Growing Together, Not Apart, In Parenthood
5/21/202656 min
Becoming a parent changes everything. Your schedule, your sleep, your sense of self. And often, your relationship, too. But that's not the part we tend to talk about.
On this episode of "Mind If We Talk?" host and licensed mental health counselor Sreela Roy-Greene sits down with Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson and former NFL pro Andrew East, a married couple of ten years and parents to three children. Their journey into parenthood was anything but easy. It began with an unplanned pregnancy, a miscarriage that brought grief on different timelines, and, later, a difficult postpartum experience that neither Shawn nor Andrew quite understood at the time. In this intimate conversation, Shawn and Andrew share the ways in which becoming parents has tested them— from the moment Andrew decided they needed a therapist’s help to how they've managed to keep choosing each other, even when things get really hard.
Later in the show, Sreela is joined by licensed therapist Sonni Williams from BetterHelp. Together, they explore what couples underestimate most about having a baby, how to recognize the signs of postpartum mood disorders, and a 3 a.m. exercise every couple should try before the baby arrives.
If you're navigating the transition into parenthood, recovering from pregnancy loss, or just feeling like you and your partner have become ships in the night, this episode is for you.
00:00 Becoming Parents Changes Everything
00:47 Welcome Back to Mind If We Talk?
02:29 Shawn & Andrew on Marriage, Family, and Commitment
05:30 The Fear of an Unplanned Pregnancy
09:00 Navigating Miscarriage and Grief Together
14:45 How Parenthood Changed Their Communication
18:26 Postpartum Depression and Feeling Misunderstood
23:57 Why Therapy Became Essential to Their Marriage
29:32 Expert Perspective: Pregnancy, Parenthood & Relationship Stress
37:07 Understanding Postpartum Depression and Anxiety
39:05 Recognizing Signs Your Partner May Need Help
46:36 Protecting Connection and Scheduling Joy in Marriage
52:54 Preparing Emotionally for Parenthood
55:06 Final Reflections and Closing Thoughts
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Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsShawn Johnson· Guest0:00
I remember taking a pregnancy test, and I remember thinking, "I can't tell him yet. Is this what he wants?" I just didn't know. Because he was chasing this dream in the NFL, I was like, "I can't throw this on him as he's going for three of the most important, you know, tryouts that he had." And so I remember I waited to tell him, and I have never been so terrified in my life.
Andrew East· Guest0:20
[phone buzzing] [keyboard clicking] Hey, can I talk to you about something? I wish you knew...
Sreela Roy-Greene· Host0:28
I wish you knew how lonely menopause felt.
Shawn Johnson· Guest0:32
I wish you knew why it's so hard for men to share their feelings.
Speaker 40:37
I wish you knew what it was like growing up in a low-income family.
Shawn Johnson· Guest0:40
I wish you knew how hard it was not having a college degree.
Andrew East· Guest0:43
I wish you knew what it's like to be me.
Sreela Roy-Greene· Host0:46
Welcome back to Mind If We Talk, where you get to be a fly on the wall for mini therapy sessions and learn some mental health tips in the process. I'm your host, Sri Laroy Green, a licensed mental health counselor with over 19 years of experience. Today, we're talking about one of the most beautiful and quietly destabilizing transitions a couple can go through: becoming parents. Having a child changes everything: your schedule, your sleep, your sense of self, and often your relationship, too. You and your partner suddenly have to make room for someone new, someone who needs constant care and attention, and yet we don't often talk about what a child can really do to a marriage. Those experiences tend to stay behind closed