My Story
My new husband was the man of my dreams. He was helpful with my special needs son, he would include my daughter on dates, he was so generous with his own adult children, he participated in both the hard and fun parts of life. He was the partner I had always dreamed of having.
No matter how great my man was though, I soon found myself in pain. It seemed like anything big or small we didn’t agree about would turn immediately into giant escalations and what felt like near monthly divorce threats! This was a painful dance! Nothing I tried worked.
I tried the same things I tried in my previous marriage. I talked my husband into going to marriage counseling, I sent him marriage advice articles, and I would read books and try to get my husband to read them too. I was positive he needed to participate because I was sure he was most of the problem.
In therapy we would just spend an hour complaining about the pain points, nothing ever changed though. Not until I found Laura Doyle’s The Empowered Wife book. Once I discovered I could single handedly change the dance without my husband even knowing, things started to turn around!
I only worked on myself. My perspective, my choices, my feelings, and my reactions to painful situations. Only the parts that are actually in my control. I used Laura’s Six Intimacy Skills™ to change how I behaved and responded to the stimuli in my marriage. I learned new ways of expressing my desires that inspire my husband to want to be my hero! I also learned how valuable a private coach is with helping me out when I get stuck. Sometimes I couldn’t see the solutions due to my own blindspots.
I benefited so much that I enrolled in a year long relationship coach training program with Laura Doyle herself! I consider it both a passion and a privilege to pay it forward now and coach other women that feel lonely, angry, or resentful so they too can get back to a connected, peaceful, passionate relationship. Clients that use Laura’s Six Intimacy Skills™ often report things get better than they have ever been!
Client Testimonials
I decided to try Laura Doyle private coaching because a friend was discussing how LD really helped her and she suggested I try it.
Before working with you coach Zee, I was overwhelmed with my life, feeling taken for granted and resentful of being in a partnership that seemed to lack warmth and trust and where I felt I couldn’t communicate anything without triggering defensiveness. Whilst I was very grateful that there was no major trauma in my marriage, the silence was destroying my confidence, and I was in a very sad and lonely place.
Across the sessions I felt that a light was slowly turning on. At the start I still had my prior baggage…it won’t work because….I can’t say that because….I can’t do that because…. One by one, I felt an ‘ah ha’ moment where I realized there was another way to look at it. Your guidance, ideas, and reminders of each of the skills I could use to break the pattern really helped me focus. Thank you for giving me the skills one at a time, so I could start practicing and build. You provided a safe and trusting spot to let me explore my feelings, however muddled, this allowed me to slowly work out for myself how to approach changing the way I present to my husband and family. I am hugely grateful for your support, kindness, and generosity of time. I am in a totally different space now than 12 weeks ago.
-Name: withheld, years married: 24, Australia
When I met my coach Zee, she facilitated questions and made me feel comfortable. She shared personal stories that provided an atmosphere of trust. I don’t think I would have had the success without her help. I felt each week that I had a personal challenge to try the skills. Surprisingly, each little challenge was successful, some coming into fruition immediately and some a couple months later.
I highly recommend the coaching. I still haven’t completed the book but already feel lighter, happier and more content in my marriage and work. Zee helped me use some of the skills with my boss and co-workers!
-Lisa T., years together: 18, USA
Before coaching with Zee, I found it really difficult to figure out a way to apply the skills to my challenges. I had read The Empowered Wife book and resonated with the intimacy skills, but I would find myself too focused on the pain I was in, or what my partner was doing, to be able to choose a skill and stick to it. I had many blind spots and nobody to explore them with. I felt frustrated having the skills in my back pocket without the confidence to reach for them as much as I wanted, and I craved some inspiration and guidance. My relationship had improved drastically but little things would really throw me, and it was easy to get discouraged using the book alone. I knew I needed more support!
Zee's deep listening and beautiful smile made me feel safe, heard, and cared for. Zee is a powerhouse relationship coach who is high energy and confident. She has an incredible ability to relate to my pain points and deliver simple solutions, so I came away from her sessions with an achievable plan every time. I highly recommend Zee if you want someone to cut to the heart of your challenge. Zee is also the queen of acknowledgement and throughout our sessions she helped me to celebrate wins that I hadn't even noticed which was really encouraging for me.
Working with a private coach helped me to really embody the skills whereas prior to that it was very intellectual for me. I had new awareness but without the accountability the changes I made were slow and I would often suffer setbacks. Being able to talk through specific challenges with a private coach as they came up allowed me to remedy situations as well as learn from them. It helped me to choose a different experience next time. Over time this transformed the way I showed up for me, my relationship, and my family. My life is more peaceful, loving and connected thanks to working with a coach and integrating these skills.
-Kayla G., years together: 7, New Zealand