The Angie Ambrosetti Show · 2026-04-14 · 48 min
Key moments - from our scoring
Substance score
33 / 100
Five dimensions, 20 points each
Amy Lacey, founder of a cauliflower pizza crust company and supplement line, opens up about her personal transformation from trauma survivor to entrepreneur. She grew up as an only child with a single mother, experienced sexual assault at age 12, foster care placement, and later developed lupus and Sjögren's syndrome - which she attributes partly to unprocessed trauma. After being diagnosed with autoimmune conditions, Amy used food as medicine and an elimination diet to reduce her dependence on medications like Plaquenil and antidepressants. This health journey led her to create a cauliflower pizza crust to restore family dinner traditions, which went viral in 2017 and sold one pizza crust every five seconds by 2018. She sold majority stake to venture capitalists in 2019, a difficult experience that redirected her toward her current supplement company. Throughout the episode, Amy emphasizes that unaddressed trauma physically manifests as illness, recommends EMDR therapy and mastermind groups for healing, and stresses the documented benefits of family dinners on children's wellbeing. Host Angie Ambrosetti shares striking parallels: an adopted daughter with lupus, similar sexual trauma experiences, and a commitment to addressing these topics in an upcoming book.
Amy created the cauliflower pizza crust after being diagnosed with lupus and Sjögren's syndrome, requiring her to go gluten-free and grain-free. She found a recipe online, perfected it, and introduced it at farmers markets as a way for her children to learn sales. It went viral in early 2017 and was the first cauliflower pizza crust on the market.
Amy was diagnosed with lupus, Sjögren's syndrome, and connective tissue disorder. Rather than relying on medications like Plaquenil that caused depression and side effects, she used elimination diets and food as medicine, eventually incorporating soursop fruit supplements rich in antioxidants and vitamin C to manage inflammation and immune health.
Amy used EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) therapy combined with mastermind group work and professional counseling to process the sexual assault she experienced at age 12 that she had kept secret for years.
According to a study Amy references, children who sit down to family dinner regularly are less likely to develop drug and alcohol problems, emotional issues, and other behavioral problems compared to families that don't share regular meals together.
While caring for her mother who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2020, Amy met a woman whose daughter had cancer who mentioned soursop fruit. Amy imported the fruit, noticed its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant benefits while making smoothies for her mother, and later developed it into a market supplement product.
Our reviewer’s read on each dimension, with quotes from the episode.
The episode contains minimal actionable business or operational insights. While Amy discusses launching the cauliflower pizza crust business and supplement company, she provides almost no specifics about business mechanics, strategy, growth tactics, or lessons applicable to B2B operators. The conversation devolves predominantly into personal trauma recovery, marriage counseling, faith discussions, and intimacy issues, which, while emotionally resonant, offer no business education. The few business mentions (going viral in 2017, selling to VCs in 2019, pivot to soursop) lack depth, timeline detail, or strategic analysis.
We were the first cauliflower pizza crust to hit the market. We went viral and by, let's see, we went viral in 2017. January of 2017. By the end of 2018, we were selling a pizza crust every five seconds.
I had to learn real quickly the food industry, how to be a CEO, how to be a founder, how to run a business.
The episode relies heavily on well-worn personal development tropes: trauma healing, forgiveness narratives, faith-based redemption arcs, family dinner importance, and marriage recovery through God. None of these frameworks are novel. The business angle (founder pivoting after loss, finding purpose) is a recycled founder narrative. There is no contrarian thinking, first-principles analysis, or fresh intellectual perspective. The discussion of soursop as a supplement ingredient is presented descriptively but not differentiated or analyzed in any original way.
Deal with your trauma. Everybody has it. Forgive who you need to forgive, especially yourself.
So if you have any trauma in your life, it's going to manifest itself into illness if you don't acknowledge it, if you don't share it, if you don't get help with it.
Amy Lacey is a legitimate founder with tangible exit experience (cauliflower pizza crust went viral, sold majority stake in 2019) and now operates a supplement business. However, the episode squanders this caliber by abandoning business topics entirely. She has real operational credibility - building a food brand to scale, navigating VC, pivoting - but the conversation never explores these domains. Instead, it becomes a personal therapy session. The guest's relevant expertise is present but completely unutilized for B2B education.
She is known for creating one of the original cauliflower pizza crusts that helped spark a nationwide movement in how people eat.
And she's gone on to build a thriving supplement company centered around nutrition, natural health.
The episode lacks concrete data, metrics, and specifics to substantiate claims. Amy mentions selling 'a pizza crust every five seconds' by end of 2018, but provides no context (total revenue, profit, customer acquisition cost, unit economics). No specific numbers on the supplement business. The soursop discussion mentions inflammation reduction anecdotally but cites no studies, biomarkers, or clinical data. The marriage/trauma segments include emotional details but no diagnostic timelines, therapy methodologies beyond 'EMDR,' or measurable recovery metrics. Most claims rest on personal narrative rather than evidence.
By the end of 2018, we were selling a pizza crust every five seconds. It was crazy.
I was diagnosed with lupus and Sjogren's and connective tissue disorder.
The host largely abandons her role as interviewer and instead becomes an emotional peer, swapping personal stories of infidelity, trauma, and marriage struggles. While this creates emotional resonance, it severely weakens the interview's substance. There are almost no probing business questions, no pushback on claims, and no follow-ups that dig into Amy's operational decisions (e.g., 'Why did you choose that VC firm?' 'What metrics did you track pre-exit?' 'What changed in the supplement supply chain?'). The host's questions about family dynamics and faith are validating but not intellectually challenging. This is a therapy session masquerading as an interview, not a sharp business conversation.
I'm actually thinking about business, but I'm so excited that it turned out the way that it did because it blessed my soul.
This was not what I was expecting today. But it couldn't be more perfect.
Computed from the transcript - who did the talking, and the words that came up most.
This is one of the most raw and real conversations we’ve ever had on the show. In this episode, I sit down with entrepreneur and wellness founder Amy Lacey, but what unfolds is so much more than business. We dive into childhood trauma, buried pain, autoimmune struggles, and the powerful connection between emotional healing and physical health. Amy shares her journey from a difficult past to building a successful brand - and how faith, forgiveness, and facing what was hidden changed everything. We also open up about marriage, intimacy, infidelity, and what it really looks like to fight for healing and restoration. If you’ve ever carried something heavy in silence… this episode is for you. This conversation will remind you: healing is possible, and God can restore more than you ever imagined. livyond.com & @livingbeme IG @heyamylacey
Transcribed and scored by The B2B Podcast Index.
Speaker A: Hey, friends. Welcome to the Angie Ambrosetti Show. Let her out to play. I'm Angie, your host, a teenage mom turned multi six figure earner married to the same man for nearly 40 years. I'm a homeschooling mom of seven and totally unqualified, at least on paper, but wildly called by God.
Speaker B: Remember, he doesn't call the qualified. He qualifies the called.
Speaker A: Here we are going to talk about it all. Healing from the hard stuff, uh, building a business with heart, raising a big family, walking in faith, and finally breaking free from the lies that said we weren't enough. So if you're ready to stop playing small, shake off the doubt and the shame, and step fully into who you were created to be, girl, you are in the right place. Let's go.
Speaker B: Hey, everyone. Welcome back to the Angie Ambrosetti Show. You guys know I'm going to be super excited by every single guest that I bring on, and I'm really excited to introduce to you my guest, Amy Lacey. Amy's an entrepreneur, she's an innovator. She's the founder in the wellness space.
Speaker C: Space.
Speaker B: And you guys know I am big in the wellness space. She is known for creating one of the original cauliflower pizza crusts that helped spark a nationwide movement in how people eat. And I'm just going to say this, too. She has also been featured on the Doctors, uh, in Forbes magazine, um, on Fox News, which is one of my favorite things. And she's gone on to build a thriving supplement company centered around nutrition, natural health. And so, Amy, my friend, welcome to the show today.
Speaker C: Thank you. I'm so honored to be here. And we got to talk a little bit before we went live. And I just have to say, you are a powerhouse and inspiration to me. You're like, you're so young. You have 14 grandchildren. I hope, I hope I'm not saying anything that I shouldn't say on here.
Speaker B: No, it's perfect. Say it, girl.
Speaker C: Four that you delivered, and three that you adopted. And anybody that adopts, I just. It's like, near and dear to my heart because for a brief moment, I was in a foster home. For a brief moment, I. And then my stepdad ended up adopting me. So it's near and dear to my heart. Family is the most important thing. And God, uh, has blessed me with these other things, but mostly blessed me with a family because before I even knew who God was, I was praying for a family. And you have amazing family, and you and all of them are under the age of 10, not your children. Your grandchildren?
Speaker B: Yes.
Speaker C: How often? This is one question I didn't ask you, and then we'll. Then I'll jump whatever you want to ask me. But how often are they at your house?
Speaker B: Um, usually not all of them together. That's usually holidays when everybody gets together. But, I mean, I see my grandkids every week. They all live within about an hour of us, and so, yeah, so they do get to come over. There's a couple of them that spend the night a lot because they just love, you know, spending the night at our house because, you know, it's different when you go to. We. We are called Nani and Poppy, and so it's different when they come to our house, of course, but, um, I run a tight ship, so they don't get away with too much.
Speaker C: But Nani and Poppy. I love that. My kids call my stepdad. Ah, Poppy. And I've always wondered, what am I going to call myself, because I don't want to be a grandma. Maybe I'll be Nani. I like that.
Speaker B: Yes.
Speaker C: I don't know. Yeah, that's great.
Speaker B: A lot of fun names out there, right?
Speaker C: Yeah. Family is so important. Um, I think that that is kind of how, um. I know you said share your story, so if you don't mind, I'm gonna jump into it.
Speaker B: Absolutely.
Speaker C: So I think that's how I started, really. I, um. You know, I grew up as an only child with a single mom. My dad was an alcoholic drug addict, and I praise my mom today for being able to leave him. When I was two years old, she accidentally got pregnant with me, and she actually, um. I was born in 1970, so abortion was illegal, and she went to Mexico to abort me, and it didn't work. And so here I am today.
Speaker B: Well, praise the Lord.
Speaker C: Yeah. And, you know, I didn't even know that that happened until just a couple years ago. I learned about that. So, yeah, kind of shocking and hard for me to digest, but.
Speaker B: But for.
Speaker C: For a short time, I, um. You know, I had a lot of trauma in my childhood, and for a short time, I was in a foster care. Very short. But, um, it was not the pleasant experience. And then I went to live with my aunt and uncle on a farm for a short time, too, which changed my life. So here I am today. But one of the things I used to pray for was a family. And so God blessed me with my husband. We celebrated 28 years on 28th March, which has happened to be my birthday. I don't.
Speaker B: Congrats.
Speaker C: Don't get married on your birthday. Don't do that. You get robbed. I don't care how nice your husband is, you get robbed. It just so happens at that time my husband was Catholic. And for me to convert to Catholicism and get married in the church around Easter, it happened to be that Saturday had to be my birthday. So this last Saturday was our anniversary and our birthday and I prayed for our family and he blessed me with, with my husband and three beautiful kids. Um, I, I wish I would have had a fourth, but it didn't happen. But I have three. And so I, I created these family traditions and started with family, uh, Fun night, which was either a movie or board games back in the day, like Candyland and then, yes, tan and you know, games like that and pizza. It was always on a Friday night. And one Saturday I woke up and I couldn't get out of bed. And I had just literally physically in so much pain. And it turns out that I was diagnosed with lupus and Sjogren's and connective tissue disorder. So, um, autoimmune. My body probably had inflammation in it, attacking itself long before I ever knew. And just one day it hit. And I look back on it now and this is just a piece of advice to your audience. I look at it now as when I was in between my aunts and uncles at the age of 12 and the foster home, I was just at various friends houses and a little bit on the street. Um, and this one particular time where I was at a friend's house, I let a man in, a 22 year old man, and he sexually assaulted me. And I didn't tell anyone because I was at my friend's house and it happened in the closet and he covered my mouth and I, I didn't want anyone to think I was a slut. I was very insecure, wanted the kids in junior high to like me. So that happened. I buried that. I never shared it. I just buried it in shame. And I believe what happened to me is just from trauma, being buried and not dealing with trauma. So if you have any trauma in your life, it's going to manifest itself into illness if you don't acknowledge it, if you don't share it, if you don't get help with it. So even my own husband had no idea that that had happened to me. And when I got really sick, I, I learned how to basically deal with it. And really I didn't deal with that situation until even years after, um, getting healed from, uh, well, I'm not healed. I'll always have the autoimmune conditions, but I.
Speaker B: They're.
Speaker C: I'm not on medications right now. And I did use food as medicine. So that's where I was coming up with. I need an alternative to traditional pizza because I've got to go gluten free, grain free. I learned. I did an elimination diet, and the doctors put me on pills as they do. I'm married to a doctor, so I'm not bagging on the doctors. They only have so much time to treat a patient.
Speaker B: Right.
Speaker C: So, you know, I was put on plaquenil, which was the drug that everybody talked about in Covid shots of steroids. Um, and I got depressed. So then I was on an antidepressant, and then I was on a water pill. And pretty soon I'm on like five things and I'm just. The side effects are worse than the actual condition. So I use food as medicine to get rid of all of those. But I wanted to bring back that tradition of family fun night pizza and board games or a movie that we had gone about nine months without doing. And so I found a cauliflower pizza crust online, and there was nothing like that in the grocery store. There was udis, which actually made me sicker than Domino's. And I just perfected it, took it to Farmer's Market as a way for my kids to learn how to sell and talk to people. And a couple grocery stores picked it up. And then it went online and it went viral. And so we were the first cauliflower pizza crust to hit the market. We went viral and by, let's see, we went viral in 2017. January of 2017. By the end of 2018, we were selling a pizza crust every five seconds. It was crazy. I had to learn real quickly the food industry, how to be a CEO, how to be a founder, how to run a business. I had other businesses prior to that, but nothing to this. This extreme.
Speaker B: Yeah.
Speaker C: So in 2019, I sold that business, the majority of it, to some venture capitalists. And, um, yeah, it wasn't the greatest experience. You know, a lot of people have their venture capital stories. I mean, I can look back on it now and see that the rejection I felt was really God's protection and redirection to what I'm doing now. But at the time, I couldn't see that. So the venture capitalist put my, uh. They basically fired my entire team. They put me on sabbatical, changed my password, so I didn't have access to the business anymore. And I kind of felt lost. I felt Like I had lost my identity. Uh, I can imagine like a full circle moment. I had done all this stuff to get healed and to get off all these horrific medications, and I was feeling so good. And then this happened and I was right back to where I started. It's almost like the. I had never gotten up and I was sick again and depressed again. And during that time it was Covid. And, um, when I sold the majority of the company, I moved my family from Northern California to Florida. I told my husband if ever we have an opportunity to move because he went to California for me, that I would let him pick where we move. And he picked Florida.
Speaker B: And they heard you say on a podcast recording recently it had to be a no income, no estate income, no state taxes.
Speaker C: And he picked Florida because his brother lives here and his brother had kids similar ages as our kids and they wanted to all to grow up together. So, yeah, so I came here and, um, my mom was diagnosed. I. I moved my parents, my mom and my stepdad. M. I should say my mom raised me as a single mom. But, uh, when I became a teenager, um, my mom married my stepdad and they've been together ever since. And he adopted me. Um, so, you know, I took his last name eventually and.
Speaker B: Yeah.
Speaker C: And after spending that time with my aunt and uncle on a farm and learning all about farm chores and how to what true love was and family, I came back to my mom and my stepdad. And I felt a sense of belonging, like a sense of family. And it's something that I really craved as a little girl. So anyways, along with dealing with your trauma, you also have to forgive, right? You can't live in a space of joy and gratitude if you're filled with anger and unforgiveness and even forgiving myself for that situation. So I had to learn to forgive m myself. So here I am. It's 2020. My mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. And I saw it as an opportunity to try to help her. Um, I was on sabbatical so I could take her to all her appointments. And at the time, I was bitter about being on sabbatical and not involved in my company. But it was such a blessing because I was able to take her to all of her appointments.
Speaker B: Yeah.
Speaker C: And I met a lady that's daughter had cancer and she talked to me about the fruit soursop. And I started trying to find it. It was hard to find. And I. I got it imported in and little baby fruits like this big, about 300. Oh, there goes sour. Wow.
Speaker B: Nice. It's a gift. It's a gift today with the hearts.
Speaker C: There we go. Um, so yeah, I consider soursop a gift. And that fruit was amazing. And while I was making smoothies for my mom, I was drinking them and I was like, wow, my inflammation. My hands aren't swollen. I feel really good. And I realized that, uh, the fruit is so full of antioxidants and vitamin C and immune building and anti inflammatory that I was like, there is something to this fruit. And then played with it for a couple of years and finally realized I needed to bring it to the market because I saw what it was doing for my family and it was amazing. So that's kind of how I got started. Uh, not kind of. That's exactly how I got started. And it all was rooted. And that's why I'm coming full circle. It was all rooted around just family traditions and values and keeping that like just being so involved in your family. And I recently read a study. It's interesting because I have a family member that's having problems with one of their kids. Mhm. And I know this to be true, that this family doesn't eat dinner on a regular basis together. And I just stumbled across a study. I wish I had the details of the study and you might know what I'm talking about. Where it's proven that if you sit down as a family and eat together, your kids are less likely to have any problems. Meaning like drug, alcohol. Mhm. Emotional problems. Like there's.
Speaker B: Well, they have that consistency which is huge. And then they feel the connection, you know, with the mom, the dad or the siblings, whoever might be there. It's, it's a sense of security, really.
Speaker C: Yeah.
Speaker B: And.
Speaker C: But I never thought of it as they specifically talked about dinner time. Yeah. Not breakfast. Not like doing activities together. Dinner. Sitting down with the family and eating dinner.
Speaker B: So.
Speaker C: So I'm so glad because I look at our family. We, we have two boys and a girl. Two of them are in college now. One's still in high school. But when they were all home and in high school, in junior high, they were all busy with activities. And I'm like, I don't care if your Practice ends at 8:00'. Clock. We're all sitting down together and eating as a family. And I didn't know about that study. I just knew that I didn't have that growing up. And it was so important. And we did things like, what was the best part of your day? What was the worst part of your day? And go around the table and uh, talk. But you know, we were either. Sometimes we were eating dinner at 4 o' clock in the afternoon, sometimes at 8:30 at night. It's just everybody played sports or did activities and it was like, when are we gonna all sit down together? And it worked, it worked well. So I highly recommend that as well. So hey.
Speaker B: Yes.
Speaker C: Deal with your trauma. Everybody has it. Forgive who you need to forgive, especially yourself.
Speaker B: Yeah.
Speaker C: Eat dinner with your family.
Speaker B: Those are huge. Those are amazing tips. And I just, I love that. And I love that. Um, we had a little opportunity to talk before, you know, we hopped on the podcast because for my listeners to know, um, I heard Amy speak in January at a conference that I was at out in California. And then on the last day we ended up sitting at a table together and I was just like, I have got to get to know this lady. I've got to get in her space. And, and we have so many similarities and even a couple things that you don't know that I was just listening to you talk about. Um, so I didn't know that you were adopted by your father, by your stepdad, which is awesome because my listeners know that I have been, you know, that I've adopted as well. Our daughter shares the same birthday with you. And I hadn't mentioned this before. She has lupus. Oh yeah. Mhm. She has lupus. And so it's just interesting that, you know, you guys share the same. And then she is, she just turned 33.
Speaker C: Oh wow.
Speaker B: On Saturday. Yeah.
Speaker C: Okay. And so just have a lot in common.
Speaker B: Yes. Some of the similarities.
Speaker C: Uh, yeah. So she.
Speaker B: And um, you said something else. I was trying to think about what it was. So I remember her going through and being gluten free and um, getting rid of. When she was 16, actually she was diagnosed with lupus and that, you know, even then it was like they didn't diagnose her for a while. Like she started getting sick when she was about 15. Extensive testing. She didn't want to go on medication. So she didn't. She actually never did go on medication. She just battled through it. But you know, they came up with all kinds of things. You're oh, plus I homeschool. So they were like, well, it's because you're homeschooled, you have no socialization. It was just all kinds of things that they, that they were coming up with. Um, and so, you know, we did the elimination diet. We. For many, many years she was gluten free and she's been able to overcome a lot of that. Now, but being able to stay off medication and really supplement and watch the food that she eats. But the other thing that this doesn't have to do with her. But you mentioned, um, that when. That you were sexually assaulted, um, as a teenager. Is that. Is that what you said? Teenage years. And so it's just so providential that we are talking about this today because I was a. I was younger, I was not a teenager. Um, but the same very similar thing happened, and it's the first time I've ever really. I've been talking about it in the last few months, but I hadn't really ever talked about it. And I'm in the process of writing a book right now to talk about some of these things. And. And I feel like it's just. It's making me kind of emotional. Think about. It's giving me more confirmation because you know how you can go, oh, should I do this? Should I not do this? Should I bring this up? Should not bring this up. And I've been asking the Lord for more confirmation. And you just, we. I didn't know that about you. And you, you. You just mentioned it. And so I feel like that's another.
Speaker C: Yes, yes. And I think it's so important I never shared it. I kept it as a secret. I believe another tip is that as much as you grow inside, your business will grow if you have a business. So I started pouring into myself and I started doing that through masterminds. And one of the first masterminds I ever did, I went to their retreat, and it was a small group of women, it was 10 of us, and we were at this retreat and it was. Know sometimes they'll break you down. They break you before they can make you kind of thing.
Speaker B: Yeah, exactly.
Speaker C: Dinner table. And the leader of the retreat of the mastermind, she says. She looks over at me and she says, you know, I. It was almost like she was prophesizing over me. She's like, I sense you have something that you're holding on to that nobody knows about. And. And I believe you're supposed to share it here. And so I was like, taking a deep breath and really, that didn't come to mind at first. And she. And I forget what I said. It was something very superficial. And she said, no, there's something way deeper. There's something that's actually made you sick, and there's something deeper in here that you really need to share. And then I knew what it was, and I shared it for the first time in that small, intimate setting. And you know, that 5 of the women beyond myself, so more than 50% had had some kind of an experience like that. And everybody's m sharing and that became what that retreat was about. And I realized, I used to think, oh, I let this happen, I let him in. I let this, like this happen to me. I don't. This doesn't happen to other 12 year olds. This doesn't happen to other people. No, it's very common. It happens a lot. And I think the more we can share, and for me sharing about it is more about the fact that it was trauma buried. And until I went through trauma therapy and did EMDR and true, like hardcore therapy, I mean, I was constantly getting sick and I, I think, you know, I met with several doctors and I've read several articles and it's true, if you have buried trauma, it'll eventually, if you deal with it, eventually manifest itself into illness. So it's so important to share that. And you sharing, um, it's going to help somebody else share. And the more that people can talk about it, the more healing happens. Because talking about it is healing and actually going through it with somebody else is healing. I used to not be able to, I started talking about it on podcast. I used to not be able to without crying. Now I can do it without crying. And I think, um, at Brooks event is like the second time on stage that I've ever talked about it. Um, and I just felt compelled to talk about it. And I had a woman come up to me after and say, I've never shared with anyone, but I was sexually assaulted within like the last year. And she was just sobbing and I was like, okay. And she's like, you're giving me the courage, um, to share this. So I thought, well, I sat there, I had a whole presentation, I had worked on this whole like presentation, um, and I changed at the last minute because I prayed on it. And God said, no, just go up there and talk and tell your story. And so I thought when I walked away from there, I'm like, well, if I only impacted that particular woman and she's gonna let her voice out and share what happened to her and get healing and then it was all worth it. Mhm.
Speaker B: Well, I'm just gonna be honest, I didn't hear that. And so either I stepped out of the room when you mentioned it, or the Lord didn't allow me to hear it. Because when you shared today, I just had that overbearing feeling that this is like, this is what the Lord is telling you. This so that you're brave about it. I didn't even tell my mother didn't know until within the last year.
Speaker C: My mom still doesn't know.
Speaker B: Okay.
Speaker C: Unless she listens to my podcast, which I don't think she does. She's never asked me about it. She doesn't know, but she knew back when I was 12 and she tried to get me in counseling. She knew the counselors asked if I had been sexually assaulted multiple times to her. And at one point I can remember her saying, this is years later. Did your stepdad, did he do anything to you? I'm like, of course not, Mom. Like, you're still married. He's my stepdad. Of course not. But I knew that she knew based on maybe the way that I acted or what they picked up on. But I didn't even share it with counselors. I wouldn't even. I was. I had so much shame about the fact that I let him in the door and I felt like it was my fault. Mhm. So I'm glad we're thinking about writing a book and because that book is going to help others and it's going to help you heal.
Speaker B: Yeah. And actually, as I've been working with, um, the lady that's helping me write it right now, um, the more things come up that we talk about, it will spark other thoughts, which is interesting because you bury it. Like I buried so much of it that I. When it comes back up, it's like, wow. And unfortunately, my husband and I. Well, fortunately, my husband and I have been married 38 years. But in our early marriage, up until, gosh, at least 20 years in, um, our intimacy was, was challenging from time to time because of that situation that had taken place. He hadn't, he didn't. He always thought it was him or what. What in the world, you know, like, why are you having this anxiety over this? Um, until I was able to finally talk to him about it and kind of, you know, just get it out. You're right. Just talking about it is very healing.
Speaker C: I'm so glad you brought that up. I've never talked about this. I seriously. Serious intimacy issues, which has led to my husband having some issues, looking for a way to have some kind of intimacy, which I'm not, uh, privilege to talk about. At some point we're going to be open about it to share that story, but he's not ready yet. But literally, me, I struggled with intimacy and we would go months and I didn't want to be touched in any. And, and it wasn't Until I went through emdr. And really, I'll be honest with you that I, I m. Got some help. Yes. With my physical challenges of, you know, lupus and Sjogren's and all of that. And um, the anti depressant. I knew I was depressed back then. I got some help. But to deal with that actual trauma, I didn't really deal with it until Covid. Um, mainly because I got so depressed when the adventure capitalist put me on sabbatical, I. I went and dealt with it. And then that particular therapist said, you have trauma, you need trauma therapy. And then in trauma therapy, it all came out and, and then honestly, it has helped our intimacy. I mean, I've worked through all of that. It's incredible. And I went through menopause. Um, when I got diagnosed with lupus, I went through early menopause because when you have lupus, you do. And so that'll be something. You know, your daughter might go through it in 10 years. I went through it in my early 40s. Uh, but so surprisingly, you would think I'd be struggling with intimacy at the age of 56, but I'm not. I'm actually, I. It's like I'm making up for lost time. But we, uh, went. We would. I, I didn't want to be touched. And yes, months struggled big time with that. All from that circumstance that he didn't know about.
Speaker B: Yeah.
Speaker C: Share it. So he took it on, just like you said. Mhm.
Speaker B: I can, I can remember thinking, thinking back now to some of those moments and even before he knew and you know how difficult it made things. And then when he did know it, still I hadn't healed from it. And there would just be certain moments when I would be like, don't touch me. Um, you know, and like, I just want to be honest and open because I, I've really, I've never talked. I'm. I'm just like, I hate that you went through that. But I'm glad we're able to share this because now I'm like, oh, there's someone else who felt that.
Speaker C: Are you talking about that level of intimacy in your book? Because I think it's uh, from talking with other women. So then I started with a. I started going to a support group and there were other women that had been sexually assaulted. And every woman in that room, their intimacy levels were really shattered with, with their significant others. It was a struggle. So I think it. I don't know if you're putting that in your book. If your husband won't Allow it, but I think it's powerful.
Speaker B: Thank you. Well, I, I'm. I'm only a couple, um, weeks in with, with working through this. Um, and again, like I said, I'm just praying and asking the Lord, what, what do I need to say? What do I need to do? What needs to be there? And um, just to be open and honest, because I have mentioned this, I did a whole podcast on this is that in the 38 years we have had three situations of infidelity in our marriage and God has just been so faithful to keep us together.
Speaker A: Wow.
Speaker C: Oh my goodness. I'm. This is podcast. But I'm about to get so emotional because that's what I'm struggling with right now.
Speaker B: M. And it took, it took my husband a while just, just recently have. I can talk about it more. It's more difficult for him. I had two. I, I was. It was me. I did it twice. And he, and he had won one bout with infidelity. And I don't know how, but I just know that we serve a God that was bound and determined that we were going to stay together. My parents were divorced when I was 2, which I think is what you said. Uh, um. And so, yeah, I was just. Even though that happened, I don't know how or why. You know, just sin gets in and all of a sudden craziness happens. But you know, it's been over 26 years now since those things have happened. But healing takes a lot of time with things like infidelity.
Speaker C: But praise the Lord, I, I found some stuff in May of uh, last year, two. Two days before my oldest was graduating from college that had rocked my world and we're working through it and I can honestly say that, uh, I think it's making us stronger. And there was a lot of times where I rejected him and he didn't. He's such a good guy. He didn't want to, you know, say anything to me or get upset. So he just dealt with it internally. And then also his job is very high stress and when he's dealing with trauma and, and he needed an outlet and so yeah, it's. I mean, I'm getting very emotional because I haven't talked about this at all with anybody except for, uh, therapy and I definitely haven't talked about it on a podcast. But I know that together we've talked about how we need more time to show that we are stronger than ever because this has all just happened last year that I. But it's been a 14 year thing that's been going on. Um, and so a lot of healing. And we're in marriage counseling and it's going to take a long time for healing. But I, I finally realized that just back to that forgiveness piece. I wasn't healing until I forgave. And I didn't forgive until recently. I could, I couldn't, uh, uh, uh, like, even, even his Christmas party we hosted. And I just, I'm just extremely insecure. And until I finally said, I'm gonna forgive, you could. We just have the most powerful relationship. And, and that's, uh. You gotta forgive to move forward. Otherwise you just keep bringing it up. You can't heal. And I need to heal. And who knows what the end journey will be. I hope it makes us. I believe it's going to make us stronger than ever. And hopefully you said, you know, you've been married for 38 years, so you've had several years of healing. We've been married for 28 years. And this all came about even though it's been going on for a long time. It all came about last year. Year two days before I had his whole family coming to stay with me. Oh, it was. But a lot of beautiful things have come out of it. He, um, was Catholic and I converted to Catholicism, but then I became a Christian, uh, when my kids were little. And so we had. That was different. And on Mother's Day of this last year, he accepted Jesus into his life. And. And he's reading. I know he's reading the Bible on a different level now. And he's going to church with me. And, and there's nothing against Catholicism. I'm not bashing on it. I just. I spent two years with Monsignor in New Orleans. We lived in New Orleans. I went to Catholic church every Sunday. I just didn't learn anything. I didn't. I learned the rituals. Um, I didn't learn anything. I learned a lot about the Virgin Mary, but I didn't know the stories in the Bible. I didn't read the Bible. And now I've read it three times. And, you know, I, I live through biblical principles, but to have him accept Jesus into his life is just.
Speaker B: That's huge.
Speaker C: It was huge. And it has changed him. I see huge changes in him that are amazing. So. Yeah. Wow. We really went into a whole. We did expecting this at all.
Speaker B: Yeah.
Speaker C: And I'm glad I didn't just totally start sobbing.
Speaker B: But.
Speaker A: Yeah.
Speaker B: Ah, well. So it's. It's interesting. So one thing that, um, you know, I say a lot is That I, and I'm just careful about how I say it. But, like, I wouldn't change the situation that happened in our marriage because it made us, like you said, so much stronger. And we're like totally different people now. Um, you know, I can say, I can say that my husband doesn't want to say it like that. He's like, I wish it never happened. But I, I, I wish it never happened. But I know that God used it, and that is what drew us closer to him. And my husband accepted Christ as his savior right after my last situation, like, 20 something years ago. Wow. And so it was really powerful. Like, we were in church, we were Sunday school leaders. We were awana direct. You know, whatever we taught Awana, we led the classes Sunday school. We were there every time the doors were open. And yet I had an affair. And so it rocked our world. It rocked his world. And so the Lord started actually waking him up at the same time every single morning. It's like 2:15am um, for several nights. And he said he would wake up and he would not look at the clock because he didn't want it. He didn't want to think, oh, God is so real. He really could be doing this. And no matter when he turned over, he's like, it was the exact same time. This went on for days and weeks. And he, he literally like Jacob, he wrestled with God. And God, he transformed our lives.
Speaker C: I don't know how people do it without God in their life. I really don't. Yeah, it's like this has been probably one of the toughest years of my life last year. Not just because of what happened in that situation, but, um, I lost somebody really near and dear to me that meant so much to me suddenly. And then for the first time ever, we got audited by the IRS for 2022 taxes, which had to do with Cauliflower. And the venture capitalist shut cauliflower down in 2023. So I have access to nothing. And I, uh, don't know if you've ever been audited by the irs, but there's nothing worse. I mean.
Speaker B: Well, we were audited by the state one time, and I thought that was pretty bad.
Speaker C: Well, I got audited by the state of California also last year. And I haven't lived in California for six years, so that was just the paper mix up. But they audited me for $1.2 million. I bill from the state of California. So I have been through the ringer this last year, and there's been some other things too. That I'm not, uh, able to say on here through the ringer, but God is so good. And Jim, accepting Jesus into his life. It is. And look, the IRS just admitted that they made a mistake.
Speaker B: Wow.
Speaker C: Literally, as we speak, our Congressman got involved in everything. Like, it has been a big mess. And it's been going on for a of years. Couple. Couple years. And we finally, like, that doesn't happen with the irs.
Speaker B: Right.
Speaker C: That's, uh, that's getting resolved. That's such a gift. And so many amazing doors are opening. And I know God was just trying to.
Speaker B: We.
Speaker C: We've been living these separate lives, and I think God was trying to. And, uh, I'll tell Jim. That was such a God thing that happened. That was such a blessing. Like, we have to live in a space of gratitude. Because sometimes, like, I. I look back on the rejection of being on sabbatical. Had that never happened, I would have never been able to go with my mom. I would have never met that lady that introduced me to soursop. And I would never have the. The company I have now, which is helping so many people. Like, you just never know. And if you lean into your faith. And I'm not here to, like, preach, but I'm. I'm just literally here to say it's changed my life. Yeah. Literally changed my life entirely.
Speaker B: Right.
Speaker C: I accepted Jesus on Halloween night of 2015. And that's, like, in November is when cauliflower started. And it opened and opened, um, so many doors and changed our lives. So I just. I don't know what people do without their faith. Yeah, they don't have faith.
Speaker B: Right. Wow. October 31st. Girl, you were really pushing buttons there.
Speaker C: I know.
Speaker A: You know what?
Speaker C: It was crazy. I. I was, um, sick, and I couldn't get out of bed, and my husband was. Took the kids trick or treating, and so I was bored. And I started listening to Beth Moore, the Book of James. And in the middle of Beth Moore, the book of James, Beth Moore is like, you need to accept Jesus. Let's just do it right now. Repeat after me. And I did. And then all of a sudden, the recording stopped. And I just felt like this overwhelming, like, sensation. And I'm, um. I don't ever tell this story, but I'm telling you, I was able to just, like, get up, and I felt like 100. Like, all of a sudden I was, like, healed. It was weird. And I wasn't actually healed. I still was dealing with the autoimmune stuff. But that day, like, and. And forever, that's. That's the day. And my life just, like, changed after that. Just.
Speaker B: Well, he is the great physician, so we don't have to have an explanation. You know, like, he is who he is, and that is beautiful. I love that you talked about how you've been reading the Bible and you've been learning so much more and just reading through it. Because the stories, um, you know, they're just so powerful.
Speaker C: Yeah. And. And I'm realizing, you know, my husband, he went through catechism and all of that, and he recently, I was sharing with him the story of the woman at the well, and he had never heard it. And I was like, wait, what? You need to read the Bible, like we need to do. I love the Bible app. I don't know if you're a part of it. The Bible app.
Speaker B: Yeah.
Speaker C: Um, and they have all those different plans, and they have different ways of reading the Bible. That's not your traditional. And I love the traditional just. Yeah. Book. But this is an easier way for somebody that's never read the Bible to do one of the Bible plans. And currently I'm in one right now, and I've got Jim in it as well. And it. It takes a little bit from the Old Testament, a little bit from the New Testament. It makes it a little more interesting, and it kind of somehow combines them, um, to make sense.
Speaker B: Yeah.
Speaker C: For a newbie to read the Bible, it. It really makes. Whoever did that took a lot of time to do it that way.
Speaker B: Yes. Um, yeah, I like on. I like audible, too. I listen on when I'm taking trips or whatever. Um, I will listen. I like Kristen Getty. I don't know if you ever heard her. She's a singer, and she has this great, um, I think where she's from, Scotland or something. And so when she reads it, it just sounds so beautiful. I love listening that way sometimes.
Speaker C: I love that.
Speaker B: I love.
Speaker C: Yeah, yeah. A lot of times I will listen to it because they have the audible option as well. So, um, you know, I'll read it. I'll listen to it, um, and then I'll read it again. It always takes me, especially in the Bible, like, I have to read it, like, over and over and over to understand.
Speaker B: Me too, girl. Uh, me too. One of the things that I've been doing for about 10 years, and this is going to be a treasure for my grandkids someday, is I have been writing out scripture. Not every single day, but most days. And so I have so many journals to where, um, like, I. I have these, um, graphics that say like, April 1st, write out this scripture April 2nd. Right. And so I started a group back in the fall just to uh, like on Facebook, just asking people, hey, do you guys want to. I've been doing this for years. You want to do this? And super simple. And there's one woman actually came in, she said, I don't even have a Bible. I've never read the Bible before. And so she went out and got a Bible and just started that little simple process because it's the, it's like the I hand coordination. When you're actually seeing it, you're writing it, you're reading it. It like it fills you in a different way, honestly, because you get more of a connection.
Speaker C: I need to join your Facebook group.
Speaker B: Okay. All right.
Speaker C: Done that before. I have not written out things. I need to do that.
Speaker B: Okay.
Speaker C: I love that. That's such a great idea. Yeah, yeah. No, I try to memorize scripture and I, I have my favorites and I stick with those, but I'm always like, oh, I love that I should memorize that.
Speaker B: Yeah.
Speaker C: And you know, it's just, it's hard to do, but I think writing it out would make it so much easier. Yeah, I love it. Yeah, it's.
Speaker B: It's a neat way to do it. So just, just one of those little things that it's super simple. But sometimes when people like my friend that had said she had never read the Bible before, and in my mind I'm like, who hasn't? I. I guess I live in such a bubble. I'm like, everyone's read the Bible, but they haven't. They really haven't.
Speaker C: No. No. And um, yeah, Jim is a well educated, he's a physician. He went through, you know, Catholic school for years and years and years and never read the Bible. So you know, he's, he's diving into it and it can be challenging. So.
Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, and it's. There's so many. I grew up on the King James Version. I went to Christian Circle school for several years as a young person. And that was hard. That's where I memorized my scriptures and it, it is a little bit harder to understand.
Speaker C: Yeah. Yeah. Oh.
Speaker B: Easier stuff.
Speaker C: These days I'm in new living translation. But the King James Version is hard. Mhm. To it like that.
Speaker B: Yeah, it is. Wow. Well, gosh, friend. Uh, this, this was not what I was expecting today. But it couldn't be more perfect.
Speaker C: It's not. It, it couldn't be more real. Yeah. Like this is real. I. I just podcast And I give business tips and you know, it's rehearsed and. Or questions they'll send me and say, I'm going to ask you this. This was just real and raw and I shared something I've never shared before. And you know, I think maybe this is God's way of opening that door. I'm so inspired and hopeful. I can't wait to tell Jim about your story because it's going to give me hope that infidelity doesn't mean the end. Because I literally six months ago was like, maybe, you know, I was reading about it in the Bible thinking, well, if I get divorced, am I okay? Have I sinned? No, I haven't because he abandoned our relationship. But I. But there's so much that happened that goes beyond him abandoning it. He's not a bad guy. He just had a lot of rejection and then, you know, it goes back to that trauma. So this is so hopeful and helpful to me. So this podcast was meant to be, to help me. So we have to stay in contact for sure.
Speaker B: Absolutely. Absolutely.
Speaker C: I'm so inspired. You've been married 38 years. I've been married 28 years. And there's a lot of hope there.
Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, God is so faithful and you know, we there, we could have easily, you know, just said, hey, you know, I remember thinking when I was younger, if my husband ever does this, like, I'm out.
Speaker C: Mhm.
Speaker B: And then I wasn't. And then I never thought I would, I would do it, you know, and do it twice. But I mean, God had a plan, he still has a plan and we don't take it for granted.
Speaker C: Yeah. Wow. I'd love to hear more about stuff like this. Um, maybe at some point we can have coffee without it being live on a podcast.
Speaker B: Absolutely. Well, I just want to say thank you so much for being willing to come on and share and just being vulnerable because like I, like I said at the beginning, like, I don't really rehearse or have questions laid out. I want it to be real and raw and, and I was actually thinking about business, but I'm so excited that it turned out the way that it did because it blessed my soul. And I just can't wait for you and I to have more conversation.
Speaker C: Yeah, I'm looking forward to it. You've definitely blessed me as well. I feel a lot of hope and I've been feeling it lately, but you just like, it's like the seal on it, like the, ah, confirmation that, yeah, you can heal and move forward on this, be even stronger.
Speaker B: Wow. I'm so. I'm so excited that you were able to, you know, be here and take away some good things and feel confident in the Lord and knowing that he can restore the years that the Locust have stolen from your marriage and restore it into something so beautiful that you can't even make up. I mean, because that is how God shows up. I like to say he shows up and he shows all off because he can.
Speaker C: I love that. I've never heard that. That's great. I love that. Thank you so much for having me. And thank you for sharing.
Speaker B: You're welcome. Well, thank you. I know my audience is going to be so excited to hear all of this today. And so, guys, I'm going to put in the show notes a little bit about Amy and how you can get in touch with her if you want to learn more about her, um, business with Soursop. I love them. They're super yummy. And, um, anyways, I'll put that in the show notes and I will see you next time on the Angie Ambrosett, thanks so much for tuning in.
Speaker A: That's it for today, friends. Thanks for tuning in with me today. I hope today's episode stirred your soul, sparked your faith, and reminded you that your story is far from over. Keep walking in freedom, keep showing up bold, and never forget, God doesn't call the qualified. He qualifies the called. Be sure to leave a review. Subscribe, subscribe or share this podcast with
Speaker B: a friend who needs to hear it as well.
Speaker A: Until next time, keep letting her out to play because the world needs your fire.
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