Today we’d like to introduce you to Kate Conwell.
Kate, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I launched the Journey Beyond Betrayal Community on October 14, 2022. Exactly 10 years to the day from when I discovered by husband had been unfaithful. I flipped the date and gave it new meaning. Now October 14th will no longer be known as the day I learned my husband had slept with another woman, instead, it will be known as the day I shared with the world how my deepest pain provided a path to a God-given purpose.
How I got to the point of launching is a God story of its own. God knit those pieces together in a way that I didn’t see happening until it culminated with the idea to build an online membership community to support women who were going through what I had been through. I was in a course to learn how to launch an online business, and while I assumed I would launch a fitness/wellness-related community (because that is what I had been doing for the last 15 years), I couldn’t gain any excitement around that idea. So, I went back to the idea brainstorming section, and the lightbulb went on at 11 pm on a Saturday night–I knew God had dropped it on my heart, and I was so excited I started jumping up and down on my bed.
It sounds strange–being excited to publicly expose your most painful life experience. But it was also great awareness of how far I’ve come on my own healing journey. In that moment, I could see how God had fully put the pieces of my broken heart back together in a mosaic that was more beautiful than I could have ever imagined. I could see the way He had prepared me for this. The people and situations in my life that led to this moment. It was so amazing.
Of course, I wanted to confirm that my husband was okay with this idea because it uncovers the things, he is least proud of. But he has been supportive from the first moment. He understands the purpose of it all and the value that being a part of a community like this can provide for healing more hearts.
I began to work on the foundation of the business in the spring of 2022 and launched the idea to the world via a Facebook live post on October 14th, 2022. From there, I have been working on all the things involved with owning your own business, doing everything I can to build awareness about the community, and spreading the word to the women who need it know it is available.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
There are two areas that have been struggles along the way – my own mindset and building awareness about what I’m doing.
Mindset as an entrepreneur is a constant struggle. Finding a balance between my long-term vision and what I’m capable of in the amount of time available to me is difficult. I have so many ideas but not enough hours in the day for one person, and I am not generating enough income to hire someone to help me. I have to balance my priorities as a wife and mom with my goals and dreams for my business. I could spend all day every day and still have more to do because the list would keep growing as one idea blooms into another/bigger idea!
I’ve always been a sprinter; as a pole vaulter, we ran about 100 feet; I can motivate myself for short bursts! So, the analogy that growing a business is like a marathon is difficult for my mindset. I want everything done NOW! But that’s impossible.
Sometimes that can overwhelm me, and I just want to give up. Or other times, I see other people doing something similar and start to think what I’m doing isn’t needed. There’s so many mindset battles to overcome, and those battles can change from week to week.
There’s been many moments where I want to give up, and some moments in tears because this is a big challenge. And there is so much to learn… both about how to better serve the members and about how to run a business. Building a website, creating graphics for marketing, IT on the backend of everything, I’ve had to learn how to do so many things I didn’t know, or even care to know, how to do. Right now, I’m responsible for ALL THE THINGS, and that can feel really hard.
The other struggle is building awareness about something most people aren’t talking about. I’m trying to shift the mindset and help women to see how many others are struggling with this and also that what people commonly think about cheating inside of a marriage is not really what causes it. There’s a lot of shame around the topic, and social media doesn’t generate a lot of engagement of people willing to admit they are dealing with it. It’s been a slow road getting the word out. Again, with the mindset I want to help these women now because I know they are in pain, but it takes time to build awareness.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
The Journey Beyond Betrayal provides women facing the pain of an unfaithful husband a community that understands! The online membership community exists to encourage, educate, equip, and empower women as they walk through the trauma of marital infidelity and find healing.
The community was birthed out of my own story overcoming infidelity five years into marriage—turning my deepest pain into a God-given purpose. I wanted to walk beside other women navigating infidelity so nobody is in this pain alone. Too many women walk this journey without telling anyone or without others who truly understand the trauma. So many women are ashamed and embarrassed to talk about this all-too-common situation. Instead, they suffer in silence or even worse, get bad advice from someone who means well but doesn’t really understand.
Now I’m providing an opportunity for women to navigate infidelity together (regardless of current marital status). You can do the difficult work to overcome the betrayal and find healing and confidence with others!
I am very passionate about helping women understand that one situation does not define them, and we all have something valuable to offer the world! You can overcome shame, rebuild confidence, and be positively transformed through your pain!
No woman chooses to have infidelity invade her marriage, and when it happens, you can feel powerless about what to do next. While you can’t control anyone else, I want women to know that you do have the power to choose how you move forward; you do have the choice to pursue healing your own broken heart.
One thing that is unique about my approach is that I come from an athletic and fitness background. I am able to bring many of the mindset lessons I learned as a collegiate pole vaulter and as a personal trainer. I apply them to the healing journey you walk through, giving a unique twist to the way I present information. I did an IG series called “Workout Wisdom for the Journey Beyond Betrayal,” where I shared tips that would help someone make progress in either their fitness or betrayal trauma journey.
What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
I think the lessons have come from the struggles. Just like navigating through infidelity taught me the biggest life lessons, it’s the difficult times that teach me the most.
I am still learning the lesson about how much I can realistically expect from myself. How to prioritize what is truly important and give myself grace when things don’t go like I expected or take longer than I want. It’s okay to not know how to do everything. It’s okay for something to take A LONG time when you are doing it for the first time. I tend to put unrealistic expectations on myself, and I’m slowly learning how to appreciate the journey and be grateful that I get to do something I’m excited about each day…even if I don’t get as much done as I wanted.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.journeybeyondbetrayal.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/journeybeyondbetrayal/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/journeybeyondbetrayal/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kateconwell/
