What About the Kids? How Betrayal Impacts Children and How to Support Them

When betrayal strikes a marriage, the pain is immediate for the couple—but what about the children? In this powerful and eye-opening episode, we speak with Morgan Ellsworth, a board-certified betrayal trauma coach and MFT student, who brings both personal and professional experience to this often-overlooked topic.

Morgan was a teenager when her family experienced betrayal, and she vulnerably shares what it was like to navigate that chaos without support or guidance. Today, she works with families, betrayed partners, and children affected by betrayal trauma, advocating for a whole-family approach to healing.

We discuss how children experience betrayal, how parents can support them without oversharing or hiding the truth, and what it takes to repair the parent-child relationship over time.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode (with Timestamps):
⏳ [02:40] – Morgan’s personal story as a betrayed child and how it shaped her passion for this work
⏳ [06:20] – The emotional climate children experience in a home affected by betrayal
⏳ [08:50] – What it really means to “protect” your kids—and why hiding the truth can backfire
⏳ [11:45] – How to talk to your kids about betrayal in age-appropriate, validating ways
⏳ [21:00] – The role of emotional safety, non-gaslighting, and honoring kids’ intuitive reality
⏳ [24:00] – Why you need to help kids find other safe adults to talk to
⏳ [28:00] – Long-term ways to rebuild the parent-child relationship after betrayal

If this episode resonated with you, please share it with someone who might need it. And don’t forget to leave a review—we’d love to hear how this podcast is supporting your healing journey!

🎁 Download My Free Course: First Steps to Rebuilding Trust 
If you’re navigating broken trust in your relationship, whether you’re the one who broke it or you’ve been deeply impacted by it, this free video course can help. 

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If you’re looking for structured guidance, support, and a clear roadmap for recovery, check out my Courageous Together Program—an online course and support system designed to help couples rebuild trust and connection. Inside, you’ll get:

✅ A structured healing roadmap
✅ Live Q&A sessions with me
✅ Exclusive video lessons and worksheets
✅ Confidential and secure access

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About Geoff Steurer:
I am a licensed marriage and family therapist, relationship educator, and coach with over 20 years of experience. I am the co-author of, "Love You, Hate the Porn: Healing a Relationship Damaged by Virtual Infidelity", the host of the weekly podcast, "From Crisis to Connection", and have produced workbooks, audio programs, and online courses helping couples and individuals heal from the impact of sexual betrayal, unwanted pornography use, partner betrayal trauma, and rebuilding broken trust. As a leader in the field, I am a frequent contributor on these subjects at national conferences, documentaries, blogs, magazines, and podcasts. I also write a weekly relationship advice column available on my blog. I founded and ran an outpatient sexual addiction and betrayal trauma recovery group program for over 14 years, co-founded and chaired a local conference to educate community members about harmful media, and founded and administered a specialized group therapy practice for over 10 years. I currently maintain a private counseling and coaching practice in beautiful Southern Utah where I live with my wife and children.

About Jody Steurer:
Jody has been a strong voice supporting women as co-host of the podcast “Speak Up Sister”. She completed a bachelor's degree in psychology from Brigham Young University and is an ACA certified coach. She runs a small business and has years of experience in corporate training and organization. Jody’s most challenging work has been raising her four children (two of which are on the autism spectrum). She loves to do landscape design, paint in watercolor, spend time outdoors, and snow ski.

About Morgan Ellsworth:
Morgan Ellsworth is a board certified coach trained in betrayal trauma who works with couples, betrayed partners, and families who are navigating the waters of betrayal trauma and recovery. She has walked her own journey of healing as a betrayed child and has seen how remarkable individual and family healing can be. Morgan is an APSATS candidate and marriage and family therapy student, and has additional training working with children and betrayed families. She is currently accepting coaching clients from all over the world and starting in January 2025 will be accepting clients seeking therapy during her clinical internships for MFT in Arizona. Morgan has a passion for this work and is dedicated to helping individuals and families like her own heal from betrayal. 

https://www.chooserecoveryservices.com/team/#MorganEllsworth

Instagram @healing.betrayed.families 

The advice offered through Geoff Steurer's podcasts is educational and informational in nature and is provided only as general information. It is not meant to establish a therapist-patient relationship or offer therapeutic advice, opinion, diagnosis treatment or to establish a standard of care. Although Geoff Steurer is a trained psychotherapist, he is not functioning in the role of a licensed therapist during these podcasts, but rather using his training to inform the content. Thus, the content is not intended to replace independent professional judgment. The content is not intended to solicit clients or patients, and should not be relied upon as medical or psychological advice of any kind or nature whatsoever. The information provided through the Content should not be used for diagnosing or treating a mental health problem or disease. The information contained in these communications is not comprehensive and does not include all the potential information regarding the subject matter, but is merely intended to serve as one resource for general and educational purposes.

Episode 291