The #1 Reason Relationships Fail (It’s Not What You Think) | Mark Groves

In this revealing and transformative episode, Dr. Will Cole sits down with Mark Groves… human connection specialist, podcast host of The Mark Groves Podcast, and founder of Create The Love… to unpack the psychology of modern relationships, emotional availability, and the deep subconscious wounds that keep us stuck.

Together, they explore the science and soul behind why we fear intimacy, how early childhood patterns affect adult relationships, and what it truly takes to build lasting connection in a disconnected world. Whether you're navigating dating, divorce, marriage, or self-love, this conversation will reshape the way you see your relational life.

Here’s what we’re covering in this episode:

The Real Reason Relationships FailMark Groves explains the unconscious fears that sabotage intimacy and how self-abandonment is often the root of conflict and disconnection.

Attachment Styles & Nervous System HealingSecure, anxious, avoidant… what your attachment style says about your emotional wounds, and how to rewire your nervous system for safety in love.

Why You Attract the Same Pattern Over and OverBreaking the trauma loop: how unhealed pain becomes your dating blueprint until you do the inner work.

Relational Maturity in a Hookup CultureWhy true connection requires discomfort, and how modern dating apps are training us to seek validation instead of vulnerability.

Masculine & Feminine Polarity, RevisitedMark Groves and Dr. Will Cole challenge outdated gender roles in relationships and explore how embodiment… not ideology… is the key to healthy polarity.

Navigating Breakups, Betrayal & Rebuilding TrustPractical insights into post-breakup growth, emotional sobriety, and the role of grief in transformational healing.

Tools for Conscious RelationshipsBoundaries, breathwork, inner child work, and how to build self-trust so you can show up fully in love.

Also in this episode:
The difference between regulating yourself and trying to control others
Why the nervous system rejects love it doesn’t recognize
How childhood roles shape adult relationship dynamics
Emotional regulation as the foundation for relational safety
Why “the one” doesn’t exist… and why that’s liberating

This is a must-listen if you’re ready to stop repeating cycles and start showing up for love with clarity, courage, and compassion.

Tune in to reclaim your emotional health and rediscover what true connection feels like.
🔗 For links mentioned in this episode, visit: www.drwillcole.com/podcast

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ABOUT DR. WILL COLE: Dr. Will Cole is a leading functional medicine expert who consults people around the globe via one of the first functional medicine telehealth centers in the world. Named one of the top 50 functional and integrative doctors in the nation, Dr. Will Cole specializes in clinically investigating underlying factors of chronic disease and customizing a functional medicine approach for thyroid issues, autoimmune conditions, hormonal imbalances, digestive disorders, and brain problems. He is also the host of the popular The Art Of Being Well podcast and the author of Gut Feelings, Ketotarian, The Inflammation Spectrum, and the New York Times bestseller Intuitive Fasting.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FOLLOW ALONG WITH DR. WILL COLE ON SOCIAL:
Instagram:   / drwillcole  
Facebook:   / doctorwillcole  
Twitter: https://twitter.com/drwillcole?lang=en
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@drwillcole?la...
Pinterest:   / drwillcoleinfo  
Functional medicine for everyday people around the world.