Rebuilding Trust After a Disclosure

Rebuilding Trust After a Disclosure

What are the common struggles and victories in addiction recovery? This Q&A-style episode of Agents of Recovery centres on relationships, trust, and self-worth for people rebuilding life after addiction. Instead of scripted advice, you'll hear two men in long-term recovery, host Blu Robinson and co-host Wendell Wood, thinking out loud in real time as they answer raw questions from listeners. First up is David, a 42-year-old husband wondering if his marriage has quietly slid from love into flatmate territory.

Blu and Wendell unpack his loneliness, resentment and past infidelity, stressing the need for what they call "core communication"—honesty without blame and a genuine curiosity about a partner’s inner world. They pull in ideas from John Gottman’s "four horsemen" (criticism, contempt, defensiveness and stonewalling) and Blu’s three stages of love: falling in love, falling out of love, and then learning how to love—and be loved—as the masks come off.

Then Brett, nine months sober, asks whether he even deserves another chance after years of broken commitments. Wendell normalises the shame and isolation, and reminds him that worth doesn’t vanish with addiction: "Your value, your worth… it’s intact." They talk about patience with family who are in a "wait and see" phase, and Blu shares a powerful analogy that "trust isn't earned… trust is a gift" that people hand over in small pieces, not all at once.

Along the way they challenge victim thinking, talk about doing the hard inner work, and have a few laughs about landlines, adult high school and being a "peeping tom" partner who cares enough to check. The tone stays warm, honest and non-judgemental, making it ideal if you're in recovery and wondering whether your relationships—or you—are actually fixable.

If you're questioning whether to keep trying, walk away, or simply believe you're worth the effort, could this be the conversation you need to hear today?