Surviving Toxic Relationships Podcast with The Matadoras
Surviving Toxic Relationships is a faith based podcast for women who are ready to break free from toxic, emotionally abusive, or narcissistic relationships and step into healing, clarity, and truth.
Deana and Lizzie are two women whose lives unexpectedly crossed when they were married to the SAME manipulative, cheating, financially abusive partner.
Their combined passion is to provide women with the tools to avoid, escape, or heal from toxic, harmful, or confusing relationships.
If you’ve been searching for faith based wisdom that goes deeper than surface-level advice, this show is for you. We talk honestly about trauma, emotional wounds, spiritual confusion, and the process of rebuilding your identity through faith.
Our esteemed guests consist of Therapists, Authors, Doctors, and Survivors. Together, we explore topics that include self-discovery and healing, narcissistic abuse, boundaries, discernment, and learning to hear God’s voice clearly in relationships.
Whether you’re trying to avoid early red flags, are in the middle of a toxic relationship, or recovering from one, this emotional and spiritual healing podcast offers real conversations, practical insight, and biblical encouragement to help you move forward into hope, restoration, self worth, and renewal.
Remember beautiful friends: You are not alone, You are not crazy, and You are deeply, deeply loved.
Deana & Lizzie
Episodes
104 episodes
Episode #103: The 5 Stages of Betrayal Recovery (Why You Still Feel Stuck & How to Heal) Dr. Debi Silber
Why does betrayal cut so deeply—and why do so many people stay stuck for years, even decades?In this eye-opening episode, we sit down with Dr. Debi Silber, founder of the Post Betrayal Transformation Institute, to unpack the science and ...
Episode #102: I Didn’t Know It Was Abuse… |Therapist Explains Hidden Signs of Toxic Relationships
What if the relationship you thought was “just difficult”… was actually harmful?In this powerful episode of Surviving Toxic Relationships with The Matadoras, we sit down with licensed therapist and trauma specialist Zulma Willia...
Episode #101: 5 Signs You’re Not Just in a Hard Season (You May Be in a Harmful Pattern)
Are you going through a difficult season… or is something deeper happening in your relationship?In this episode of Surviving Toxic Relationships with The Matadoras, we continue our Love With Eyes Wide Open series by unpacking one of the ...
Episode #100: Letting Go Without Going Back: Forgiveness, Boundaries & Healing | Eva Marie Everson
Can you forgive someone and still walk away?In this powerful episode of Surviving Toxic Relationships, we sit down with award-winning author Eva Marie Everson to unpack one of the most misunderstood topics in relationships: ...
Episode #99: Brain Hijack in Relationships; Why You Feel Unsafe in Love (Even When You’re Not) | Diane McDowell
In this powerful episode of Surviving Toxic Relationships with The Matadoras, we sit down with Diane McDowell, creator of the Brain to Heart Code, to uncover why so many emotionally intelligent women still feel unsafe in love—even in h...
Episode #98: How Toxic Relationships Make You Feel Unlovable (And How to Heal) | Ashana Kaiulani
In this powerful episode of Surviving Toxic Relationships, we sit down with trauma support specialist and reclamation coach Ashana Kaiulani to unpack what toxic relationships really do to your identity, self-worth, and ability t...
Episode #97: The Nice Guy Trap | Barb Nangle on Codependency, Boundaries, and Healthy Love
Codependency, toxic relationships, healthy boundaries, and emotional healing are at the center of this powerful conversation with boundaries coach Barb Nangle, founder of Higher Power Coaching and host of Fragmented to Whole.
Episode #96: Moral Injury Explained | How Trauma, Abuse, and Faith Collide (Dr. Larry Brant)
Moral injury is one of the most misunderstood forms of trauma—and it may explain why so many women leaving toxic or abusive relationships still feel broken, ashamed, or beyond forgiveness.In this powerful episode of Surviving Toxic Re...
Episode #95: How Toxic Relationships Keep Women Stuck | Nikki Allen on Abuse, Trauma Bonds, and Healing
Why do women stay in toxic relationships? In this powerful episode of Surviving Toxic Relationships, Nikki Allen shares her personal story of emotional abuse, physical violence, trauma bonding, identity loss, and the long journey toward ...
Episode #94: When Scripture Is Used to Control | Spiritual Confusion, Marriage, and Discernment
Can scripture be misused in marriage?In this honest and faith-centered conversation, Lizzie and Deana explore a difficult but important topic many Christian women quietly wrestle with: what happens when Bible verses are quoted without...
Episode #93: When Intimacy Disappears: The Hidden Sign You’re in a Toxic Relationship. Dr Jordin Wiggins
What if your burnout, sexual dysfunction, anxiety, or confusion isn’t a hormone problem… but a coercive control problem?In this powerful episode of Surviving Toxic Relationships, we sit down with naturopathic physician, author of The...
Episode #92: Christian Boundaries vs Walls: Protecting Your Peace in Toxic or Spiritually Confusing Relationships
What if boundaries aren’t rejection… but stewardship?Many Christian women struggle to set boundaries because they fear being unloving, unforgiving, or “not submissive enough.” But boundaries are not walls. They are not punishment. They a...
Episode #91: Before You Hire a Divorce Lawyer… Listen to This | Mediation, Narcissists & High-Conflict Divorce
Divorce doesn’t have to be a battlefield.In this powerful episode of Surviving Toxic Relationships, Lizzie and Deana sit down with divorce mediator and communication strategist Elizabeth Merrill, founder of Open Space Mediation. Liz sha...
Episode #90: What Is Discernment? Faith-Based Relationship Wisdom for Mothers Raising Daughters (And Every Christian Woman)
What is discernment, and how do Christian women recognize red flags while still leading with faith, wisdom, and peace? In this first episode of the Love With Eyes Wide Open podcast series, Lizzie and Deana talk about biblical discernment, Chris...
Episode #89: Renewing the Mind After Trauma & Addiction | Faith, Neuroscience, and Freedom with Roseanne Forte
Trauma. Addiction. Toxic relationships. Shame. Mindset renewal.In this powerful episode of Surviving Toxic Relationships, we sit down with Rose Ann Forte, international bestselling author and creator of the Choose Freedom pr...
Episode #88: Escaping Narcissistic Abuse After 20 Years | Skye Bellarmine on Healing, Faith, and Reclaiming Your Life
Narcissistic abuse. Gaslighting. Coercive control. Legal abuse. In this episode of Surviving Toxic Relationships, we sit down with Skye Bellarmine, author of the Breaking Solace trilogy, to talk about surviving 20 years of nar...
Episode #87: Why “Keeping the Peace” Is Destroying Families: Conflict, Boundaries & Self-Advocacy with Jen Fry
Conflict doesn’t mean failure, it means information.In this powerful conversation, Dr. Jen Fry explores why self-advocacy, boundaries, and conflict resolution are essential skills, especially for women navigating toxic relationships, pe...
Episode #86: He Rescued a Stranger in a Devastating Car Accident; Then Discovered It Was His Father?
In this powerful story, a teenager’s quick thinking after a devastating car crash leads to a startling discovery—one that forces him to confront years of emotional abuse, silence, and buried truth.In this episode of Surviving Toxic Rela...
Episode #85: When Toxic Families Turn on You
This episode is for anyone who has ever asked: “Why am I still paying the price for someone else’s abuse?”In this powerful episode of Surviving Toxic Relationships, hosts Deana and Lizzie sit down with Joni Wo...
Episode 84: Healing After Bullying & Emotional Abuse: Breaking Limiting Beliefs to Live Free | Brooke DeBoer
In this powerful episode of Surviving Toxic Relationships, with Deana and Lizzie sit down with Brooke DeBoer, author of Living the Free Life and a life coach whose journey from bullying and emotional abuse to healing and ...
Episode 83: When the Truth Comes Out: Private Investigator Ken Childs on Narcissists, Double Lives, and Protecting Yourself!
In this gripping episode of Surviving Toxic Relationships with Deana and Lizzie sit down with Ken Childs, a veteran Los Angeles private investigator whose 25-year career includes celebrity cases, criminal investigations, and exposing double liv...
Episode 82: When Faith, Marriage, and Abuse Collide: My Journey Out of Religious and Emotional Control
In this deeply personal episode of Surviving Toxic Relationships, Lizzie shares her full story—one that spans faith, marriage, motherhood, religious abuse, emotional control, and survival.From marrying young with the belief that G...
Episode 81: Write Your Next Chapter: Turning Pain into Purpose Through Publishing with Terry Whalin
Episode 81: If you’ve ever dreamed of writing a book—or wondered if it’s too late—this inspiring episode is for you.In this powerful conversation on Surviving Toxic Relationships, hosts Deana and Lizzie talk with T...
Podcast Trailer: Surviving Toxic Relationships with The Matadoras (aka Deana & Lizzie)
Welcome to Surviving Toxic Relationships, a faith-based podcast created for women who are healing, rebuilding, and reclaiming their voice after emotional and relational abuse.Hosted by Lizzie and Deana—two women whose lives unex...
Episode 80: When the Holidays Don’t Feel the Same: Healing, Grief & Finding Peace After Toxic Relationships
In this deeply personal episode of Surviving Toxic Relationships, Lizzie opens up about how the holidays can feel different—lonelier, quieter, or unexpectedly emotional—especially after walking through heartbreak, divorce, or the loss ...