There can be a steep learning curve on how to adapt and adjust to a new life with your spouse. Many newlyweds seem to experience a period of adjustment and uncertainty right after the wedding day.
And now that we’ve completed the first season of the Happy Life podcast, our team has realized that all couples may experience challenges in every stage of marriage.
Through 10 episodes, featuring various topics, Happy Life has been able to impact newlyweds, engaged couples, and many married couples.
Stages of Marriage:
Learning is a constant in life, and lessons can be gained in each step of marriage too, whether you’ve just gotten engaged, are a newlywed or have been married over 25 years. Here’s what Happy Life listeners and followers shared with us, and there are many comments to read through so if you’d like to skip straight to the next part click here:
Our engaged-to-be-wed listeners:
Christel from Thailand:
I’ve been listening to Happy Life episodes as I prepare for married life. The personal experiences of couples and answers from Bible verses are indeed inspiring. I learned to be more patient, to fully trust in God’s time, to be more prayerful, and to let God take charge of everything when it’s too overwhelming.
Iya from Norway:
I enjoyed listening to other couples talk about their experiences in marriage, and I learned that every couple has their own challenges in their relationship. One thing that they all have in common is that they always put God first and whatever problems they encounter, with God, they can overcome it all. Happy Life helped me prepare for marriage, because I know there will be difficulties sometimes in our relationship but with God nothing is impossible, and I have the couples that have guested on Happy Life as my inspiration for that!
Melissa from Georgia:
I LOVE the Happy Life podcasts! My fiancé and I love listening and reflecting on what we learn from other couples’ stories and advice. The podcasts all the more keep us motivated, inspired, and hopeful for what our future together holds.
Michael from Bloomfield:
I really liked the Bible verses and listening to how different couples were able to overcome different situations, especially during the pandemic. It’s nice to know that you’re not the only one experiencing obstacles to overcome in your relationship.
Marph from Calgary:
I’ve been a follower since the beginning of the Happy Life podcast. I really enjoyed listening to every couple that has shared their experiences, plans and lessons learned during marriage and also before their wedding! I was so surprised that my fiancé and I are not alone in all the struggles that we’ve encountered. By listening to the Happy Life podcast we managed to apply what we learned as a couple—like compromising and by being patient with each other. I hope to hear more episodes!
Darlene from San Francisco:
There were a handful of times where I was listening to a Happy Life podcast episode, and found myself either nodding in agreement or thinking to myself, “This is definitely something I can improve on.” Since my fiancé and I are still in a long distance relationship as we plan our wedding, it’s reassuring to hear advice from other long distance couples who used to be in the same boat.
The biggest reason I appreciate the Happy Life podcast is how it always provides spiritual guidance from the Bible. It’s reassuring to hear other couples’ experiences as newlyweds, but it gives me confidence to know that those same couples were and are still being guided by God’s words.
Couples married over 5 years:
Gem from Melbourne:
I think it’s sweet to reminisce as you hear about the newlyweds’ experiences, thinking about things you’ve gone through that they haven’t yet, and knowing that they will figure it out together knowing they have God as the central part of their marriage. It’s always inspiring hearing about their devotion to each other and especially their faith and how it moves them in the direction of God’s plan for them.
Hannah from Perth:
For me, it has helped to hear that other couples have gone through similar experiences to us and knowing that we are not alone. Every story has been inspiring.
Rowena from Orlando:
Honestly, it’s nice to see the younger generation putting their faith and trust in God.
Newlyweds:
Rovie from Winnipeg:
I like how relatable and how real the topics are. It definitely speaks to my wife and I and what we constantly go through day to day, and sheds some light into the challenges that we have as newly weds. I loved when Brother Martin and Sis Erica (in episode 5) mentioned that, even if there are disagreements, the main goal is to keep the peace and love within the marriage, because marriage is one of the greatest gifts from our Lord God.
Yelly from Bloomingdale:
I enjoy Happy Life because every story is different, yet I find them all relatable in one way or another. And I love, love, love the happiness between all the couples that have been featured and how all are centered around God. I think my favorite and most relatable story was Christine and Marc’s story (in episode 10) and how they have relied on God to give them the direction they need, and doing so makes everything fall into place. My relationship with my husband sort of feels that way, that nothing was “planned” but God really helped shape our long distance relationship.. to engagement.. to marriage.. and now to our first year together.
Jensine from Oakland:
We got married in January 2020, right before the lockdown and COVID-19. I’ve enjoyed relating to the experiences of other newlyweds during the pandemic. It was really hard. I felt like we were
robbed of our first year of marriage, to really experience things together, considering traveling was limited and the lockdown. My favorite advice was definitely the Benefits of Putting God First in Marriage. I believe my marriage and relationship with my husband is a testimony of God’s love, mercy, and blessing. We’ve been praying together and for each other even before we met and, ever since, God has answered our prayers, in His time. We found each other in 2018, got engaged in 2019, got married in 2020. God has been the foundation of our marriage.
Is there such thing as a perfect marriage?
In short, the answer is no. Hearing about real-life experiences, that our newlywed guests share, helps listeners to know that they are not alone in facing challenges. This can be really comforting. After focusing so much on the wedding day, preparing for what married life will actually be like, day in and day out, can catch couples off guard. Listening to how other newlyweds have adjusted and adapted during the first months and years of marriage can be quite valuable, because establishing a good foundation in the early stages of married life can help build a strong and long-lasting marriage .
Take episode one for example, when Abigail had a hard time adjusting to newlywed life with her husband Kenneth because she missed her parents and her comfort zone. I had flashbacks of me experiencing the very same thing in the first months of my marriage in 1999. If I went through that phase, and then so did Abbie decades later, I think it would be safe to say that others might be feeling this way too. According to brides.com: “post-wedding anxiety is 100 percent normal—and sometimes the most helpful way in dealing with it is to know you aren’t the only one.”
How did Abbie and I get past that stage? Having a spouse who is understanding, patient and supportive, to help you through this period of sadness, goes a long way in building a strong relationship and marriage.
Things you should do for a happy marriage
Adapt and grow
Even for couples who have been married for a while, say 20 years or more, the discussions on Happy Life have been a reminder that learning and adjusting in marriage is never-ending and that communication takes effort. You’ll begin to learn each other’s nuances and preferences for sure, but even that changes over time.
When we talked to Darnelh and Kim, our newlyweds in episode 3, we discussed the fact that our spouse isn’t a mind reader. This, again, resonated with me. To this day, I have to stop myself from thinking that Paul, my husband, just knows what my expectations are of him. So my constant note-to-self is: remember to verbalize and articulate exactly what it is that I do want or expect. On the other side of that, listening to what your spouse is trying to tell you is also very important. This ensures that we’re both on the same page, and clear communication helps to maintain a harmonious marriage.
Keep the Peace
Misunderstandings in marriage will happen, but putting your focus on once again achieving peace in your marriage will help ensure that the disagreement doesn’t last too long.
Follow what you learned on your wedding day
No matter what stage of marriage you’re in, the biblical advice is always timely and is a great reminder on how to have a successful marriage—according to God’s plans. If you haven’t yet, check out the Happy Life instagram account (@happylife.podcast), because there is an inspiring Bible verse post from each of our episodes.
Things I didn’t know before listening to the Happy Life podcast:
When the Happy Life team first heard about creating a potential new podcast geared towards newlyweds, honestly, we were excited. INC Media has programs like Faith and Family that talks about the ins and outs of family life and finding out how God wants your household to be, and Heart and Soul that has largely a young adult following, where they have real conversations with people around the world, talking about love and relationships, guided by the words of God. There wasn’t, yet, any content providing advice to newly married couples.
We discovered:
- Millions of people listen to podcasts weekly
- Most listeners do so to learn new things.
- 48% of podcast listeners in the US are aged between 12-34
Most newlyweds will fall in the age range mentioned above, and we’re really hopeful that we’ve been able to connect with this audience (you!) and provide valuable lessons.
Thank you for making it through the first season of Happy Life with us! We really do hope that each episode has been able to bring you some comfort through relatable experiences, a few smiles from the funny anecdotes of our guests, and great advice from the Bible. As we say at the end of our episodes, “We’re so glad you joined us today and hope we’ve all been reminded about the blessing of marriage.”
About the writer: Myrtle Alegado is a wife of over 20 years, and a mom to a GenZer, from Vancouver, Canada, who enjoys travelling, golf and family movie nights. She is the current host and producer of the Happy Life podcast.
