My Husband REFUSES to Stand Up to His Mom Now I Know Why? (Part 6)

If saying no to his mom felt like drowning, would you still call him weak?

This is Part 6 of my series, “My husband never stands up to his mom and I feel completely ignored.”
Today we step into Ben’s world so you can feel what he feels in his body, hear what he tells himself to survive, and see why “just tell your mom no” isn’t simple at all, and by the end you will know what you can and cannot change. I promise you will never see a “mama’s boy” the same way again.

I walk you through Ben’s story from childhood to now, and we look at parentification, enmeshment, triangulation, fawn response, guilt wiring, and how all of this plays out with a strong mother and a hurting marriage, and we hold compassion for Linda without excusing harm, because understanding the “why” is how you choose clean boundaries that protect your home and your heart.

👀 Who this is for: wives who feel invisible next to a powerful mother-in-law, partners who love a “mama’s boy,” and anyone who needs words for what their body has been trying to tell them.

🧠 What you’ll learn (plain-language “science” you can feel)
✅ Parentification
✅ Enmeshment
✅ Fawn response
✅ Somatic guilt
✅ Triangulation
✅ Extinction burst

Series Playlist: My husband NEVER Stands Up to His Mom and I Feel Completely IGNORED:    • My Husband NEVER Stands Up To His Mom and ...  

🙌 If this helped
Please like, subscribe, and share this with a friend who needs the words; drop a comment with the part that hit your chest, because your story will help someone else feel less alone.

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Disclaimer: While Jessica is a licensed therapist, she's not your therapist, and this podcast is NOT intended to replace the advice of medical or licensed professionals.

Timestamps:
0:00 – Hook: Why He Can’t Say No to His Mom (Ben’s Story)
1:19 – Ben’s Childhood: Parentification & Enmeshment Begin
2:19 – Parentification Story #1: Becoming Mom’s Little Hero
3:11 – Parentification Story #2: Choosing Mom Over Friends
3:48 – What Is Enmeshment? Mother–Son Enmeshment Explained
4:28 – Grade School: The Family Helper (Emotional Labor)
5:12 – Teen Years: Guilt, Control, and Losing Independence
7:34 – Fawn Response: People-Pleasing as Survival
8:28 – College: Ben Meets Sarah (Stats Class & Instant Rescue)
9:42 – Engagement: Joy with a Shadow (MIL Anxiety Starts)
11:12 – First Crack: The Wedding Buffet Fight (His Lens)
12:20 – Wedding Speech: Why He Didn’t Defend His Wife
13:54 – Early Marriage: Daily Calls, Pop-Ins, Rearranging
16:18 – House Hunt: Buying 12 Minutes from Mom
17:24 – Pregnancy: MIL Takeover Framed as “Help”
18:05 – Baby Years: Firsts, Comparisons, Quiet Collapse
18:25 – Delivery Room Battle: Boundaries vs. Guilt
20:27 – After Birth: Grandma Grips Tighter, Wife Shrinks
22:38 – Age 3: Sarah Wakes Up, Ben Falls Apart (Triangulation)
24:11 – Expect the Extinction Burst: Why It Gets Louder
25:24 – What a Wife Can’t Change in a “Mama’s Boy”
25:49 – What a Wife Can Do: Boundaries, Therapy, Support
27:00 – Stepping Out of the Drama Triangle (Sarah’s Moves)
28:03 – A Hard, Kind Truth: Compassion with Limits
29:10 – Good News: Mama’s Boys Can Heal
29:56 – Cliffhanger: We Still Need to Understand Linda

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