Rebuilding Intimacy After Kids: How to Reconnect, Rekindle Desire & Strengthen Your Marriage | Rebecca Eudy
After children, many couples quietly shift from lovers to logistical partners. The romance fades, exhaustion sets in, and intimacy feels like another task on the to-do list.
In this powerful episode of the Family Dialogues Podcast, Dr. Taniesha Burke sits down with certified sex therapist Dr. Rebecca Howard Eudy, author of Parents in Love: A Guide to Great Sex After Kids, to explore how couples can reconnect emotionally and sexually without grand gestures or pressure.
We unpack why feeling like “roommates with children” is a normal and predictable phase of parenting, and how small, intentional daily choices can rebuild connection, safety, and desire over time.
In This Episode, We Discuss:
- Why intimacy often declines after children and why it’s not a red flag
- The difference between spontaneous desire vs. responsive desire (and why this matters for couples)
- How exhaustion, mental load, and being “touched out” impact sexual connection
- The pursuer-withdrawer cycle and how it erodes emotional intimacy
- Why obligation sex can damage desire and what to do instead
- How your nervous system (fight, flight, freeze, fawn) affects intimacy
- Micro-moments that keep the emotional climate of your marriage warm
- Rebuilding sexual connection after fertility struggles
- Healing intimacy after traumatic birth experiences
- Navigating desire differences during perimenopause and menopause
- Reconnecting as parents of teens and empty nesters
Dr. Rebecca shares practical tools for rebuilding intimacy in marriage, including:
✔ Expanding your definition of sex
✔ Communicating with vulnerability using “I feel” statements
✔ Creating intentional transition time from parent mode to partner mode
✔ Prioritizing micro-moments of connection (hello kisses, deep hugs, intentional eye contact)
If you’ve ever wondered how to reignite romance after kids, restore emotional connection, or strengthen your marriage while parenting, this episode is for you.
Recommended Resources & Programs
- Parents in Love: A Guide to Great Sex After Kids – Dr. Rebecca Howard Eudy
- Secure Love – Julie Menanno
- Dr. Rebecca Howard Eudy’s Website
- Dr. Rebecca Howard Eudy on Instagram
If this episode resonated with you, subscribe, leave a review, and share it with another parent who may need encouragement in their marriage journey.
