Do you wonder if you’ve fallen out of love with your partner?

Is this more intense after kids?

When love starts to feel like labor, and home feels more like a to-do list than a refuge, it’s not because you’ve fallen out of love.

It’s because you’re both carrying A LOT - more than anyone can see.

In this episode we break down the silent struggles of parenthood:

the mental load, emotional labor, and invisible pressures that quietly reshape relationships after children enter the picture.

We’ll look at how mothers often carry emotional vigilance born from generations of conditioning, and how fathers quietly bear expectations of strength, provision, and stoicism.

Both end up exhausted, one managing life’s invisible chaos, the other crushed under invisible pressure.

Together we discuss how these unseen weights lead to disconnection and resentment.

By the end of the episode, you walk away with 5 small, but powerful recalibrations that help couples rebuild empathy, teamwork, and appreciation.

Because partnership isn’t about perfect balance - it’s about shared gravity.

Today we explore:

👉 The unseen mental load that drains mothers and fathers differently.

👉 How inherited family scripts shape emotional labor.

👉 Five daily practices to rebalance love and responsibility.

👉 Why appreciation, empathy, and rest are radical acts of repair.

Find and Download all my [Free] resources 👉 HERE

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🔔 Subscribe for more parenting insights 📩 Join my [FREE] newsletter for extra support 📢 Share this with a parent who needs to hear it!

--- Full Transcript HERE. — Want to take our relationship to the next level? 👉Here are my top Resources 👉 Link to my Newsletter 👉 Join the Reconnect with Your Partner Challenge

📩 Get in touch with me (Instagram @markella.kaplani; website; e-mail: info@markellakaplani.com) 🎧 Listen, share, and leave a review! Your support means the world!

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Markella Kaplani, M.A. Clinical-Counseling Psychologist Parenthood & Relationship Coach www.markellakaplani.com

Have you ever found yourself explaining your parenting choices a little too much?

…Not because someone attacked them, but because something inside you felt the need to justify?

In this episode of The Parenthood and Relationship Podcast, we explore what’s really happening beneath those subtle moments of parental defensiveness

… the guilt, the identity shifts, and the deep desire to feel like we’re doing enough.

Through a real-life story of two moms at a school gate - one working full-time, one a stay-at-home-mom (SHAM) - we unravel how easily conversations about “what’s best for the kids” become reflections of our own insecurities.

I reveal how matrescence (the psychological transition to motherhood) reshapes identity and why every comment about parenting choices can feel personal.

But more importantly, I guide you through 3 steps to soften the sting of comparison.

Because when we can meet ourselves with kindness, other people’s choices stop feeling like threats.

Today we explore:

👉 Why we defend our parenting choices and what we’re really trying to prove.

👉 The link between mom guilt, identity shifts, and societal pressure.

👉 Three practical tools to stop feeling judged and start feeling secure.

👉 How self-compassion transforms comparison into connection.

If you’ve ever felt that quiet pit in your stomach after hearing how another parent does things differently, this episode will feel like a deep exhale.

There is no perfect way to parent.

There's only your way, done with presence and compassion.

👇👇👇

Download these resources I mentioned for [Free]

👉 Matrescence Video Series

👉 Calm Parent, Calm Child Guide

👉 Self-Connect Calendar

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🔔 Subscribe for more parenting insights 📩 Join my [FREE] newsletter for extra support 📢 Share this with a parent who needs to hear it!

--- Full Transcript HERE. — Want to take our relationship to the next level? 👉Here are my top Resources 👉 Link to my Newsletter 👉 Join the Reconnect with Your Partner Challenge

📩 Get in touch with me (Instagram @markella.kaplani; website; e-mail: info@markellakaplani.com) 🎧 Listen, share, and leave a review! Your support means the world! ---

Markella Kaplani, M.A. Clinical-Counseling Psychologist Parenthood & Relationship Coach www.markellakaplani.com

Parenthood doesn’t just change your schedule.

It shifts who you believe you are.

In this episode, we dive into those quiet, sometimes painful cracks in identity that open once kids arrive:

• the lost “you”,
• the unseen tensions in your relationship,
• the unmet expectations, and the longing to feel whole again.

We explore how couples can hold space for one another, learn tools to rebuild intimate connection, and begin to reclaim identity without resentment, guilt, or disconnection.

This isn’t about returning to “pre-kids you.”

It’s about integrating growth, grief, love, and change so your relationship and your sense of self can thrive.

Today, we explore:

1. How parenthood transforms your self-image, your role expectations & what you didn’t see coming.
2. Communication tools for couples: naming patterns, navigating the unspoken, co-regulation in moments of mismatch.
3. Practical micro-movements you can begin at home to restore connection & feel seen again.
4. The emotional insight: you don’t need to “fix” everything. Sometimes, being witnessed, naming the change, and leaning into vulnerability is the bridge to deeper intimacy.

If you’re feeling like you’ve lost bits of who you were, or if the person you’re in relationship with is changing in ways you didn’t expect, this episode is for you.

Listen in, let the discomfort teach you, and find space to rebuild together.

👇👇👇

Download the [free] Reconnection Roadmap [for him]

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🔔 Subscribe for more parenting insights 📩 Join my [FREE] newsletter for extra support 👉 Get the [FREE] Calm Parent, Calm Child Guide 📢 Share this with a parent who needs to hear it!

--- Full Transcript HERE. — Want to take our relationship to the next level? 👉Here are my top Resources 👉 Link to my Newsletter 👉 Join the Reconnect with Your Partner Challenge

📩 Get in touch with me (Instagram @markella.kaplani; website; e-mail: info@markellakaplani.com) 🎧 Listen, share, and leave a review! Your support means the world! ---

Markella Kaplani, M.A. Clinical-Counseling Psychologist Parenthood & Relationship Coach www.markellakaplani.com