This episode of Stories We Weren’t Supposed to Tell is a little different. Krystle is usually sitting beside Sunshine helping someone else tell their story. Today, we switch seats.

For the first time on the podcast, Krystle tells hers.

We go back to childhood and talk about the experiences that shaped the way Krystle saw herself, the need to feel chosen, and how wounds we don't recognize when we're young can follow us into adulthood and relationships.

Krystle opens up about relationships, sexual coercion, sexual assault, addiction, infidelity, manipulation, religious trauma, shame, and the years she spent questioning herself instead of questioning what was happening to her.

We also talk about the darker parts of survival that aren't discussed enough, anger, revenge, losing pieces of yourself, and what it actually takes to find your way back.

But this is also a story about light.

About boundaries, forgiveness, healthy love, healing, and discovering that surviving the darkness doesn't mean you have to live there.

Krystle calls herself a light.

Sunshine calls her a lighthouse.

And when Krystle answers the question we ask every guest

what would you tell yourself at your lowest point?

well its exactly what she needed to hear at that time.

Content Warning: This episode contains discussions of sexual assault, sexual coercion, emotional abuse, substance abuse, religious trauma, and suicidal thoughts.

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Want to share your story on the podcast or find Randin’s books, resources, and more?
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Sunshine Faye ☀️

This episode of Stories We Weren’t Supposed to Tell is a little different. Instead of talking about what happens once you’re already deep inside a relationship, we’re talking about what happens before the relationship even starts.

We sit down with Dave, creator of Is He Worthy?, to talk about dating, standards, red flags, relationship patterns, communication, non-negotiables, and how to take some of the emotion out of deciding who we allow into our lives.

Dave shares the heartbreak behind Is He Worthy? and how the end of his marriage and seeing the impact relationship failure had on his family, pushed him to create something designed to help people identify unhealthy or incompatible relationships before years are invested in them.

We also break down the W.O.R.T.H.Y. assessment, why defining your standards before chemistry gets involved matters, and why your list of non-negotiables should continue to evolve as you do.

We talk about why red flags can be so obvious from the outside but difficult to see when you’re the one emotionally invested, whether our past experiences can make us too quick to identify red flags, the difference between an apology and a pattern, passive-aggressive communication, and why sometimes the most important question isn’t whether someone wants you, but whether they actually match the life and relationship you want.

And when Dave answers the question we ask every guest

what would you tell yourself at your lowest point? his answer is simple:

Never give up. Pasted text

IS HE WORTHY?

Website:
https://isheworthy.com

Dave’s website includes the Is He Worthy? book, relationship tools and assessments, resources, and links to his social channels. Pasted text

Sunshine Faye ☀️

Kali grew up in a loving, safe home with a strong family, a deep connection to her faith, and absolutely no reason to believe she would ever become a victim of domestic violence.

At 21, she met a man who seemed to check every box she had been taught to look for. He was older, established, a returned missionary, educated, charismatic, and deeply involved in their faith. Within three weeks they were engaged. Six weeks later they were married.

And almost immediately, everything began to change.

What started with control, intimidation, broken belongings, and emotional abuse slowly escalated into physical violence, financial abuse, spiritual abuse, and fear that became part of everyday life for Kali and her children.

For nearly 20 years, Kali learned how to survive inside a life that looked completely different behind closed doors than it did from the outside.

Then one day, everything changed.

After witnessing an attack on her son and hearing the words that finally made something inside her snap, Kali made the decision she had spent years believing she couldn't make:

She was done.

But leaving wasn't the end of the abuse.

Kali shares what happened next — protective orders, stalking, financial control, the court system, hypervigilance, rebuilding her life, and learning who she was after spending nearly two decades surviving.

Today, Kali is a mother, professional, domestic violence advocate, survivor, and a woman who refuses to let what happened to her dictate what comes next.

⚠️ This episode discusses domestic violence, physical and emotional abuse, child abuse, spiritual abuse, strangulation, stalking, coercive control, financial abuse, and trauma.

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence or needs support, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or text START to 88788.