If you have ever wondered:

💭 "What does it feel like to be truly seen in a relationship?"
💭 "How do you sit with someone you love when they are in deep pain?"
💭 "How do you stay connected when your instinct is to fix or run?"

– this episode is for you.

In this intimate conversation, Layne turns the spotlight onto Tess and her husband Chris, tracing their love story from a rehab reunion in a pub on AFL Grand Final day to a blended family, a baby, and a life built on shared growth.

Tess shares what it was like to meet Chris after losing everything to injury and trauma, standing in a neck brace, caring for the "quad squad," and hearing him say, "Who are you? You are like sunshine." Chris talks about that first hug that felt like "coming home," the long FaceTime calls during lockdown, and the moment he asked Tess to tell him her accident and PTSD story from start to finish so he could "know how to hold" her. The next morning, he sent flowers with three simple words: "Holding space for you."

Together they unpack what it actually means to hold space in real life: the breath before reacting, choosing not to fix, and learning to say, "I do not know what to say right now, but I am here." Chris opens up about his early shutdown response to female emotion, how his teenage experiences with his mum shaped that, and how he now chooses a "posture of a learner" instead of control. Tess shares how it feels to be on the receiving end of that presence, and why her single word for Chris is "safety."

You will hear about:

The difference between being a solution and being a shoulder

How they stay out of the drama triangle and step back into connection

The marriage vow that changed everything: always doing their own inner work

Why it is "safe to be seen" and how that belief changed Tess’s life

This episode is tender, real and quietly powerful. It is not about perfect communication. It is about two humans doing the work to keep choosing each other, even when it is hard.

🎧 Hit play to remember what love can look like when someone is willing to sit in the discomfort and hold space for all of you.

If you have ever wondered:
💭 "What does it feel like to be truly seen in a relationship?" 💭 "How do you sit with someone you love when they are in deep pain?" 💭 "How do you stay connected when your instinct is to fix or run?"
&ndash; this episode is for you.
In this intimate conversation, Layne turns the spotlight onto Tess and her husband Chris, tracing their love story from a rehab reunion in a pub on AFL Grand Final day to a blended family, a baby, and a life built on shared growth.
Tess shares what it was like to meet Chris after losing everything to injury and trauma, standing in a neck brace, caring for the "quad squad," and hearing him say, "Who are you? You are like sunshine." Chris talks about that first hug that felt like "coming home," the long FaceTime calls during lockdown, and the moment he asked Tess to tell him her accident and PTSD story from start to finish so he could "know how to hold" her. The next morning, he sent flowers with three simple words: "Holding space for you."
Together they unpack what it actually means to hold space in real life: the breath before reacting, choosing not to fix, and learning to say, "I do not know what to say right now, but I am here." Chris opens up about his early shutdown response to female emotion, how his teenage experiences with his mum shaped that, and how he now chooses a "posture of a learner" instead of control. Tess shares how it feels to be on the receiving end of that presence, and why her single word for Chris is "safety."
You will hear about:
The difference between being a solution and being a shoulder
How they stay out of the drama triangle and step back into connection
The marriage vow that changed everything: always doing their own inner work
Why it is "safe to be seen" and how that belief changed Tess&rsquo;s life
This episode is tender, real and quietly powerful. It is not about perfect communication. It is about two humans doing the work to keep choosing each other, even when it is hard.
🎧 Hit play to remember what love can look like when someone is willing to sit in the discomfort and hold space for all of you.

You can change your life and A Wake Up Call will show you how.

Hosted by Layne Beachley AO and Tess Brouwer, founders of Awake Academy, this is the podcast that gets real about what it takes to live awake - no filters, no fluff, just truth, science, and stories that will shake you out of autopilot and into action.

Each episode is packed with practical tools, honest conversations, and powerful wake-up calls to help you stress less, feel more, and reconnect with who you really are.

If you’re ready to stop drifting and start living with purpose, you’re in the right place.

Follow @awake_academy for more tools, truth, and transformation and tune in weekly to A Wake Up Call.

You can change your life and A Wake Up Call will show you how.
Hosted by Layne Beachley AO and Tess Brouwer, founders of <a href="https://awakeacademy.com.au/">Awake Academy</a>, this is the podcast that gets real about what it takes to live awake - no filters, no fluff, just truth, science, and stories that will shake you out of autopilot and into action.
Each episode is packed with practical tools, honest conversations, and powerful wake-up calls to help you stress less, feel more, and reconnect with who you really are.
If you&rsquo;re ready to stop drifting and start living with purpose, you&rsquo;re in the right place.
Follow <a href="https://www.instagram.com/awake_academy/?hl=en">@awake_academy</a> for more tools, truth, and transformation and tune in weekly to A Wake Up Call.

A Wake Up Call

You can change your life and A Wake Up Call will show you how.

Hosted by Layne Beachley AO and Tess Brouwer, this is the podcast that gets real about what it takes to live awake - no filters, no fluff, just truth, science, and stories that will shake you out of autopilot and into action.

Each episode is packed with practical tools, honest conversations, and powerful wake-up calls to help you stress less, feel more, and reconnect with who you really are.

If you’re ready to stop drifting and start living with purpose, you’re in the right place.

Follow @awake_academy for more tools, truth, and transformation and tune in weekly to A Wake Up Call.

You can change your life and A Wake Up Call will show you how.
Hosted by Layne Beachley AO and Tess Brouwer, this is the podcast that gets real about what it takes to live awake - no filters, no fluff, just truth, science, and stories that will shake you out of autopilot and into action.
Each episode is packed with practical tools, honest conversations, and powerful wake-up calls to help you stress less, feel more, and reconnect with who you really are.
If you&rsquo;re ready to stop drifting and start living with purpose, you&rsquo;re in the right place.
Follow <a href="https://www.instagram.com/awake_academy/?hl=en">@awake_academy</a> for more tools, truth, and transformation and tune in weekly to A Wake Up Call.

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