Controlling Husbands

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VIDEO CLIP:  See what Jan has to say.

In an ideal relationship, both partners trust and respect each other equally. But the couples on today’s show face a dangerous imbalance of power in their relationships – not only have the husbands featured have taken too much control over their wives’ lives, but their behavior often borders on emotional, physical and/or verbal abuse. Learn more about their stories below:

In Jan and Howard’s relationship, Howard is the keeper of the keys – figuratively and literally. Not only does Howard control all of the money, but he also refuses to give Jan her own set of keys to the house so that he can keep track of where she goes. After four years of marriage, Howard finally “allowed” Jan to attend beauty school and agreed to pay her tuition – with the understanding that if she leaves him, she is expected to pay all of the money back. Jan attributes much of Howard’s controlling behavior to his excessive drinking and thinks things would improve if he would agree to get help.

Video Clip: Jan expresses her sadness and frustration at Howard’s controlling behavior.

Rhonda says that she madly loves her fiancé Andrew, but that they may never make it up the aisle if his controlling behavior does not subside. Though Andrew admits to calling Rhonda “worthless” and other profane names, he defends himself by saying he grew up in a verbally abusive household which makes it difficult to refrain from speaking that way to Rhonda. Andrew says that he wants to make a change, while all Rhonda wants is more respect.

Larry offered to send both couples to counseling and also introduced them to Stephanie, a woman who successfully got out of an abusive relationship. Stephanie says that her ex-husband used to physically restrain her from leaving the house, but that she was originally flattered by his behavior. Eventually she realized that she was not setting a good example for her daughters by accepting his behavior and decided to leave the relationship. Stephanie shared her story with today’s guests in hopes that they would recognize that it is possible to end the cycle of abuse if things do not improve.

The Winners of "The Amazing Race"

Chip and Kim exemplify the picture of a healthy relationship – after all, their teamwork and communication scored them $1 million as the winners of CBS’ “The Amazing Race!” Chip and Kim appeared on the show to tell Larry about their phenomenal adventure and their background growing up in South Central Los Angeles.

Quick Clicks

Special thanks to Dr. Sandra Graves of Drawbridge Counseling for providing free marriage counseling to today’s guests. For more information on her services, visit: www.drawbridgescounseling.com

For more information on how to deal with emotional abuse, visit our Advice Archive.

Are you in a controlling relationship? Click here to tell us about it.