Couple Goals

Tim Hughes and Rachel Hughes spoke to us about how their marriage has navigated huge work life balance challenges related to Tim's work as a worship leader and changing seasons of life.

Welcoming us to Gas Street Church where they have been church planting together for a decade, the Hughes' let us peek behind the curtain of their relationship, revealing how conflict resolution has changed for them over the years, the importance of their sex life and intimacy together (and how they deal with the challenges of managing this whilst parenting four children!), their adoption journey and what it's really like to lead together on a daily basis.

Along the way, we also hear about the importance of taking out the bins (IYKYK), how vital a support network is for any married couple and what it's like for your mums to work together to get you to start dating. _________

Whether you're newlyweds or been married for 50+ years, this is the podcast for couples navigating the day-to-day reality of marriage. Who want more than they've got, who care about making relationships work in a culture where it feels like everything is against commitment and long-term love. We talk to couples who've built strong marriages through hardship and change, alongside experts sharing practical, research-grounded marriage advice — the Gottman Method, premarital preparation, and what actually makes a marriage work long after the wedding day.

Every episode brings you real stories from real couples and experts who've really lived it: infertility, chronic illness, addiction, financial pressure, blended families and everything in between. We don't do easy answers or clickbait relationship hacks. We do hope. Because whatever you're facing, you're not the first couple to face it, and you won't be the last to come through the other side stronger.

Our guests bring you their highs, their lows and what they’ve learned – so we can help you build a stronger relationship and know that whatever you’re going through right now, you’re not alone.

These are honest, unfiltered conversations about intimacy, communication, marriage, mental health, resilience and faith, hosted by Luke and LJ Meates.

Topics covered include anxiety, building connection, infertility, bereavement, mental health, faith, growing a family, parenting, communication, love languages, disability, hope, conflict, sex and intimacy and much more.

Couple Goals is produced by Care for the Family, a UK charity that's supported relationships for over 30 years. Our expertise is brought together here with fresh coaching and insight for a new generation of couples building their relationship from the ground up.

New episodes every week, wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe for interviews, expert insight and real stories from real couples — because your relationship is worth investing in.

www.cff.org.uk
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Theres a reason that sexual wellness is such a big challenge in so many relationships - and it's not what you might think. Psychosexual therapist Kate Moyle joined us to talk about why communication skills are such a key part of building intimacy in marriage, how we need to broaden our understanding of sexual health and wellbeing and how any couple can start to grow their intimacy together.

Kate is the host of The Sexual Wellness Sessions podcast and author of The Science of Sex, two resources that aim to demystify sex therapy and sexual wellbeing, helping people to understand more about what things can impact their intimate lives and how to bring about positive change.

Our conversation with Kate was uplifting and encouraging, with lots of easy-to-apply strategies and techniques for how to have conversations about sex as a couple. Her goal is to remove the shame and stigma from these conversations in order to empower couples to recognise that there's a huge amount of hope for change, even when they're really struggling.

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Couple Goals is back for Season 2 with a whole new slate of guest couples and experts! Our hosts Luke and LJ Meates are asking, 'how do we make relationships work in the face of everything life throws at us, in a culture where it feels like everything is against commitment and long-term love?'

Every episode, couples share honest relationship stories about their best and worst moments together - revealing how they survived relationship challenges, what they learned, and how their couples advice could benefit us all.

Featuring deep conversations about real relationships that don't hide the hard stuff, this couples podcast is for anyone seeking relationship advice, wants to hear authentic love stories, or simply loves love.

Topics covered include anxiety, building connection, infertility, bereavement, mental health, faith, growing a family, parenting, communication, love languages, disability, hope, conflict, sex and intimacy and much more.

From Care for the Family, a UK charity dedicated to strengthening family life. cff.org.uk
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

JB and Chloe Gill have lived their whole relationship in the public eye. They met whilst filming X Factor in 2008 when JB was performing with boyband JLS and Chloe was a professional dancer. There was an instant connection, but building a relationship together wasn't easy. As they both toured all over the world, performing and working in the music industry, it was anything but straightforward. Looking back now, they can see just how tough it was for them to survive that time.

But across the years together, they've stayed united and built a strong marriage on the principle that family always comes first. Right from the off, they put things in place to ensure they always stay connected and ensured that they were completely aligned on everything that mattered.

Now their world also includes TV work, their award-winning turkey farm, content creation and the performing careers of their two children, things haven't slowed down!

They took the time to speak to us about how they make sure they focus on strengthening their connection, what really happened when they first met and the one key rule they've always followed across their marriage which has kept them strong.

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Couple Goals is back for Season 2 with a whole new slate of guest couples and experts! Our hosts Luke and LJ Meates are asking, 'how do we make relationships work in the face of everything life throws at us, in a culture where it feels like everything is against commitment and long-term love?'

Every episode, couples share honest relationship stories about their best and worst moments together - revealing how they survived relationship challenges, what they learned, and how their couples advice could benefit us all.

Featuring deep conversations about real relationships that don't hide the hard stuff, this couples podcast is for anyone seeking relationship advice, wants to hear authentic love stories, or simply loves love.

Topics covered include anxiety, building connection, infertility, bereavement, mental health, faith, growing a family, parenting, communication, love languages, disability, hope, conflict, sex and intimacy and much more.

From Care for the Family, a UK charity dedicated to strengthening family life. cff.org.uk
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How do you make your relationship work when your brains are wired differently? What impact does neurodivergence have on a marriage? Is it always going to be challenging, or are there benefits to building a life with someone who is completely opposite to you?

These (among many others) are questions Sophie and Pete Killingley have navigated over the last 21 years.

Illustrator Sophie has ADHD, whilst Pete, Head of Church Engagement at CARE is neurotypical. They have very different ways of approaching the world, and for them, that's become a strength they draw on. But, that doesn't mean it's always been easy.

From the early days of married life, there was a huge amount to learn about how to love one another well in the simplest moments of daily life. And when children came along - both eventually being diagnosed with autism - family life became filled with intricate considerations and adjustments.

They've come a long way and learnt a lot, working together to present a united front from which they can parent, work and love each other best.

This conversation is full of joy, realism and hope about the day-to-day reality of neurodivergent relationships, autism parenting and celebrating your differences.
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Couple Goals is back for Season 2 with a whole new slate of guest couples and experts! Our hosts Luke and LJ Meates are asking, 'how do we make relationships work in the face of everything life throws at us, in a culture where it feels like everything is against commitment and long-term love?'

Every episode, couples share honest relationship stories about their best and worst moments together - revealing how they survived relationship challenges, what they learned, and how their couples advice could benefit us all.

Featuring deep conversations about real relationships that don't hide the hard stuff, this couples podcast is for anyone seeking relationship advice, wants to hear authentic love stories, or simply loves love.

Topics covered include anxiety, building connection, infertility, bereavement, mental health, faith, growing a family, parenting, communication, love languages, disability, hope, conflict, sex and intimacy and much more.

From Care for the Family, a UK charity dedicated to strengthening family life. cff.org.uk
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Porn use is often kept secret in relationships.
Overwhelmingly - 84% of the time - when porn use is revealed it's discovered by a partner.
The disconnection it causes and the feelings of guilt and shame don't make it easy to talk about.

The fallout from problematic porn use, secrecy and betrayal can be devastating on relationships. Couple Goals exists to support and uplift couples, even in the hardest moments of challenge. Every week, we have people reach out to us for advice and support on this topic, so we knew it was vital to address.

We asked Cat Etherington from Naked Truth Project to join us, to help us understand what the challenges are, and how we can overcome them. As Director of Recovery, she coaches couples and individuals through porn use recovery journeys, by helping them to recognise why they're using porn and how they can work towards healthy, long-term recovery. She helps them to rebuild trust and navigate the trauma and aftermath of the feelings of betrayal that are so common when porn use has been discovered.

Even though this is a challenging and often painful topic for many, Cat is bringing a message of hope. Many couples have worked through this and found healing and restoration for their relationship. It's a tough thing for couples to work through, and it will take time, but strength and healthy intimacy is possible on the other side.

https://nakedtruthproject.com
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Couple Goals is back for Season 2 with a whole new slate of guest couples and experts! Our hosts Luke and LJ Meates are asking, 'how do we make relationships work in the face of everything life throws at us, in a culture where it feels like everything is against commitment and long-term love?'

Every episode, couples share honest relationship stories about their best and worst moments together - revealing how they survived relationship challenges, what they learned, and how their couples advice could benefit us all.

Featuring deep conversations about real relationships that don't hide the hard stuff, this couples podcast is for anyone seeking relationship advice, wants to hear authentic love stories, or simply loves love.

Topics covered include anxiety, building connection, infertility, bereavement, mental health, faith, growing a family, parenting, communication, love languages, disability, hope, conflict, sex and intimacy and much more.

From Care for the Family, a UK charity dedicated to strengthening family life. cff.org.uk
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.