18/03/2026
This week, my beloved and I celebrated our one-year anniversary together. 💕
He was my best friend before he became my romantic partner. At this point, it sounds romantic to me to transition from friendship to romantic partnership, but there was a time in my life when that would have been impossible. Not because it didn’t come up as an opportunity earlier in my life—it did several times, actually—but because I was relating from my wounded self, and that version of me felt deeply terrified of deepening the friendship, where consistency, safety, and support were present. When the friendship began to include intimacy, it suddenly felt suffocating and limiting. I got the icky feeling and panicked.
And this wasn’t the only way my woundedness showed up.
It might seem crazy to you if you grew up with a father who was consistently loving and supportive and eased into a safe and supportive romantic relationship, but for those of you out there who have experienced the wounded masculine archetype and learned what a romantic relationship is supposed to feel like based on that, you will recognize yourself in my story.
I will share more of my journey in my newsletter in one of the coming days. I am happily sharing all the gold nuggets because I know my journey isn’t rare. It is a classic example of wounded relating, but what might be rare is that I managed to go deep and retrieve the version of me who is relating from her wholeness—and that part I will share too!
If you are not already receiving my newsletter, I recommend you go to my website (www.awakenwithmatilda.com) and scroll all the way to the bottom. There, you can sign up to receive my inspirational letters and updates on my work.
I look forward to connecting with you.
Lots of love
Matilda