Wife Approved with Shane & Caroline

Ep 37: Blended Family, Step-Parenting & Marriage Stress

1 h 5 min · 12. mai 2026
Forsidebilde av episoden Ep 37: Blended Family, Step-Parenting & Marriage Stress

Beskrivelse

In this episode of the Wife Approved Podcast, we answer a few listener questions and spend most of our time talking through one really heavy one: blended family life, step-parenting, separation, exes, and trying to figure out if a marriage can still be repaired after things have gotten messy. Blended family life can be beautiful, but it can also be a lot harder than people expect. We’re obviously not therapists, but we’ve lived enough real life to know that marriage, parenting, and blended family dynamics are rarely simple. This one is honest, a little messy, and hopefully helpful for anyone trying to love their spouse well while also raising kids in a complicated family situation. Thanks for listening, thanks for sending in your questions. Got a topic or question for us? Submit anonymously here: https://shanewhatley.com/wife-approved-podcast/ ⭐ If you're enjoying the podcast, leave us a 5-star review – it helps us a lot! Thanks for listening. 🎙️ New episodes every Tuesday 📺 Watch on YouTube or listen wherever you get podcasts https://www.youtube.com/@wifeapprovedpodcast 📲 Follow us on Instagram: https://instagram.com/wifeapprovedpodcast https://instagram.com/shanecreates https://instagram.com/mzwhatley ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Intro 0:46 Welcome to the Wife Approved Podcast 2:03 Shane’s Chaotic Week & Hospital Visits 4:13 Smart Home Sleep Devices Are Not Wife Approved 7:46 Listener Question: Blended Family, Separation & Step-Parenting 11:14 Therapy, Marriage Counseling & Owning Your Part 13:20 Should He Keep Talking to Her Every Day? 16:27 Exes, Boundaries & Parenting in Your Own House 20:41 Setting Boundaries Without Becoming a Doormat 25:44 Our Experience With Blended Family Life 32:06 Forgiveness, Moving Forward & Letting the Past Go 40:02 Becoming a Young Stepdad 42:30 How Step-Parenting Affected Our Marriage 46:44 “They’ll Appreciate You One Day” 49:22 Discipline, Respect & Finding Your Role as a Step-Parent 53:39 Caroline’s Parenting Regrets & Learning Patience 55:02 Parenting Has No Handbook 57:30 If Caroline Took Over Shane’s YouTube Channel 1:04:12 Wrap-Up & Send Us Your Questions

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Alle episoder

48 Episoder

Forsidebilde av episoden Ep. 47: The Dumbest Things Couples Fight About

Ep. 47: The Dumbest Things Couples Fight About

What do married couples fight about when nothing is actually wrong?  This week, we share some of our pettiest marriage arguments—plus Caroline’s very questionable birthday massage. Tell us your dumbest marriage fight in the comments. --- 🎙️ New episodes every week 📺 Watch on YouTube or listen wherever you get podcasts *💬 SUBMIT YOUR QUESTIONS:* Got a topic or question for us? Submit anonymously here: https://shanewhatley.com/wife-approved-podcast/ --- *📱 CONNECT WITH US* 📸 Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/wifeapprovedpodcast 🏠 Shane's Smart Home YouTube:  https://youtube.com/@ShaneCreates --- *⭐ If you're enjoying the podcast, leave us a 5-star review – it helps us a lot! Thanks for listening.* #WifeApprovedPodcast #MarriagePodcast  #RealTalk #SmartHome CHAPTERS 00:00 Intro 00:55 Hormones, Birthday Moods & Shane’s Attitude 06:23 Caroline’s Very Questionable Birthday Massage 20:18 Would You Let a Man Massage Your Wife? 24:17 The Petty Things Married Couples Fight About 29:26 Loud Music, Inside-Out Laundry & “Where Is It?” 34:20 Beard Hair, Toothpaste & Loading the Dishwasher Wrong 39:12 Don’t Touch My Food 44:05 Lights, Snoring & Coming to Bed at 2 A.M. 50:03 Watching “Our Show” Without Me Is a Crime 53:07 The Dumbest Fight We’ve Ever Had 59:25 Bourbon, Bad Moods & Looking Back 1:02:39 Tell Us Your Pettiest Marriage Fight

I går1 h 4 min
Forsidebilde av episoden Ep. 46: Broken Healthcare, the Mandela Effect, Giants, Aliens, and Questioning Reality

Ep. 46: Broken Healthcare, the Mandela Effect, Giants, Aliens, and Questioning Reality

Does Chick-fil-A really have a K—and has it always been there? After catching up on Caroline’s mom, healthcare frustrations, and a blown tire in the South Carolina heat, we somehow end up deep in a conversation about the Mandela Effect. We compare memories about Pikachu, Fruit of the Loom, the Berenstain Bears, Shazam, and more—then wander into bigger questions about consciousness, faith, aliens, and why reality sometimes feels a little weird. Are our memories just bad, or do you remember it differently too? --- 🎙️ New episodes every week 📺 Watch on YouTube or listen wherever you get podcasts *💬 SUBMIT YOUR QUESTIONS:* Got a topic or question for us? Submit anonymously here: https://shanewhatley.com/wife-approved-podcast/ --- *📱 CONNECT WITH US* 📸 Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/wifeapprovedpodcast 🏠 Shane's Smart Home YouTube:  https://youtube.com/@ShaneCreates --- *⭐ If you're enjoying the podcast, leave us a 5-star review – it helps us a lot! Thanks for listening.* #WifeApprovedPodcast #MarriagePodcast  #RealTalk #SmartHome CHAPTERS 00:00 — Intro - What Is This Podcast Actually About? 02:30 — “How Are You?” and the Problem With Fake Small Talk 05:05 — American Food, Healthcare, and Caroline’s Hospital Rant 11:00 — Buying Local and Knowing What’s in Your Food 12:00 — A Blown Tire During a South Carolina Heat Wave 15:03 — Wait… Chick-fil-A Has a K? 20:00 — Is the Mandela Effect More Than Bad Memory? 21:06 — DMT, Hidden Code, and Different Realms 27:00 — Testing Our Mandela Effect Memories 33:00 — Pikachu, Queen, Shazam, and the Cornucopia 36:34 — Why More People Are Questioning Everything 39:00 — Aliens, Government Tech, or Something Spiritual? 42:00 — Lost Knowledge, Ancient Civilizations, and the Bible 45:35 — Why the Rabbit Holes Keep Leading Back to God 48:00 — Are They Bad at Hiding It—or Just More Brazen? 54:00 — Finding Courage When Everything Feels Dark 58:00 — Staying Grounded While Going Down Rabbit Holes 1:02:24 — Tell Us What You Remember

14. juli 20261 h 3 min
Forsidebilde av episoden Ep. 45: The Weirdest Sponsorship Offers Shane Has Ever Gotten

Ep. 45: The Weirdest Sponsorship Offers Shane Has Ever Gotten

This week, Shane and Caroline pull back the curtain on the weird, funny, and sometimes very questionable world of YouTube sponsorships. Shane shares some of the wildest brand emails he’s received over the years. Naturally, Caroline has thoughts. A lot of thoughts. They also talk about what actually makes a sponsorship a good fit, why Shane turns down so many offers, how some creators handle brand deals very differently, and why bad PR emails are way more entertaining than they should be. And because this is Wife Approved, the conversation somehow turns into a full review of their smart toilet, heated seats, bidets, separate bedrooms, robot vacuums, ruined floors, and Caroline’s birthday trip indecision. It’s behind-the-scenes creator talk, marriage banter, and bathroom technology all in one episode. Somehow, it works. Link for the smart toilet we discussed in the episode: https://horow.com/discount/SHANE?ref=fruinhlt (Get 20% off with this link!) NOTE: This description contains affiliate links that allow you to find the items mentioned in this video at no cost to you. As an affiliate we earn from qualifying purchases.  --- 🎙️ New episodes every week 📺 Watch on YouTube or listen wherever you get podcasts *💬 SUBMIT YOUR QUESTIONS:* Got a topic or question for us? Submit anonymously here: https://shanewhatley.com/wife-approved-podcast/ --- *📱 CONNECT WITH US* 📸 Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/wifeapprovedpodcast 🏠 Shane's Smart Home YouTube:  https://youtube.com/@ShaneCreates --- *⭐ If you're enjoying the podcast, leave us a 5-star review – it helps us a lot! Thanks for listening.* #WifeApprovedPodcast #MarriagePodcast  #RealTalk #SmartHome CHAPTERS 0:00 — Intro 0:57 — Welcome Back + Summer Is Almost Over 2:48 — Caroline’s Night Out  10:19 — The Flashlight Check-In Marriage Moment 11:21 — Behind the Scenes of Brand Deals 13:17 — The Craziest Sponsorship Emails 14:00 — ED Ads, Sperm Microscopes & Audience Fit 18:04 — How Shane Decides What Sponsors Make Sense 20:40 — Humanoid Robots in the House?  22:04 — Bad PR Emails & Influencer Reply-All Chaos 25:43 — Why Shane Turns Down So Many Sponsorships 27:23 — Magnetic Eyelashes, Baby Bottles & Floral Comforters 32:41 — The Anti-Snoring Tongue Trainer 34:42 — The Smart Toilet That Actually Won Them Over 38:12 — Heated Seats, Bidets & “Car Wash for Your Ass” 43:33 — Should Shane Say Yes to Every Weird Brand Deal? 44:55 — Birthday Trip Indecision 45:36 — Final Thoughts

7. juli 202648 min
Forsidebilde av episoden Ep. 44: 25 Things I Love About You... 15 Years Later

Ep. 44: 25 Things I Love About You... 15 Years Later

This week, we dug through the relationship archives and found the old “things we love about each other” lists that we wrote each other from way back when we were young, broke, and a bit dramatic… and immediately realized a few of them were sweet, some were still true, and several absolutely could not be read on the podcast.  We talk about early dating, being broke, Valentine’s Day confusion, Hooters, flowers at 4 a.m., cooking, tattoos, old cards, iPad drawings, and the weird little things that somehow turn into 20 years of being together. It gets cringey, funny, a little sentimental, and probably too honest at times. Thanks for listening and watching the Wife Approved Podcast. --- 🎙️ New episodes every week 📺 Watch on YouTube, Apple Podcast, or Spotify! *💬 SUBMIT YOUR QUESTIONS:* Got a topic or question for us? Submit anonymously here: https://shanewhatley.com/wife-approved-podcast/ --- *📱 CONNECT WITH US* 📸 Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/wifeapprovedpodcast 🏠 Shane's Smart Home YouTube:  https://youtube.com/@ShaneCreates --- *⭐ If you're enjoying the podcast, leave us a 5-star review – it helps us a lot! Thanks for listening.* #WifeApprovedPodcast #MarriagePodcast  #RealTalk #SmartHome CHAPTERS 0:00 — Intro 1:02 — THC Drinks, Anxiety, and Forgetting to Breathe 8:44 — The Old Love Lists Come Out 12:38 — Young, Cringey, and Still Married 15:08 — Nose Strips, Cooking, and Early Relationship Standards 20:06 — Tattoos, Flowers, and Things We Can’t Read Out Loud 25:08 — Being Broke, Ambitious, and Dropping the L-Word 30:25 — Getting Valentine's Day Wrong 35:06 — Shopping, Farting, and Couple Boundaries 40:15 — “Every Woman’s Got a Little Crazy” 45:23 — The Hooters Notepad Love List 50:05 — Old Cards, iPad Drawings, and Lunchbox Notes 54:54 — How We Actually Got Together 59:45 — The Early Relationship Roller Coaster 1:04:45 — The Secret to 55 Years of Marriage

30. juni 20261 h 6 min
Forsidebilde av episoden Ep. 43: Our Texas Hangover

Ep. 43: Our Texas Hangover

Back from Austin, Texas — with a second-day hangover, plane anxiety, and a new fear of driverless taxis. This week we’re recapping our first trip to Texas — Shane’s smart home conference, Caroline surviving the flight with carefully measured meds, great food, questionable drink choices, and one very aggressive autonomous taxi. Plus, video episodes are now on Apple Podcasts, and we may or may not be launching “Marriage Court.” 💬 Thanks for listening, thanks for sending in your questions. Got a topic or question for us? Submit anonymously here: https://shanewhatley.com/wife-approved-podcast/ ⭐ If you're enjoying the podcast, leave us a 5-star review – it helps us a lot! Thanks for listening. 🎙️ New episodes every Tuesday 📺 Watch on YouTube or listen wherever you get podcasts https://www.youtube.com/@wifeapprovedpodcast 📲 Follow us on Instagram: https://instagram.com/wifeapprovedpodcast https://instagram.com/shanecreates https://instagram.com/mzwhatley ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS 0:00 — Texas, Travel Hangovers, and Plane Anxiety 5:00 — Shane’s Smart Home Conference Recap 9:45 — Austin Food, Speakeasies, and Dirty 6th 14:35 — Drinking Like We’re in Our 20s 20:35 — Comedy Shows, Crowd Work, and Caroline’s “OnlyFans” Answer 25:00 — Weird Bars, Nice Bartenders, and Austin Vibes 30:20 — Our First Driverless Taxi Ride 36:00 — Favorite Austin Stops 38:30 — Hugo Spritz Rants and Bartender Trauma 42:35 — Would We Go Back to Austin? 44:30 — Scooters, Airport Dogs, and Finally Getting Home 47:40 — Video Podcasts, Reviews, and “Marriage Court”

23. juni 202649 min