How to Strengthen Your Relationship: The Questions Every Couple Should Be Asking (Episode #122)

How to Strengthen Your Relationship: The Questions Every Couple Should Be Asking Podcast Summary Relationships rarely fail because couples stop caring. More often, they struggle because they stop asking the questions that create understanding, connection, and growth. In this episode of the Human Intimacy Podcast, Dr. Kevin Skinner and MaryAnn Michaelis explore the questions every couple should be asking to strengthen their relationship, improve communication, and build deeper emotional intimacy. Rather than focusing solely on relationship advice, they discuss how meaningful self-reflection and intentional conversations can help couples gain clarity about where they are, where they want to go, and how they want to show up for one another. Topics include rebuilding trust, creating emotional safety, vulnerability, attachment, relationship expectations, annual marriage check-ins, and navigating life's unexpected challenges. Dr. Skinner and MaryAnn discuss how experiences such as betrayal, infertility, parenting stress, health concerns, and other major life transitions often force couples to reevaluate their priorities and rediscover what matters most in their relationship. Listeners will learn how thoughtful questions can uncover hidden assumptions, increase self-awareness, reduce resentment, and strengthen connection. The episode also explores the relationship between safety, trust, vulnerability, and emotional intimacy, drawing on insights from attachment theory, relationship research, and neuroscience. Whether you're recovering from betrayal, working through conflict, or simply seeking a stronger and healthier marriage, this conversation offers practical tools to help you create more meaningful and intentional relationships. What You'll Learn Why the question "What are we doing?" can transform a relationship How relationship goals evolve over time The importance of annual marriage check-ins How trust, safety, and vulnerability influence connection Why major life events often require couples to reassess their relationship The role of self-awareness in relationship success How asking better questions leads to deeper emotional intimacy Practical journaling and reflection exercises for couples How to identify and address unspoken resentments Why relationship growth requires intentional effort Key Questions from This Episode What are we doing in this relationship? Why do I want to be in this relationship? What kind of relationship do I want moving forward? How am I showing up as a partner? Am I being the person I want to be? What am I feeling right now? How often am I listening versus defending? What conversations have we been avoiding? What do I want our relationship to look like one year from now? How can I contribute more positively to our relationship? Resources Mentioned Relationship Research & Attachment John Gottman & Julie Gottman Stephen Porges Peggy Vaughan Jim Collins Recommended Reading The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work Eight Dates Attached Secure  Learn more @ HumanIntimacy.com