Is there a Place for Pride in Marriage? Ep. 724

We’ve all heard the proverb that pride comes before the fall—but is there a place for pride in our relationships at all? Today, Dr. Kim takes an honest look at pride in marriage: its roots, its power, and its ability to divide even the strongest relationships. You’ll be encouraged to recognize where pride may be creeping in, what it’s actually revealing about your own heart, and practical ways to get it under control. Dr. Kim also addresses how to love and set healthy boundaries with a spouse who is struggling with pride—without enabling, escalating conflict, or losing yourself in the process.



Episode Highlights:

  • Pride quietly erodes connection.

  • Pride reveals what’s happening in the heart.

  • Healthy humility creates stronger, safer relationships.

  • It’s ok to name the unhealthy rhythms in your marriage. It’s not ok to remain in them. 

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Quotes from this Episode:

  • Unchecked pride leads to chronic resentment.

  • Many affairs and separations trace back to one thing. One spouse spends years feeling like they couldn’t be heard, valued or respected. 

  • When we make a mistake pride tells us to minimize it or justify it. 

  • Healthy confidence says “I have value and so does my spouse.” Pride says “I have value and my spouse needs to recognize it.”

  • Confidence can receive correction. Pride can’t. 

  • Pride builds a wall one brick at a time. Every unapologized offense was a brick. Every conversation where one spouse lectured instead of listened. Every eye roll- a brick.

  • You don’t want to just endure an unhealthy dynamic without ever naming it. That’s not humility that is enabling. 



Time to Talk About it: 

  1. Where do you think pride shows up most in our relationship—during conflict, communication, or something else?

  2. When you feel unheard or unvalued, how do you usually respond—and do you think pride plays a role in that reaction?

  3. What’s one practical way we could replace pride with humility in our marriage this week?



Mentioned in This Episode:

Kim KimberlingComment