‘MAFS’ Experts Dr. Pepper Schwartz and Dr. Jessica Griffin Have a Prescription for Struggling Relationships
Has the spark gone out of your marriage? Are you wondering if you and your boyfriend or girlfriend are going to make it through this rough patch? A pair of Married at First Sight experts may be able to help. Dr. Pepper Schwartz and Dr. Jessica Griffin have come together to co-author a book that aims to help couples diagnose and heal the problems in their relationships.
The ‘Married at First Sight’ experts co-authored ‘Relationship Rx’
Schwartz, a sexologist with a Ph.D. in sociology, has been a Married at First Sight expert since the show’s inception. Griffin, a psychologist, joined the Lifetime reality show in season 6 but left after season 9.
Recently, the two teamed up to write a book that combines their knowledge of relationships. Relationship Rx: Prescriptions for Lasting Love and Deeper Connections, was published in early 2023. In it, Schwartz and Griffin address the most common problems in relationships and offer strategies and exercises couples can employ to work through their challenges.
“This book is for couples with worrisome – even painful – issues who are willing to work to change,” Schwartz and Griffin write in the introduction to Relationship Rx, adding that they have “relationship prescriptions that can address even the most troubling of relationship wounds and woes.”
Jessica Griffin says fear of change gets in the way of people’s happiness in relationships
In Relationship Rx, Griffin and Schwartz dive into a number of challenges that couples might face in a relationship, including issues with sexual and emotional intimacy, unmet expectations, and conflicts over finances, household chores, and children and parenting. But the first chapter might be the most crucial, according to Griffin. It addresses the fear of change, which is “the most important factor in addressing relationship difficulties,” especially for new couples.
“So many of us have been programmed to think, ‘No one’s ever going to change me, your partner should never change who you are,’” Griffin said in an Instagram video. “But that’s actually a myth. And that’s a myth that’s getting in the way of your happiness.”
Pepper Schwartz says the book will help all couples improve their dynamic
Newlyweds and new couples facing uncertainty about the future aren’t the only people who can benefit from reading Relationship Rx. Schwartz says the book is for all kinds of couples, whether they are dealing with a major crisis or a more mundane conflict.
“We think we have leveled it to the widest possible audience,” she said in a video shared on Instagram. “We want to give very practical solutions to even moderate issues, like, you know, people trying to decide whether they should move and what would it do to each person’s life to change their jobs.”
The solutions Schwartz and Griffin propose fall into three different categories, depending on the seriousness of a couple’s problem. Relationship Vitamins are for mostly happy couples who want to make their partnership stronger. Relationship Medicine is for those who need more intense strategies to address their issues. And Relationship CPR is for people who are headed for a divorce or breakup if they don’t take immediate action.
“We make it very readable in terms of steps you can follow to change your life for the better,” Schwartz said. In addition, they share tools that readers can use “to get ahead of things so that they don’t go on to become a bigger problem than you might be able to survive.”
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