About Blog
Work with Brett
The Marriage Essentials Podcast

The Marriage Essentials Podcast

Hosted by: Brett Nikula

🎙️ The Marriage Essentials Podcast Marriage is the place you most want to feel loved and understood—yet so many couples feel stuck, disconnected, and unsure how to fix it. Hosted by licensed marriage and family...

All Episodes

Episodes

#14 - Why We Get Emotionally Triggered In Our Closest Relationships

In this episode, Brett Nikula shares why we get emotionally triggered in our closest relationships—and how to begin understanding and addressing those triggers in a healthy, connected way. Recorded just days before...
View Episode

#13 - Attachment Longings

What if every time you got angry, defensive, or resentful—there was actually a deeper longing underneath trying to tell you something?   In this episode, Brett unpacks attachment longings: the core desires we all have...
View Episode

#12 - A Better Marriage Builds a Better Business

What if your marriage wasn’t just affected by your business—but actually the secret advantage behind its growth? In this episode, Brett shares personal stories from 10+ years of marriage and entrepreneurship, and how...
View Episode

#11 The Gift of Connection

As we head into the holiday season, this episode is all about reflection, gratitude, and the power of showing up well in our most important relationships. Brett shares the behind-the-scenes story of buying Solace...
View Episode

#10 - Your Marriage Impacts Your Business

What happens when your business is thriving… but your marriage feels stuck? In this episode, Brett shares what he learned while sitting in a room full of high-performing entrepreneurs—many of whom were quietly...
View Episode

#9 - The Business of Relationships

I recently sat in a room full of high-level entrepreneurs—people who had mastered systems, scaled businesses, and built strong teams. When it was my turn to speak, I didn’t teach a business strategy. I taught...
View Episode

#8 To The One Solving the Problems

In every marriage, there’s often one person who pulls away—and one who leans in. Last episode, we talked about what’s going on for the withdrawer. Today, we’re talking to the other side: the one who keeps bringing it...
View Episode

#7 When You Shut Down in Conflict

When things get tense in your marriage, do you go quiet? Shut down? Pull away—hoping not to make it worse? In this episode, Brett unpacks why so many people shut down during conflict—not because they don’t care, but...
View Episode

#6 The Power of Emotion

You can use all the right words. Stay calm. Be reasonable. But if you’re speaking from frustration, resentment, or defensiveness—that’s what your spouse will feel most. In this episode, Brett explores why your...
View Episode

#5 - Clean Your Side of the Glass

Episode 5: Clean Your Side of the Glass In every relationship, there’s a kind of invisible window between you and your spouse. And over time, life fogs it up—misunderstandings, conflict, stress, assumptions. That...
View Episode

#4 Why You Shut Down, Get Defensive, or Blow Up—and What to Do Instead

Episode 4: Why Your Protective Move Creates Distance in Marriage—and How to Shift It Every couple has conflict—but it’s how we respond that shapes connection or disconnection. In this episode, Brett shares how...
View Episode

# 3 Relationship Foundation and Footings

Many couples work hard on their relationship—communication, parenting, routines, intimacy. But when conflict hits, things still fall apart. Why? Because what’s underneath the relationship matters just as much as...
View Episode