Love in Practice with Emily Gough and Kelly Gardner

Emily Gough & Kelly Gardner
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Hosted by married couple Emily Gough, a relationship coach, and Kelly Gardner, an embodied leadership coach, Love in Practice explores the real, raw, and messy work of love. We share stories from our own relationship and guide you through building emotional intimacy, navigating conflict, co-creating interdependence, and healing wounds to create deeply loving partnerships rooted in trust, respect and growth. Love isn’t perfect, but showing up for it daily is always worth the practice.

Episodes

  1. 12/17/2025

    7. The Real Reason You Fight and How to Repair It

    Conflict is going to happen in a healthy relationship. And more often than not, conflict starts with something laughably small – from doing dishes, to making food, and even how to decoratively light a podcast. But underneath the menial cause of conflict always lies a much deeper need that isn’t being met.  This episode originally aired in February 2024 on Emily's podcast, Room to Grow as we unpacked a conflict we literally had in real time as we were trying to record this episode. Yes, seriously, we couldn’t even record this podcast without a small conflict of our own. Yes, it was something super small (how to decoratively light this episode for video) which we playfully recount, but then take you through our thorough resolution and beautiful potential of the conflict repair process.  In this episode, we talk about: Why conflict is so often over small thingsOne partner taking leadership on certain things in a relationshipCompassionate communicationAssuming positive intent in othersTrusting your partner through conflictExpressing your needs and asking for your needs to be metHow to fully resolve a conflict in a relationshipThe repair process of conflictDiscovering breakthroughs through conflictThe essential elements of repairing conflict in a relationshipHow conflict is an opportunity to deepen your relationship Stay tuned for so much more to come - we're shifting gears a bit next week and sharing more about the tools we use with our couples and how you can bring this into your own relationship for deeper connection and intimacy. Connect with Us Work with Emily and Kelly for Couples Coaching Connect with Emily on IG @emilygoughcoach Connect with Kelly on IG @iamkellygardner Leave a Review If this conversation resonated, please share it with someone you love and leave a review wherever you listen. It helps this podcast reach more people who are ready to practice love...and that's what the world needs most right now.

    1h 13m

  2. 12/10/2025

    6. The Silent Power Struggles Every Strong Couple Faces

    Every strong couple has them. Those tiny, invisible battles that shape connection, safety, and trust. In this episode we break down the unspoken power dynamics that show up in even the healthiest relationships: the triggers, shutdowns, leadership clashes, and moments where love meets old wounds. This conversation is honest, grounded, and real. You’ll hear how two strong partners navigate emotional intensity, masculine/feminine energy, nervous system activation, and that push-pull dance between independence and intimacy. In this episode, we're getting into: The micro power struggles couples overlook and why they matterThe strong independent woman dynamics and how they impact emotional safetyWhat men truly want from a woman in partnership and how you can both tap into each others' unique strengthsHaving difficult conversations about relational agreements and asking for what you wantThe idea of "feminine expression" and what Instagram influencers get wrong about it...especially when it comes to real-life relationshipsWhy couples get stuck in the same reactive loop of spiraling or shutdownHow nervous systems collide and what creates instant safetyShared leadership and taking fully ownership and responsibility, even when it means pushing through fears You’ll walk away with: A clearer understanding of your relational patterns and the dynamics that might be playing out in your own relationship, along with some of the major shifts strong couples must master to grow together.  Connect with Us Work with Emily and Kelly for Couples Coaching Connect with Emily on IG @emilygoughcoach Connect with Kelly on IG @iamkellygardner Leave a Review If this conversation resonated, please share it with someone you love and leave a review wherever you listen. It helps this podcast reach more people who are ready to practice love...and that's what the world needs most right now.

    1h 5m

  3. 11/26/2025

    5. The Savior Trap: How Over-Functioning Kills Intimacy

    We're taking you back in time! This episode originally aired in December 2023 on Emily's podcast, Room to Grow as we unpacked two of the patterns of over-functioning that can show up in relationship and keep us from true intimacy.  Longtime Room to Grow listeners may recognize these archetypes from an earlier, more playfully named episode. It’s tempting to want to play the role of “superhero” in a relationship – the guardian, the savior, the teacher, or the fixer. But over-prioritizing their needs over your own often has a villainous effect on a healthy relationship. Because if all of your focus is on their safety, wellbeing and nurturing, you then neglect what’s more important – your own. And over-functioning for someone else often creates power imbalances that quietly erode intimacy. In this episode, we unpack two common over-functioning archetypes that show up in relationships: • The Savior/Fixer, who feels most valuable when rescuing or healing a partner • The Improver, who over-invests in helping a partner “level up” while neglecting her own needs We explore why these dynamics form, how they impact desire and polarity, and what it actually looks like to prioritize yourself without abandoning your relationship. In this episode, we're talking about: Why men often want to feel like a “savior” in a relationshipPower dynamics in relationshipsWhy women often put aside their own needs in a relationshipHow to balance giving and receiving in a relationshipExpanding your sense of self in a relationshipWaiting to be chosen by someoneHow prioritizing yourself first contributes to a better relationshipManaging sexual energy inside and outside your relationshipIncluding your partner in your lifeHow to make your partner feel chosenStay tuned for more episodes weekly, including some upcoming episodes that truly help you get to the root cause behind so many relational patterns to help you heal and open to real love. Connect with Us Work with Emily and Kelly for Couples Coaching Connect with Emily on IG @emilygoughcoach Connect with Kelly on IG @iamkellygardner Leave a Review If this conversation resonated, please share it with someone you love and leave a review wherever you listen. It helps this podcast reach more people who are ready to practice love...and that's what the world needs most right now.

    1h 7m

  4. 11/19/2025

    4. Why Couples Repeat the Same Fights & How to Break the Cycle

    In this episode of Love in Practice, we dive into the hidden emotional patterns that quietly shape our relationships, often without us realizing it. From the subtle ways shame shows up, to the moments we flip into grandiosity, to the instinct to protect our inner child at all costs, we explore how these unconscious dynamics create the same painful cycles with the people we love most. We’re unpacking how conflict becomes a doorway into deeper intimacy when both partners can stay in their “adult self” long enough to witness what’s really happening beneath the surface. We break down the difference between walls and boundaries, how containment actually works in real time, and why couples can have wildly different experiences inside the same moment. You’ll hear: Why we project our pain and make our partner “the bad one”How shame and defensiveness keep conflict loopingThe avoidant/anxious dance and how to interrupt itWhat it means to love and protect your inner child without abandoning your partnerThe exact moment where real repair becomes possible This is one of our most honest, grounded conversations about the unseen mechanics of relationship dynamics, and how two people can choose each other again and again while breaking old patterns that no longer serve them. Whether you’re in a long-term partnership or navigating your own inner world, this episode will help you understand yourself AND your relationship on a much deeper level.   Connect with Us Work with Emily and Kelly for Couples Coaching Connect with Emily on IG @emilygoughcoach Connect with Kelly on IG @iamkellygardner Leave a Review If this conversation resonated, please share it with someone you love and leave a review wherever you listen. It helps this podcast reach more people who are ready to practice love...and that's what the world needs most right now.

    1h 3m

  5. 11/11/2025

    3. Hope After Heartbreak: Our Love Story

    We're taking you back in time! This episode originally aired in September 2023 on Emily's podcast, Room to Grow. It was the first time we shared about our relationship, and we wanted to let you listen in so you can better understand right alongside us how love grows, shifts and evolves over time. We kept some of the original show notes below: My guest on this episode is my partner, Kelly Gardner. He and I met when he was a guest on this podcast (Room to Grow Episode #359 “Building A Community Of Better & More Present Fathers” With Kelly Gardner) and at the time, it was just an interview. But, things quickly changed, and I can honestly say this is the best romantic relationship I’ve ever experienced. I want to share our relationship story – one that involves long distance, children from a previous marriage, mutual past relationship heartbreak and a healthy share of conflict. But moreso, I want to share Kelly’s remarkable approach to communication, personal integrity, conflict resolution, co-parenting and formulating – and reformulating – agreements within a romantic relationship.  In this episode, Kelly and I are talking about: How we began dating while living in different countriesPremonitions, intuition and manifestingSetting clear agreements in relationships “Touristing” – hooking up with people on dating apps while on vacationMasculine vs Feminine integrityConflict resolution in relationshipsCo-parenting and maintaining a relationship with your exBringing children into a new relationshipHow past relationship pain can lead to greater future relationshipsMore to come on the next episode of Love in Practice, we'll be diving into the strategies we bring into love, and how to work through conflict as a team. Connect with Us Work with Emily and Kelly for Couples Coaching Connect with Emily on IG @emilygoughcoach Connect with Kelly on IG @iamkellygardner Leave a Review If this conversation resonated, please share it with someone you love and leave a review wherever you listen. It helps this podcast reach more people who are ready to practice love...and that's what the world needs most right now.

    1h 16m

  6. 11/11/2025

    2. I Thought I'd Healed That - Until Deep Love Showed Both of Us Otherwise

    You can do all the healing work in the world, and then real love shows up to find out if you really meant it. This episode dives into the beautiful and brutal reality of what happens when old patterns meet new love, and when the very person you adore also triggers the parts of you you thought were long gone. We're sharing how we have navigated (and still are, in some cases), enormous transitions that tested our bond, as well as our individual capacity to stay grounded. Between moving countries, blending a family, facing addiction recovery, immigration hurdles and even a natural disaster, it's been a wild time of growth colliding with reality.  Here's what we most want you to know: the power struggle stage isn't a sign that something is wrong. Instead, it's the moment you finally get to see all the underlying stories and patterns that have been running the show all along, to both grow through and heal them together. On this episode, you’ll hear: How the power struggle stage in relationships can actually be the birthplace of real intimacy.Why even those who have done a huge amount of healing work still revisit old survival patterns, and how to meet them with awareness.The truth about two people having completely different emotional experiences within the same relationship.How your nervous system, upbringing, and relational history shape the way you love.What it looks like to keep choosing connection, even when it feels messy, confronting, and inconvenient.Be sure to check out the next episode, Hope After Heartbreak, to hear our early story of how we both risked hope again in the name of love when we found each other. So much more to come! Connect with Us Work with Emily and Kelly for Couples Coaching Connect with Emily on IG @emilygoughcoach Connect with Kelly on IG @iamkellygardner Leave a Review If this conversation resonated, please share it with someone you love and leave a review wherever you listen. It helps this podcast reach more people who are ready to practice love...and that's what the world needs most right now.

    1h 5m

  7. 10/17/2025

    1. The Practice of Love is the Point: Now the Real Work Begins

    Perfection isn’t the point; devotion is. It’s our commitment to the practice of love that keeps bringing us back to each other, again and again, even on the hard days. In this opening episode of Love in Practice, we’re inviting you into the real, raw, and beautifully messy work of love. We’ll be sharing the highs, the lows, and the downright difficult moments that continue to shape us as a couple and as individuals. Together, we’re exploring what it means to stay devoted to love, not just in the easy moments, but in the ones that require the most of us. Two humans, learning every day how to choose ourselves and each other, while honouring the individuality, edges, and borders that make co-creating true intimacy possible. This conversation dives into what it means to show up for love daily, imperfectly, and with an open heart. We talk about the literal borders between our two countries, the inner borders that connect us to ourselves, and the shared borders that hold the truth, trust, and growth of our relationship. Because love isn’t about getting it right. It’s about staying in the practice. In this episode, we cover: The inspiration behind Love in Practice and why love is a lifelong practiceThe stages of relationship, particularly stage 2 where we have found ourselves, and where most couples get stuckHow we navigate "borders" both internal and relationalWhat devotion in partnership looks like (and why it's not always pretty)The difference between loving someone and practicing loveA peek into what you can expect from this season: real conversation and revelations, personal stories and honest reflectionsWe can't wait to continue this journey with you! Connect with Us Work with Emily and Kelly for Couples Coaching Connect with Emily on IG @emilygoughcoach Connect with Kelly on IG @iamkellygardner Leave a Review If this conversation resonated, please share it with someone you love and leave a review wherever you listen. It helps this podcast reach more people who are ready to practice love...and that's what the world needs most right now.

    36 min
  • 7 Episodes

About

Hosted by married couple Emily Gough, a relationship coach, and Kelly Gardner, an embodied leadership coach, Love in Practice explores the real, raw, and messy work of love. We share stories from our own relationship and guide you through building emotional intimacy, navigating conflict, co-creating interdependence, and healing wounds to create deeply loving partnerships rooted in trust, respect and growth. Love isn’t perfect, but showing up for it daily is always worth the practice.

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