Till The Wheels Fall Off
by TWFO Couple - Matt & Paige Robinson
Till The Wheels Fall Off (TWFO) podcast is hosted by Matt and Paige Robinson. TWFO focuses primarily on the relationship dynamics between spouses and partners of alcoholics or addicts and ways to best navigate the difficulties of codependent, addicted, unstable, and narcissistic behavior. The program is enjoyable and informative for anyone seeking self-betterment, inspiration, perspective, or direction with themes ranging from boundaries, recovery, marriage, and parenting with tons of humor built in. With over twenty years of experience in codependency recovery, addiction recovery, mental health battles, and navigating life's hurdles, the duo offers a valuable and unique perspective that is both inspiring and relatable. On the web: www.twfo.com Support us at buymeacoffee.com/twfo Follow us on TikTok: tiktok.com/@twfo_couple Follow us on Instagram: https://instagram.com/twfo_couple/ Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TWFOCouple Follow us on You
Episodes
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#323 - Paige's Perspective: Three Perspectives on “Hang In There… It Gets Worse”
Have an episode suggestion? Text us! In this episode of Paige’s Perspective, Paige breaks down the phrase “Hang in there… it gets worse” and the surprisingly deep conversation it created during a recent Reclaiming You call. Some people viewed the phrase as a reminder that life will always have...
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#322 - Paige's Perspective: Regulating Your Nervous System
Have an episode suggestion? Text us! In this episode of Paige’s Perspective, we’re breaking down what it really means to regulate your nervous system and why practices like mindfulness and deep breathing won’t cut it if you’re still stuck in toxic situations. Paige explores how your environment…
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#321 - Anger Part 3: The Anger You Feel After You’ve Left the Relationship
Have an episode suggestion? Text us! In Part 3 of our anger series, we talk about the kind of anger that shows up after the relationship ends, when there’s more space, more clarity, and for a lot of people, a brutal realization of what you actually lived through. This is the anger that confuses…
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#320 - Nobody Warns You About This Part of Recovery - Mindset Monday
Have an episode suggestion? Text us! In this Mindset Monday, I’m answering a handful of listener questions that all point to the same thing. You can be doing everything right and still feel off. We talk about the loneliness that shows up not just during addiction, but during recovery too. Being...
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#319 - Paige's Perspective: Turning Guilt Into Growth
Have an episode suggestion? Text us! In this episode of Paige’s Perspective, we’re talking about the power of change and choices. How many times have you thought, “I’ve messed up. I’ll never change. I’ll never be enough”? Maybe it was after snapping at your kids, numbing out with your phone, or...
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#318 - Anger Part 2: When Everything’s Finally “Good”
Have an episode suggestion? Text us! Many partners expect relief when sobriety begins. Instead, they may feel confused, guilty, and angry when everything is finally going well. In this episode, Matt and Paige explore why anger often surfaces months or even years into recovery, not during the…
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#317 - Mindset Monday: “You Knew Who I Was” Is a Cop-Out
Have an episode suggestion? Text us! So incredibly gracious for your understanding as we navigate the crazy schedules of youth sports and rework some of our older and favorite episodes. You can bet on us being back and better than every with new lessons, episodes, and perspectives as soon as we…
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#316 - Paige's Perspective: The Part of Addiction No One Talks About... The Spouse
Have an episode suggestion? Text us! In this episode of Paige’s Perspective, Paige goes back to something she rarely shares… her story. Not the polished version. Not the “we made it through” version. The real one. What it was like falling in love at 14, building a life together, and slowly...
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#315 - Anger Pt 1: Why You’re So Angry in This Relationship
Have an episode suggestion? Text us! In part one of our three-part anger series, we are talking about what anger really is when you are living with someone in active addiction, emotional immaturity, or someone who may be sober but still completely unhealed. Too many people have been taught that...
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#314 - Staying Sober: Mindset Monday Replay
Have an episode suggestion? Text us! A classic replay for the absolutely insanely busy life we're living right now. I love this episode because it offers inspiration to those that are looking at their current life and a life of sobriety and wondering how it could ever happen...I promise you, it's...
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#313 - Paige's Perspective: Let's Talk About Stress
Have an episode suggestion? Text us! In this episode of Paige’s Perspective, I break down the difference between eustress (productive stress that builds resilience) and unsafe stress (toxic, chronic stress that erodes your health and peace). We’ll explore why your body often confuses the two, how...
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#312 - How We “Ruined” Marriages by Giving Women Standards
Have an episode suggestion? Text us! Some people think our podcast is dangerous because it gives women standards, challenges unhealthy relationships, and forces hard conversations to happen. In this episode, Matt responds to criticism that TWFO “ruins marriages” by making spouses more aware of...
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#311 - Whose Story Is It To Tell?
Have an episode suggestion? Text us! When addiction, trauma, or abuse shape your life, how much of that story is yours to share? In this raw and thought-provoking episode of Till the Wheels Fall Off, we tackle the controversial question of whether speaking out about your experiences is an act of...
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#310 - Why It’s So Hard for Men to Open Up
Have an episode suggestion? Text us! In this re-released Mindset Monday episode, Matt talks about one of the hardest parts of recovery and relationships: opening up. This one’s for both sides of the table - the person who’s sober but still hiding, and the partner who’s done begging for honesty.…
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#309 - Paige’s Perspective: Trauma Explains It. It Does Not Excuse It.
Have an episode suggestion? Text us! In this week’s Paige’s Perspective, Paige talks about why so many spouses and partners become consumed with trying to understand addiction, trauma, mental health, or someone else’s past while slowly losing themselves in the process. This episode is not about...
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#308 - Why the Past is Important
Have an episode suggestion? Text us! Phrases such as "We just need to move forward," "The past is the past, get over it," "Stop bringing up the past" may have a time and place, but not in your relationship post-addiction or after betrayal of any kind. Emotions buried alive never die. While it may...
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#307 - Why So Many Men Mistake Sex for Connection
Have an episode suggestion? Text us! In this episode, we’re talking about sex, intimacy, and the way so many men are taught to treat sex like the only way to feel loved, connected, reassured, or validated in a relationship. We’ll discuss why men and women often experience sex differently, why…
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#306 - Let Them Feel (But Don’t Let Them Treat You Like Sh*t)
Have an episode suggestion? Text us! In this episode of Paige’s Perspective, we’re talking about something a lot of us struggle with… taking on other people’s emotions. When someone we love is upset, it can feel automatic to fix it, manage it, or take responsibility for it. Over time, that leaves...
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#305 - How to Break Generational Cycles
Have an episode suggestion? Text us! Breaking free from generational cycles isn't just about addiction—it’s about rewiring everything you were conditioned to believe: how you communicate, how you cope, how you parent, and how you love. In this episode, we dive deep into what it really means to...
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#304 - Paige's Perspective: DARVO
Have an episode suggestion? Text us! This week on Paige’s Perspective, we’re digging into DARVO—the manipulative pattern people use to avoid accountability by flipping the script and making you question your reality. You’ll learn what DARVO looks like, why it happens, and how to spot it in both...
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#303 - What It Really Takes to Leave: One Woman’s Story of Strength, Survival, and Starting Over
Have an episode suggestion? Text us! In this episode, we talk with a guest who opens up about the quiet, painful, and often invisible process of leaving a long-term relationship with someone struggling with addiction. This is not a story of one big moment. It’s about years of internal conflict,...
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#302 - Why Life Feels Empty After Sobriety (for both people)
Have an episode suggestion? Text us! A lot of people believe that once the drinking or drugs stop, life will finally start to feel better. But for many people in recovery, the opposite happens at first. The chaos disappears and what’s left can feel like a huge void. No excitement, no purpose, and...
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#301 - Paige's Perspective - Survival Mode: When Life Feels Like Too Much
Have an episode suggestion? Text us! In this episode of Paige’s Perspective, Paige speaks directly to those who feel like they are just surviving each day. If you feel mentally, emotionally, and physically exhausted… if simple decisions feel overwhelming… if you wake up feeling dread or wonder if...
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#300 - The Other Matt: Growing Up With Addiction & Choosing Intentional Living
Have an episode suggestion? Text us! This week you’re hearing from a different Matt. Not Matt Robinson, but Matt Frates, the editor behind the scenes at Till the Wheels Fall Off. Matt shares his story of growing up as the son of an alcoholic, navigating emotional immaturity, estrangement…
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#299 Mindset Monday: This Isn’t About Alcohol. It’s About Your Life.
Have an episode suggestion? Text us! This episode is a direct conversation with the person who’s still drinking, still using, still bargaining, or quietly telling themselves they’re fine while their life feels smaller than it should. It was originally created for spouses to share with their...
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#298 - Paige's Perspective: Recognizing the Patterns That Shape Our Lives
Have an episode suggestion? Text us! In this episode of Paige’s Perspective, Paige dives into a conversation we don’t have often enough: our own patterns. We spend a lot of time analyzing the behaviors and cycles of others, especially our partners, but rarely pause to examine the patterns we live...
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#297 - Boundaries Part 3
Have an episode suggestion? Text us! This is Part 3 of our Boundaries series and the final episode in the three part framework. In Part 1, we focused on values, because boundaries only work when you know what matters to you. In Part 2, we identified the behaviors that violate those values and...
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#296 - Paige's Perspective: Not Trusting Everyone Isn’t a Wound
Have an episode suggestion? Text us! We’ve been taught that not trusting people means something is wrong with us. That if we don’t open up quickly, we must be closed off, bitter, or unhealed. I don’t agree with that at all. In this episode of Paige’s Perspective, I talk about why trusting…
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#295 - Boundaries Part 2
Have an episode suggestion? Text us! In Part 1, we started with values, because boundaries only work when you know what you stand for. In this episode, we move to the other side of the equation. What are the behaviors that make you feel uneasy, disrespected, or unsafe? What crosses a line for…
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#294 - Mindset Monday: The Story You Tell Yourself Is Holding You Back
Have an episode suggestion? Text us! What if the thing holding you back isn’t your past…it’s the story you keep telling yourself about it? In this Mindset Monday, I’m coming for limiting beliefs. The quiet “rules” you picked up in survival mode and never updated. The lie that you’re not smart...
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#293 - Paige's Perspective: Challenging the Beliefs That Hold You Back
Have an episode suggestion? Text us! So many of us are incredibly hard on ourselves. We struggle to see the good in who we are, to trust our perceptions, or to believe we are capable of more. When you’ve been blamed, betrayed, or emotionally worn down in your most intimate relationship, it makes...
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#292 - Boundaries Part 1
Have an episode suggestion? Text us! Boundaries are the most requested topic we get, and most advice out there leaves people asking the same question: "Okay, but how do I actually do this?" This is Part 1 of a three-part Boundaries series, and we start where boundaries actually begin. With your...
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#291 - Mindset Monday: The “What About Her?” Trap
Have an episode suggestion? Text us! In this Mindset Monday, I’m calling out the most common, most immature move men make after they finally start doing the bare minimum: demanding their spouse regulate perfectly while they’re still paying off a decade of damage. You don’t get to rack up the...
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#290 - What Recovery Gets Wrong: The Partner's Side of the Story
Have an episode suggestion? Text us! The recovery world loves to talk about healing, but who is it really built for? This episode was originally released in May 2025, and we are bringing it back because the conversation is just as relevant now as it was then. In it, Matt and Paige take a hard…
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#289 - Mindset Monday: Celebrating 25 Amazing Years, and What It Took to Get Here
Have an episode suggestion? Text us! Today is a big one. Paige and I are celebrating 25 years together, and I’m recording this Mindset Monday in that headspace, reflective, grateful, and honestly a little stunned that we’ve lived so many lifetimes inside one relationship. We met at 14. I always...
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#288 - Paige's Perspective: Why Everything Feels So Urgent
Have an episode suggestion? Text us! In this episode of Paige’s Perspective, Paige explores why so many of us feel like we are constantly running out of time, even when nothing is actually on fire. From the nervous system’s need to stay in survival mode to the fear of making the wrong choice in...
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#287 - Mindset Monday: It Wasn't The Addiction, It Was Me
Have an episode suggestion? Text us! A listener posted a question in our free TWFO Facebook community that I’ve heard a hundred times in recovery spaces: “You have to separate the person from the addiction. That wasn’t them.” And I get why people love that line. It reduces shame, makes…
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#286 - Paige's Perspective: You Can Restart the Day
Have an episode suggestion? Text us! Some mornings feel like a personal attack. You are late. You are out of coffee. The house is a mess. Your kid’s shirt is dirty. Your nervous system is already fried and suddenly it feels like the whole day is ruined. In this Paige’s Perspective, Paige reminds...
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#285 - Your Kids Are Watching
Have an episode suggestion? Text us! Your kids are watching you. Not in a cute way. In a blueprint way. In this episode, we talk about the moment that punched Matt in the gut: watching our son at practice miss a shot, make a shot, and immediately scan the room for Dad’s face. Like, “How should I...
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#284 - Mindset Monday: Why Some People Never Grow
Have an episode suggestion? Text us! In this Mindset Monday episode, the discussion takes on a common belief from men that sounds reasonable on the surface but falls apart under scrutiny: “Why should I have to change? You knew who I was when you married me.” The episode unpacks why this thinking...
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#283 - Paige's Perspective: Being the Villain in Someone Else’s Story
Have an episode suggestion? Text us! No one wants to be the villain. But what if being seen as the bad guy is actually a sign that you are growing? In this Paige’s Perspective episode, Paige reframes the idea of the villain era and explains why setting boundaries, taking care of yourself, and...
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#282 - Red Flags, Fear, and the Standard We’ve Accepted
Have an episode suggestion? Text us! In this episode, Matt and Paige move through three conversations that are deeply connected and hard to ignore once you see them clearly. First, we talk about red flags that get mislabeled as “just the addiction.” Weaponized vows, religious guilt, control,...
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#281 - Mindset Monday: The Cost of Becoming Better
Have an episode suggestion? Text us! In this Mindset Monday, I’m walking through a handful of quotes I found in an Instagram carousel and breaking down what they actually mean in real life. Not the fluffy, motivational poster version. The version that applies to sobriety, rebuilding trust…
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#280 - Paige's Perspective: The Struggle is Real, But It Doesn't Have to Be
Have an episode suggestion? Text us! The struggle is real, but it doesn’t have to control your life. In this episode of Paige’s Perspective, Paige breaks down how everyday struggles like lack of motivation, emotional exhaustion, inconsistent routines, exercise resistance, comfort eating, and low...
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#279 - Stop Asking. Start Trusting Yourself.
Have an episode suggestion? Text us! Trusting yourself sounds simple until you try to do it. If you grew up being told what to do, spent years in systems that trained you to follow rules, or lived in a relationship where you got second-guessed, criticized, or controlled, self-trust can feel...
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#278 - Mindset Monday: Boundaries Don’t Work (Like You Think They Do)
Have an episode suggestion? Text us! In this Mindset Monday, Matt drops a handful of hard-earned lessons from the last month, pulled straight from the notes app, the place where the real thoughts live before the world distracts you out of them. He breaks down why boundaries are one of the most...
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#277 - Anger Part 3: The Anger You Feel After You’ve Left the Relationship
Have an episode suggestion? Text us! In Part 3 of our anger series, we talk about the kind of anger that shows up after the relationship ends, when there’s more space, more clarity, and for a lot of people, a brutal realization of what you actually lived through. This is the anger that confuses…
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#276 - Paige's Perspective: From What If to Even If - The Shift That Changes Everything
Have an episode suggestion? Text us! Today’s episode is a re-release of one of Paige’s favorite Paige’s Perspective episodes, Even If - brought back with a new intro by Matt. This conversation gets to the heart of something we talk about often at TWFO: the difference between living in “what if”…
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#275 - Mindset Monday: Empathy Isn’t a Shallow Pool - Why Recovery Education Is Incomplete
Have an episode suggestion? Text us! In this Mindset Monday, Matt talks about a gap in the recovery world that almost nobody wants to name: families are expected to learn everything about addiction, but addicts are rarely required to learn the same depth about the damage addiction causes on the...
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#274 - Anger Part 2: When Everything’s Finally “Good”… Why Am I So Angry?
Have an episode suggestion? Text us! Many partners expect relief when sobriety begins. Instead, they may feel confused, guilty, and angry when everything is finally going well. In this episode, Matt and Paige explore why anger often surfaces months or even years into recovery, not during the…
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About this show
Till The Wheels Fall Off (TWFO) podcast is hosted by Matt and Paige Robinson. TWFO focuses primarily on the relationship dynamics between spouses and partners of alcoholics or addicts and ways to best navigate the difficulties of codependent, addicted, unstable, and narcissistic behavior. The program is enjoyable and informative for anyone seeking self-betterment, inspiration, perspective, or direction with themes ranging from boundaries, recovery, marriage, and parenting with tons of humor built in. With over twenty years of experience in codependency recovery, addiction recovery, mental health battles, and navigating life's hurdles, the duo offers a valuable and unique perspective that is both inspiring and relatable.
On the web: www.twfo.com
Support us at buymeacoffee.com/twfo Follow us on TikTok: tiktok.com/@twfo_couple Follow us on Instagram: https://instagram.com/twfo_couple/ Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TWFOCouple Follow us on You
Hosted by
TWFO Couple - Matt & Paige Robinson
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