Jeremy and Audrey Roloff are what you might call #RelationshipGoals.
Audrey Roloff
The couple is best known for their TLC hit show, Little People Big World” which has chronicled the life of Jeremy’s family for more than a decade.
Since tying the knot two-and-a-half years ago, Jeremy and Audrey have stepped out in their own endeavor, a Christian marriage blog called “Beating 50 Percent.”
According to their website, the couple’s mission is to help others beat the 50 percent divorce rate in this country by “having better than average marriages, and giving more than 50 percent to your spouse.” It’s a goal that they hold near to their hearts, especially now that Jeremy’s parents, Amy and Matt Roloff, have recently divorced.
Together the young couple documents their lives and marriage across social media with the hope of “do[ing] and be[ing] all things that cultivate the covenant of marriage.”
Audrey Roloff
They share blog posts written from both Jeremy and Audrey’s points of view, which are intended to empower couples and inspire healthy marriages.
One of Jeremy’s recent blog posts highlighted the one thing that all successful marriages have in common: boundaries.
According to the 26-year-old, “boundaries are designed to protect something, not to prohibit it.”
Jeremy explains that marriages suffer from “division, bitterness, animosity and miscommunication” when boundaries aren’t there to protect those involved.
“When boundaries are broken, someone usually ends up getting hurt.”
His post was inspired by the overwhelming outrage surrounding a statement from a 2002 interview with Vice President Mike Pence.
Mike Pence
The second in command said “[He] never eats alone with a woman other than his wife and that [he] won’t attend events featuring alcohol without her by his side, either.”
For a couple who understands boundaries, this principle is a no-brainer. But Mike Pence took a lot of heat for that statement, with some accusing him of practicing Sharia Law, and others labeling his actions as “sexism.”
For Jeremy, the outrage was surprising. He simply saw it as a couple who cares enough about having a healthy relationship to set boundaries in place that would safeguard their marriage.
He wrote:
“What shocked me most about this outrage was that it was not just targeting their specific boundary regarding one-on-one time with the opposite sex… Oh no, the backlash via Twitter responses and articles across the web extended to boundaries in general as being oppressive and disrespectful to women.
How ridiculous! This boundary might be the epitome of respect itself!”
Jeremy went on to list some of the reasons he feels that boundaries are foundational for a healthy marriage: Boundaries enable trust during times of vulnerability, protect the love a couple shares, and they prevent affairs.
Seeing as Mike and Karen Pence have been married for nearly 32 years, I’d like to think they’d agree with Jeremy’s points.
He also added that there are some “seemingly required” circumstances where a meeting or lunch with a member of the opposite sex might occur, but you have the power to navigate the situation with discretion.
“Bringing someone else along is not that difficult. Go out of your way to air on the side of holiness, and abide by your set boundaries.”
Audrey Roloff
Boundaries look different for everyone, but one thing is certain: When they are put in place for the purpose of protection, boundaries make for a happy and healthy marriage.
