 107. Celebrating What God Has Done! Healing Marriages Shattered by Porn-Fueled Infidelity
 
NEXT STEPS:    
✔️FOLLOW so you don’t miss a show!    
✔️Leave a 5-star rating & written review on Apple Podcast.
✔️ You can connect with us at support@beyondbrokenvows.com.

We often talk about the weight of sexual betrayal, but rarely do we discuss the invisible, spiritual webs that keep us tethered to our past. A soul tie is more than just a memory; it is an emotional and spiritual connection formed when we yield our body and heart to another.
 
While God established this spiritual framework to be the cornerstone of a healthy, covenant marriage, the Enemy of our souls loves to pervert it, using it to create destructive bonds that linger long after a sinful act has ended.
 
If you find yourself haunted by the ghost of a past relationship, unable to fully give your heart to your spouse, or trapped in cycles of obsession and emotional instability, you may be walking in the shadow of an ungodly soul tie. These connections do more than just distract; they provide a legal foothold for spiritual oppression and hinder the very intimacy you are called to experience in your marriage.
 
Join us as we look at the reality of these spiritual bonds, review some indicators of the presence of soul ties, and learn how to use the authority of Christ to sever those ties, break the Enemy’s influence, and fully restore your heart to the covenant you promised to honor.
 
We pray this blesses you!
 
Johnny and Emily
 
💚TIP JAR If this, or any of our episodes, brought you hope or encouragement, please leave us a little blessing to help us keep our content ad-free!
💜Work with us! coaching.beyondbrokenvows.com
💜Hang out with us and support our ministry on Patreon, beyondbrokenvows.com/partner
💜Become a Beyond Broken Vows Insider! Receive our weekly newsletter with behind-the-scenes stories, marriage tips, podcast previews and early access to giveaways and promotions! insider.beyondbrokenvows.com
 
RESOURCES:     
Download our e-book, “9 Steps to Healing After Sexual Betrayal: For Couples Who Have Chosen to Stay Married”
Covenant Eyes Use promo Code BBV to get 30 days free! (website purchase only)
 
Soul Tie Prayer
Father, I confess to you the ungodly soul tie that I created by entering into an emotional/sexual relationship with ______.
Today, I break this soul tie and all ties with ______.
I release ______ to you to act according to your will and purpose. I choose today to re-establish my exclusive covenant with my spouse. I commit to love and honor him/her with my thoughts and actions. I pledge my unwavering fidelity to my spouse until we are parted by death. It is by the shed blood of Jesus and the word of my testimony that that I decree this today. I rest in Jesus' words "It is finished". Amen
 
RELATED EPISODES:
Episode 16. ”It’s Just Porn, What’s The Big Deal?” And 4 Other Lies We Tell Ourselves To Justify Viewing Pornography
Episode 99. When the Past Invades: 4 Steps to Victory Over Euphoric Recall
 
NEXT STEPS:    
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✔️Leave a 5-star rating & written review on Apple Podcast.
✔️ You can connect with us at support@beyondbrokenvows.com.
 

In our series, Beyond the Wall of Isolation, we’ve spent the last several weeks dismantling the myths that keep Christian couples trapped in cycles of secrecy and shame. We’ve talked about the masks we wear, the burdens we carry, and the importance of a united front when it comes to our children.
 
But we know that for many of you, this series feels like it might be a little late. You’re listening and thinking, “I wish I had heard this sooner. I’ve already shared too much with my kids. I’ve already crossed those lines, and the damage is done.”
 
If that’s you, we want you to know something important: It is not too late to make it right.
 
In this final episode of our Beyond the Wall series, we are tackling the reality of “over-disclosure.” If your children already know the graphic details or have been used as confidants during your crisis, you aren’t a failure, you’re a parent who was caught in the middle of a storm.
 
But what if you didn’t have to stay stuck in that regret?
 
In this episode, we’re busting the myth that “it’s too late.” We’re going to walk through the practical, grace-filled steps for making amends.
 
We’ll show you how to:
Own your mistakes without making your kids your counselors.
Offer sincere apologies that don’t shift the burden back onto them.
Create space for them to feel what they feel while you consistently model repentance.
Trust God with the outcome, even when the relationship still feels fragile.
 
You haven’t ruined the future, and you don’t have to carry the regret of those conversations alone. Join us today as we learn how to clean up the mess with grace and start the long, beautiful road to genuine repair.
 
We pray this blesses you!
 
Johnny and Emily
 
💚TIP JAR If this, or any of our episodes, brought you hope or encouragement, please leave us a little blessing to help us keep our content ad-free!
💜Work with us! coaching.beyondbrokenvows.com
💜Hang out with us and support our ministry on Patreon, beyondbrokenvows.com/partner
💜Become a Beyond Broken Vows Insider! Receive our weekly newsletter with behind-the-scenes stories, marriage tips, podcast previews and early access to giveaways and promotions! insider.beyondbrokenvows.com
 
RESOURCES:     
Download our e-book, “9 Steps to Healing After Sexual Betrayal: For Couples Who Have Chosen to Stay Married”
Covenant Eyes Use promo Code BBV to get 30 days free! (website purchase only)
 
RELATED EPISODES:
Episode 14. To Tell Or Not To Tell: 3 Things We Did Right (And 1 Thing We Didn’t) When Deciding to Who Needs To Know Our Infidelity Story
Episode 38. Recovery Step 9: Become an Action Hero! Righting the Wrongs of Our Destructive Sexual Behavior)
Episode 154. Beyond the Wall of Isolation (Series Intro)
 
NEXT STEPS:    
✔️FOLLOW so you don’t miss a show!    
✔️Leave a 5-star rating & written review on Apple Podcast.
✔️ You can connect with us at support@beyondbrokenvows.com.