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
112 episodes
Episode #111: Addiction, Narcissism & Codependency: Why You Feel Crazy | Featuring Dr. Sarah Michaud
Is your partner struggling with addiction, narcissistic behaviors, or both? How can you tell the difference, and more importantly, how do you begin healing?In this powerful conversation, we welcome Dr. Sarah ...
Episode #110: Behind the Mic: Big Changes, Publishers & Trusting God with What's Next
In this Behind the Mic episode, Lizzie and Deana share a personal update about everything that's been happening behind the scenes.From winning the Selah Award and attending the Blue Ridge Christian Writers Conference to meeting with publ...
Episode #109: From Exploitation to Restoration: A Story of Hope After Sexual Trauma
What happens when childhood sexual trauma silently shapes every relationship, every decision, and every belief about your worth?In this powerful episode of Surviving Toxic Relationships, Tiffany Brearton shares her deeply personal story ...
Episode #108: The Red Flags I Ignored Before Discovering the Truth
What happens when the relationship you've been fighting to save turns out to be something entirely different than you believed?In this powerful episode of Surviving Toxic Relationships with The Matadoras, Heather Justice shares her perso...
Episode #107: Fired at 63, Millionaire by 69 The Financial Comeback Every Woman Needs to Hear
At 63 years old, David Nassif unexpectedly lost his job after nearly two decades with the same company. Faced with the possibility of financial collapse, he chose to rebuild instead of giving up.Six years later, he had achieved financial...
Episode #106: Leaving Financial Abuse: What Women Need to Know Before Starting Over
This conversation originally aired during our 2025 Breaking the Chains… Escaping Abuse telesummit with financial coach Suzanne Skolian, where we discussed one of the most overlooked forms of abuse: financial control.Financial ab...
Episode #105: Financial Abuse Red Flags Every Women Needs to Spot Before Leaving a Toxic Relationship!
Many women do not realize they are experiencing financial abuse until they try to leave the relationship and suddenly discover they have no access to accounts, damaged credit, overwhelming debt, or no safe financial path forward.In this ...
Episode 104: Why You Didn’t See the Red Flags Sooner | Trauma Bonds, Betrayal & Rebuilding Self-Trust
Have you ever looked back on a relationship and wondered… “How did I miss the red flags?”In this deeply honest conversation, Lizzie and Deana unpack the emotional, psychological, and spiritual reasons people stay in toxic relationships l...
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...