Why Affairs Happen: Core Wounds, Self-Worth & the Psychology of Infidelity with Christina Ketchen

In this episode, I’m joined by relationship and self-love coach Christina Ketchen for an honest and nuanced conversation about infidelity; what drives it, what it reveals, and how it changes us.

We unpack how core wounds — our earliest needs to be seen, heard, loved, and safe — can lead us to repeat familiar emotional patterns in love. Christina shares her experience coaching hundreds of people through divorce and betrayal, while I reflect on my own story of being the other woman and what it taught me about self-worth.

We explore:

• Why most affairs don’t begin with bad intentions
• The three roles in infidelity and how each carries its own grief
• How shame and self-forgiveness intertwine
• What limerence really is — and why it feels so intoxicating
• The difference between setting boundaries and enforcing them
• Why we’re sometimes comfortable in sadness and chaos

This episode is about compassion, not judgment, and about reclaiming your self-worth no matter what role you’ve played in love.

If this episode resonates:

Listen next:

• I Had to Walk Away: Ending a Long-Term Affair
• I Had an Affair: How it Feels to Tell the World You Were the Other Woman
• The Truth About Affairs: Sexless Marriages, Emotional Validation, and Modern Love

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