Welcome to the Love, Honor, and Aspergers Podcast. Today, host April Anderson is joined by Michelle Carbone to discuss life changes after an autistic marriage. Michelle met her husband when she was 21, and the majority of their marriage was good. However, they did run into trouble with meltdowns, gaslighting, and even verbal abuse.
It wasn’t until after she left her marriage that her family and friends started to tell her about the things they were noticing that she couldn't see for herself. She was working as a travel agent, and Covid put a huge strain on their relationship.
That’s when she realized she’d married someone exactly like her sister. Michelle’s sister struggled with ADHD and Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) growing up, meaning Michelle had to walk on eggshells most of her life. She felt like that was what she was reverting to in her marriage when her husband would tell her what she thought of things instead of asking. He would never listen, and she wasn’t allowed to be her authentic self.
She was very fortunate that their separations and divorce was amicable, and they are still able to interact when needed. After she left her marriage and the travel agency, Michelle needed to make some changes. She worked on her boundaries, started a new career, and is in a new relationship. A big thing is self-trust and self-love, and just because you might have lost it doesn’t mean you can’t get it back.
Welcome to the Love, Honor, and Aspergers Podcast. Today, host April Anderson is joined by Michelle Carbone to discuss life changes after an autistic marriage. Michelle met her husband when she was 21, and the majority of their marriage was good. However, they did run into trouble with meltdowns, gaslighting, and even verbal abuse.
It wasn’t until after she left her marriage that her family and friends started to tell her about the things they were noticing that she couldn't see for herself. She was working as a travel agent, and Covid put a huge strain on their relationship.
That’s when she realized she’d married someone exactly like her sister. Michelle’s sister struggled with ADHD and Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) growing up, meaning Michelle had to walk on eggshells most of her life. She felt like that was what she was reverting to in her marriage when her husband would tell her what she thought of things instead of asking. He would never listen, and she wasn’t allowed to be her authentic self.
She was very fortunate that their separations and divorce was amicable, and they are still able to interact when needed. After she left her marriage and the travel agency, Michelle needed to make some changes. She worked on her boundaries, started a new career, and is in a new relationship. A big thing is self-trust and self-love, and just because you might have lost it doesn’t mean you can’t get it back.