Your Hormones Aren’t Just Messing with Your Mood, They Might Be Messing with Your Marriage

So you're snapping at your partner over the laundry, crying in the grocery store aisle, and fantasizing about moving to a remote cabin... alone.

Midlife, baby.

But here's the thing: it’s probably not "just stress."

If you're in the thick of perimenopause (or your partner is), you might be riding a hormonal rollercoaster you didn't even know existed, one that’s deeply tied to emotional regulation, communication, and yes... your sex life.

In Episode 52 of the podcast, I sat down with Brooke Davis, a hormone-informed marriage educator, to talk about how perimenopause and andropause (for penis owners) impact relationships, and what to do when your marriage feels like it’s slowly unraveling.

Listen or watch this weeks podcast episode >>

Why Midlife Feels Like a Bomb Went Off

Hormones like estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone aren't just about periods and erections. They're mood managers. Stress buffers. Libido regulators. And when they start to drop, everything gets... wonky.

Here's what that can look like:

• Emotional sensitivity and irritability
  

• Mental fog, memory issues
  

• Disconnection from your partner
  

• Physical and sexual discomfort
  

• Feeling like a stranger in your own body

It's no wonder many people report feeling "off," "numb," or like they're "losing it."
And often? They don't even realize it's hormonal.

What It's Doing to Your Relationship

One of the biggest takeaways from my chat with Brooke:

Hormones don't cause relationship breakdowns.
But they expose the cracks that were already there.

This season of life requires a relationship rebuild - not a rewind.
We're not going "back to normal." We're building something new, together.

What You Can Do (Starting Now)

1. Name It to Tame It
   Understand what’s happening. Learn together. No shame, no blame. Just honesty.
   

2. Talk About Support
   Not just "how are you feeling" — but "what do you need from me right now?"
   

3. Stop Waiting for Things to Go Back to Normal
   They won't. But that's not a bad thing. You can rebuild connection and sex that works now.
   
   

Want to Go Deeper?

This is exactly why I created the Roommates to Romance Challenge — a 14-day low-pressure guide for higher libido partners who want to stop walking on eggshells and start reconnecting.

✨ Start the challenge here: intimacyafterkids.com/roommates-to-romance

This can be the opportunity that creates a whole new relationship, one that is stronger than ever, or the thing that pulls you apart. You get to decide together, and do something about it.

Let this be the nudge to get support, reconnect, and create intimacy that feels real again.