Jenna is swept off her feet by a charismatic chef and finds herself married within ninety days. But under his charming facade lurks a volatile temper as Jenna becomes the target of his rage, threats, and physical intimidation. chapters listen with caution | 00:00 next on lovelustfear | 00:16 about jenna | 01:20 jenna’s story | 02:12 questions & answers | 21:56 closing thoughts | 25:46 charity & organizations | 27:07 submit your story | 27:36 disclaimer | 27:47 quotes “And I was instantly taken with this man. he was tall, he was really, swarthy, dashing and would speak to me in Spanglish. And so we ended up making out and hanging out all night.” - Jenna “I knew this was moving really fast and I wanted it to I think I just felt so ready I want to get married and this guy was just so passionate and all about me.” - Jenna “...and he was calling me, blowing up my phone saying like, you better come home now or I'll kill myself and you have to deal with the body or I'll kill you if you don't come home.” - Jenna “And so as I was leaving, this woman pulled me aside…And she's like, Jenna, I read your file and this guy's going to try to kill you.” - Jenna “...I'm not going to blame myself because I just didn't have all the information. And then once I did get it, I took action. I knew I had to get out.” - Jenna music | sounds Music (CC BY 4.0): Lost Place Atmospheres (001-003) by Sascha Ende Very Low Note by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Other Music and Sound Effects by Geoffrey Harvey, Alex Wit, cybercutie, Timothy Kulig, AlesiaDavina, Pixabay, Samuel F. Johanns, UNIVERSFIELD, and Yevhenii Kovalenko from Pixabay Crazy Love written by Van Morrison Spacetime by Mountaineer stay aware | follow | share (jenna) Peace Over Violence https://www.peaceoverviolence.org/ Peace Over Violence is a nonprofit 501c3, multicultural, community based and volunteer centered organization dedicated to building healthy relationships, families and communities free from sexual, domestic and interpersonal violence. To achieve this mission our agency manages five departments delivering the services of Emergency, Intervention, Prevention, Education and Advocacy. National Domestic Violence Hotline (24/7/365) Call 1.800.799.SAFE (7233) Text: START to 88788  https://www.thehotline.org/ https://www.facebook.com/NationalDomesticViolenceHotline https://www.instagram.com/NDVHofficial/ story submission information  If you would like to consider being a guest on lovelustfear or would like your story featured anonymously, please contact us below. submission link | https://lovelustfear.aidaform.com/lovelustfear E-mail | lovelustfearpod@gmail.com Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/lovelustfearpod/ subscription links Chartable https://link.chtbl.com/lovelustfear Amazon Music https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/b06d0ea8-cb29-4c3a-98e6-0249d84df748/lovelustfear Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/0e3ndcf5u8lZ5lhN1lvWec Apple https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lovelustfear/id1735876283 RSS feed https://audioboom.com/channels/5125912.rss Want to hear more? Whatever app you’re listening on, just rate us and/or leave us a comment or review. Thank you for your support!

After tying the knot, Mira finds herself fostering an emotionally immature man-child whose public intoxication, abusive tendencies, threats of suicide, and troubling fixation with firearms put Mira and her daughter's lives at risk. chapters listen with caution | 00:00 next on lovelustfear | 00:16 about mira | 01:17 mira’s story | 02:05 questions & answers | 21:32 closing thoughts | 25:09 charity & organizations | 26:24 submit your story | 26:54 disclaimer | 27:05 quotes “I never really learned how to date in a healthy way. in my twenties, I definitely was part of that more of a big, binge-drinking culture where you went out on Friday night and drank a lot. And so then I'd meet men drinking, and then they turned out to, you know, have alcohol problems.” - Mira “When I started internet dating, I got all those responses, including him. We were first talking, and I took screenshots of those back then because I knew it was not quite right.” - Mira “It was very eye-opening in a lot of ways because in a sense, it was like adopting him as a teenager, really what it felt like because I had taken on all of these responsibilities.” - Mira “And I was afraid he was going to commit suicide. I was afraid he was going to kill us. and he was driving by the house and all this shit and so he had no support system. He's never had any friends.” - Mira “I had to trust my path and I don't do well with that. I like knowing what comes next. So you have to trust that you will be okay and you have to lean on others and come into a space of receiving and acceptance and put that out into the universe.” - Mira ​ music | sounds Music (CC BY 4.0): Lost Place Atmospheres 002 by Sascha Ende Very Low Note by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Other Music and Sound Effects by Geoffrey Harvey, Samuel Kamau, Alex Wit, cybercutie, Timothy Kulig, AlesiaDavina, Pixabay, Samuel F. Johanns, UNIVERSFIELD, Yevhenii Kovalenko, and TheoJT from Pixabay Spacetime by Mountaineer stay aware | follow | share (mira) One Mom’s Battle https://www.onemomsbattle.com/ One Mom’s Battle is the intersection of narcissistic abuse and child custody issues. The mission at One Mom’s Battle is to raise awareness and educate family court professionals on post separation abuse as it relates to co-parenting and the family court system (divorce, paternity and child custody battles). Education on high-conflict individuals and post separation abuse will allow family court professionals (Judges, Commissioners, Magistrates, CPS workers, Guardian ad Litems (GAL), Parenting Coordinators (PC), Custody Evaluators, therapists and attorneys) to recognize the abusive dynamics that play out in the family court system so they can make decisions that are in the best interest of children. National Domestic Violence Hotline (24/7/365) Call 1.800.799.SAFE (7233) Text: START to 88788  https://www.thehotline.org/ https://www.facebook.com/NationalDomesticViolenceHotline https://www.instagram.com/NDVHofficial/ story submission information  If you would like to consider being a guest on lovelustfear or would like your story featured anonymously, please contact us below. submission link | https://lovelustfear.aidaform.com/lovelustfear E-mail | lovelustfearpod@gmail.com Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/lovelustfearpod/ subscription links Chartable https://link.chtbl.com/lovelustfear Amazon Music https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/b06d0ea8-cb29-4c3a-98e6-0249d84df748/lovelustfear Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/0e3ndcf5u8lZ5lhN1lvWec Apple https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lovelustfear/id1735876283 RSS feed https://audioboom.com/channels/5125912.rss Want to hear more? Whatever app you’re listening on, just rate us and/or leave us a comment or review. Thank you for your support!

Gabi's dating life takes a darker turn when she finds herself entangled in a toxic workplace romance with an abusive partner and is forced to conceal his drug addiction and self-destructive tendencies to protect his career. chapters listen with caution | 00:00 next on lovelustfear | 00:17 about gabi | 01:19 gabi’s story | 02:24 questions & answers | 21:15 closing thoughts | 26:24 charity & organizations | 27:41 submit your story | 28:11 disclaimer | 28:22 quotes “I was in my early to mid-twenties, really living my best life in West Hollywood. I was really at an exciting point in my career where it felt like anything was possible.” - Gabi “When I found out that we would be working on a show together, I knew that that was wrong. I was like, I don't want to date someone I work with. That's really problematic.” - Gabi “…there would always be alcohol. He'd always be drinking when I first went to his place. And I'm like, oh, he must, like, have friends over a lot and he must party a lot.” - Gabi “He went from being someone who was so supportive of me and encouraging of me and my career to someone who was telling me I wasn't good enough. I wasn't funny enough. I'll never amount to something.” - Gabi “And he would do things to make that very difficult. Bring different girls every night to the tapings of the show, flaunt that he was dating other people in front of my face. He really went out of his way to make me feel like crap, and to make it really hurt.” - Gabi “That relationship messed me up. That abusive relationship did not look like what I thought abusive relationships looked like.” - Gabi learn more about gabi personal website | https://www.gabiconti.com/ instagram | https://www.instagram.com/itsgabiconti/ tiktok | https://www.tiktok.com/@itsgabiconti twitter | https://twitter.com/itsgabiconti book | https://www.gabiconti.com/book-twenty-guys-you-date-in-your-twenties-by-gabi-conti bad influencer | podcast | https://link.chtbl.com/LdLb8v6u music | sounds Music Attribution: Music (CC BY 4.0): Lost Place Atmospheres 002 and The Question Is (Quizpackage) by Sascha Ende Very Low Note by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Other Music and Sound Effects by Piotr Witowski, Alex Wit, cybercutie, Timothy Kulig, AlesiaDavina, Pixabay, Samuel F. Johanns, UNIVERSFIELD, Yevhenii Kovalenko, and Slicebeats from Pixabay Spacetime by Mountaineer stay aware | follow | share (gabi) The National Writers Union https://nwu.org/ Protects freelance writers and journalists and is backing the SB988 Bill in California, also known as the "freelance isn't free" bill to protect freelancers.  https://contracosta.news/2024/02/03/senator-wiener-introduces-bill-to-expand-freelance-worker-protections/ National Domestic Violence Hotline (24/7/365) Call 1.800.799.SAFE (7233) Text: START to 88788  https://www.thehotline.org/ https://www.facebook.com/NationalDomesticViolenceHotline https://www.instagram.com/NDVHofficial/ story submission information  If you would like to consider being a guest on lovelustfear or would like your story featured anonymously, please contact us below. submission link | https://lovelustfear.aidaform.com/lovelustfear E-mail | lovelustfearpod@gmail.com Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/lovelustfearpod/ subscription links Chartable https://link.chtbl.com/lovelustfear Amazon Music https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/b06d0ea8-cb29-4c3a-98e6-0249d84df748/lovelustfear Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/0e3ndcf5u8lZ5lhN1lvWec Apple https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lovelustfear/id1735876283 RSS feed https://audioboom.com/channels/5125912.rss Want to hear more? Whatever app you’re listening on, just rate us and/or leave us a comment or review. Thank you for your support!

When 19-year-old Justine fell for a mature and charming military man, she believed she had found her forever. But the husband she once trusted to protect her became the very person she needed protection from.  chapters listen with caution | 00:00 next on lovelustfear | 00:16 about justine | 01:19 justine’s story | 02:14 questions & answers | 28:20 closing thoughts | 37:00 charity & organizations | 38:00 submit your story | 38:39 disclaimer | 38:40 quotes “This guy came to our house. I had seen a photo of him and my dad, in their, army uniforms. So the very first time I ever met him, I thought he was, like, even better looking.” - Justine “My parents would like very gingerly tell me like, ‘hey, I don't think he's treating you the way you should be treated.’ I just pushed it aside, and thought that, they just didn't know him as well as I did. They're gonna eventually see how wonderful he is.” - Justine “I would be laying in bed in the middle of the night and be like, I'm gonna be a statistic. I'm gonna wake up one morning and he's just gonna decide that he's done with me living.” - Justine “…there had just been so many years of hearing how I was, like, the bad one, I was the bad person, um, and so it took me a long time to, like, break myself of that habit of thinking that I was always in the wrong.” - Justine music | sounds Music (CC BY 4.0): Lost Place Atmospheres (001-003) and Cinematic Suspense Series Episode 004 by Sascha Ende Very Low Note by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Other Music and Sound Effects by Jalal Mansour Amine, AlesiaDavina, Pixabay, Samuel F. Johanns, UNIVERSFIELD, Yevhenii Kovalenko, Oleksii Holubiev, and Syouki Takahashi from Pixabay Spacetime by Mountaineer stay aware | follow | share (justine) YWCA of Greater Harrisburg http://www.ywcahbg.org/ National Domestic Violence Hotline (24/7/365) Call 1.800.799.SAFE (7233) Text: START to 88788  https://www.thehotline.org/ https://www.facebook.com/NationalDomesticViolenceHotline https://www.instagram.com/NDVHofficial/ story submission information  If you would like to consider being a guest on lovelustfear or would like your story featured anonymously, please contact us below. submission link | https://lovelustfear.aidaform.com/lovelustfear E-mail | lovelustfearpod@gmail.com Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/lovelustfearpod/ subscription links Chartable https://link.chtbl.com/lovelustfear Amazon Music https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/b06d0ea8-cb29-4c3a-98e6-0249d84df748/lovelustfear Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/0e3ndcf5u8lZ5lhN1lvWec Apple https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lovelustfear/id1735876283 RSS feed https://audioboom.com/channels/5125912.rss Want to hear more? Whatever app you’re listening on, just rate us and/or leave us a comment or review. Thank you for your support!

In a time before Tinder, Desiree takes the plunge into online dating. She catches the eye of Smitty, a seemingly handsome stranger whose Polaroid profile snapshots obscure his hidden reality. chapters listen with caution | 00:00 next on lovelustfear | 00:16 about desiree | 00:58 desiree’s story | 02:19 questions & answers | 15:41 closing thoughts | 24:28 charity & organizations | 25:30 submit your story | 26:00 disclaimer | 26:11 quotes “So I block him. Even when I would block him, there would be other accounts that I would have to block later. He was all over the place. I mean, I couldn't avoid him.” - Desiree “So my best friend says, give the guy a chance. I don't necessarily trust her instincts, but this time I'm like, maybe I'm wrong.” - Desiree “Now, at this point, we've had a date, we haven't talked about a second date, but in his conversation that we're having, he's already talking like we're a couple.  Oh, I can't wait till you see my home. You're just gonna, you're totally gonna love it. You're gonna make it, it needs a woman's touch and I think you're the woman to do it.” - Desiree “Even if it feels funny, even if you're not sure, even if your friends are going, Oh, why don't you try it? The one thing I've learned in my life is that more times than not, nine times out of ten, when I trust my gut, I'm right every time.” - Desiree music | sounds Music (CC BY 4.0): The Question Is (Quizpackage)  and Just Deep 1 by Sascha Ende Very Low Note by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Other Music and Sound Effects by Jan Hill, Pixabay, Samuel F. Johanns, UNIVERSFIELD, Geoff Harvey, Yevhenii Kovalenko, and teddy williams from Pixabay stay aware | follow | share (desiree) National Domestic Violence Hotline (24/7/365) Call 1.800.799.SAFE (7233) Text: START to 88788  https://www.thehotline.org/ https://www.facebook.com/NationalDomesticViolenceHotline https://www.instagram.com/NDVHofficial/ story submission information  If you would like to consider being a guest on lovelustfear or would like your story featured anonymously, please contact us below. submission link | https://lovelustfear.aidaform.com/lovelustfear E-mail | lovelustfearpod@gmail.com Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/lovelustfearpod/ subscription links Chartable https://link.chtbl.com/lovelustfear Amazon Music https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/b06d0ea8-cb29-4c3a-98e6-0249d84df748/lovelustfear Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/0e3ndcf5u8lZ5lhN1lvWec Apple https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lovelustfear/id1735876283 RSS feed https://audioboom.com/channels/5125912.rss Want to hear more? Whatever app you’re listening on, just rate us and/or leave us a comment or review. Thank you for your support!

After finding herself the only single one left among her girlfriends, Alona decides to give relationships another try, leading her into one of the most isolating, depressing, and dangerous chapters of her life. chapters listen with caution | 00:00 next on lovelustfear | 00:16 about alona | 00:58 alona’s story | 02:08 questions & answers | 18:04 closing thoughts | 24:31 charity & organizations | 25:36 submit your story | 26:05 disclaimer | 26:16 quotes “You know, he was charming in the beginning. He really was. All the things he was saying, it was charming. He was moving really fast. I let him in so early because I wanted it so bad.” - Alona “I’m depressed. I'm lonely and this man is cheating on me. I had no one to talk to because everybody was angry that I wasn't listening to them. I was embarrassed because they, they all warned me and they were right.” - Alona “I prayed and prayed to get out of this situation, but I didn't know how because he would find me. He knew where my house, you know, if I went back to my house, he knew where I lived. If I go to my mom's house, he knew where she lived.” - Alona “You can't explain it. All you know is that you were caught in this web and you were lured in and you were like preyed on. One day was too long. Three years was way too long. Don't feel embarrassed. Talk to somebody, get empowered. You're not alone.” - Alona music | sounds Music by Leigh Robinson from Pixabay Music by UNIVERSFIELD from Pixabay Sound Effect by AlesiaDavina from Pixabay Music by Samuel F. Johanns from Pixabay Music by Jan Hill from Pixabay Music (CC BY 4.0): Imagefilm 033 and Lost Place Atmospheres 001 by Sascha Ende "Very Low Note" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ stay aware | follow | share (alona) National Domestic Violence Hotline (24/7/365) Call 1.800.799.SAFE (7233) Text: START to 88788  https://www.thehotline.org/ https://www.facebook.com/NationalDomesticViolenceHotline https://www.instagram.com/NDVHofficial/ story submission information  If you would like to consider being a guest on lovelustfear or would like your story featured anonymously, please contact us below. submission link | https://lovelustfear.aidaform.com/lovelustfear E-mail | lovelustfearpod@gmail.com Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/lovelustfearpod/ subscription links Chartable https://link.chtbl.com/lovelustfear Amazon Music https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/b06d0ea8-cb29-4c3a-98e6-0249d84df748/lovelustfear Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/0e3ndcf5u8lZ5lhN1lvWec Apple https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lovelustfear/id1735876283 RSS feed https://audioboom.com/channels/5125912.rss Want to hear more? Whatever app you’re listening on, just rate us and/or leave us a comment or review. Thank you for your support!

lovelustfear is a new podcast series exposing the darker side of dating and relationships. Every episode is an exploration into true dating and relationship stories — from the awkward and uncomfortable to the shocking and bizarre to the disturbing and downright dangerous. Host Jake Deptula welcomes storytellers into candid conversations, revealing the decisions they made and dilemmas they faced when better judgment got lost in a haze of desire. lovelustfear is a compelling, terrifying, but always insightful exploration into toxic dating and relationships that will have you abandoning courtesy and listening with caution.