Heartmanity's Blog

A happily-ever-after Hollywood storyline is often depicted as the ultimate relationship, but in real life, creating a long-lasting and thriving relationship takes work—and there are bumps along the way. With the many wonderful experiences, you’ll most likely also face a few tough situations.

One of these challenges is commonly centered around finances. When working with couples, finances and spending habits are at the top of the list of disagreements and conflicts. One partner is a spender, and the other is a saver. One is a generous giver, and the other is frugal. And sometimes, one [...]

Relationships, like everything, have specific keys and habits that either make them easier, more successful, and happier or harder, less successful, and unhappy. Do you know what relationship habits are needed for a happy marriage? Have you shifted into cruise control in your relationship and only think good intentions, but don’t act on them? Or do you make daily choices and actions to intentionally love your partner?

Does your partner ever accuse you of flirting with others when there is no evidence to support it? Or go along with anything you say, only to resent you for it later? Or are you avoiding necessary but difficult conversations with each other? Relationship drama can be a huge emotional drain, stealing our loving feelings and what could be romantic moments.

If your marriage feels full of drama, incidents like these may be common. Still, you and your partner can learn to create a drama-free marriage by improving your communication with emotional intelligence skills. Often, small keys have [...]

Description: Quarantine has been a challenging period for many relationships. People have had to deal with many pressures, worries, and anxieties. Being together is equally complicated as many partners find it difficult to spend extended time together peacefully. Everyone was hoping the pandemic would fizzle out; however, its effects are still impacting our lives. We offer tips that can help make your relationship strong enough to survive the quarantine and the challenges life throws at you.

Partners have found it hard to sustain their relationships during this pandemic and accompanying [...]

In today's busy world, it doesn't take long for two people in a relationship to become distant or fall out of love. If you really think about it, although you live with that person, sleep next to them, eat meals with them, and maybe even talk to them during the day, how much of that connection is really mindful and nurturing? Because of the day-in, day-out details of life we are constantly juggling, many times our relationship can begin to cruise on automatic. As we all know, relationships take time—and sometimes they feel like a lot of work. But it doesn't have to be that way; it can be [...]

Whether you’ve been with your partner for six months or married for ten years, poor boundaries create dependency and unhappy couples. If you want to develop a healthy and happy relationship, you must each have healthy personal boundaries.

 

Often, we consider boundaries to be something that pushes people away, or we’re afraid that the other person will react negatively or feel hurt. However, healthy boundaries in relationships are a prerequisite to happiness. They define us and what is essential in our lives. Without them, there is too much room for drama. Boundaries help to create a  [...]

Each year around the holiday season, social media posts are filled with pictures of rings, proposal videos, and changed relationship status. We are presently in the middle of the most popular proposal time of year with nearly forty percent of all engagements occurring occurring between Thanksgiving and Valentine’s Day. This time period is often called the proposal season. As the time frame coincides with traditional holidays that are family gatherings, it seems a natural time for couples' proposals because they want to share their love commitment with those they love.

In love and marriage, we often hold back from being fully honest with our partner, even when it’s important. Maybe we’re afraid that we’ll hurt their feelings, or we’re fearful of their reaction. Or perhaps we think they’ll feel like we’re criticizing them. However, we may also hold on to resentment or anger toward them until it spills over to spoil our fun or warps our everyday interactions. Our unwillingness to speak up begins to padlock our hearts and closes off the current of our love.

What are those things in your relationship that sap your love? It might be little things that add up [...]

The year 2020 seems to have changed just about everything we know to be true, including weddings. I was invited to three weddings in 2020, all of which were canceled or postponed due to the pandemic. Each couple decided to cancel or postpone their wedding hoping that next year may have more of a sense of normalcy. These choices seemed like the only options for couples, but is there another way?

 

Recently, I ran into my dear friend, Merissa. She is a local photographerin Bozeman, Montana, who photographed some family photos for my family, and my husband and I’s wedding. As we caught up on [...]

No intimacy in a marriage has many consequences. One of the biggest complaints I hear from couples is that they feel more like roomies than lovers—not what they signed on for. However, there are many varying forms and levels of intimacy; each couple is unique. Every person has a different drive and desire level. So, there are no magic solutions for lack of intimacy, although many behaviors steal connection from a marriage. Eliminate those, and you'll be on your way to a healthier and happier relationship.