Elaina: Leaving Christianity, Part 3: Purity, Submission, and the Marriage She Couldn't Leave

Elaina picks up her story at the altar. Married at 21 after years of purity rings and abstinence-only teaching, she describes how the promise of a "blessed" wedding night gave way to a marriage where submission was treated as duty and saying no wasn't an option — teaching she says she heard from the pulpit in every church she attended. She talks about learning to check out to survive, being made to confess an emotional affair in front of her church, running to California, and being pressured back with the words "God hates divorce." The marriage was already coming apart, and what happened in its final months is where we pick up next time.

Content note: this episode includes discussion of sexual coercion, domestic abuse, and suicide.