Episode 4 - Malaika and Jermaine Small 

Sometimes the struggles experienced in marriage aren’t necessarily because of something your spouse has done, but because of challenges, outside of your control, that life throws at you. When we get married, we commit to love and stay with someone not knowing what kinds of hardship they may experience -- professionally, physically, emotionally, or spiritually. In this episode, Malaika and Jermaine take us through the story of how they met and how they’ve navigated several hardships, from neither of them having a blueprint of what marriage should be to their journey with infertility.  

Real Love Conversations is a special collection of interviews released in conjunction with Renaissance Church’s Real Love sermon series. As we talk about how our relationships can thrive according to God’s model and direction, we’re also taking the opportunity to hear about diverse relationship experiences from some of the people who make up the Renaissance community. It’s going to get real!  

Mentioned in this episode:  

Fibroids - Tumors made of smooth muscle cells and fibrous connective tissue. They develop in the uterus. It is estimated that 70 to 80 percent of women will develop fibroids in their lifetime — however, not everyone will develop symptoms or require treatment. Fibroids are almost always benign, or noncancerous.  

Endometriosis - an often painful disorder in which tissue similar to the tissue that normally lines the inside of your uterus — the endometrium — grows outside the uterus. Endometriosis most commonly involves the ovaries, fallopian tubes, and the tissue lining the pelvis. 

Will Smith & Jada Pinkett-Smith