Surviving Toxic Relationships Podcast with The Matadoras · Elizabeth Jane and Deana Lynn

Episode #88: Escaping Narcissistic Abuse After 20 Years | Skye Bellarmine on Healing, Faith, and Reclaiming Your Life

·36 min·2 clips

Skye says her friends finally told her he had spent years telling people she was crazy.

Lizzie and Dina open with a reminder that many survivors realize they were not crazy only after the abuser is no longer in the room. They introduce Skye Bellarmine as an author and survivor whose story is shaped by both physical recovery and long-term relational harm. Skye talks about surviving a near-fatal collision with a wrong-way driver and learning to walk again. She also talks about enduring 20 years of narcissistic abuse. The conversation stays focused on how abuse distorts memory, confidence, and self-trust. The hosts name the feeling of being made to doubt what happened. Skye describes how abusers can deny events so forcefully that the other person starts documenting conversations just to stay anchored. She explains that trying harder to prove the truth often makes the abuse worse. The discussion frames that reaction as control, not misunderstanding. Skye says the goal is not repair or mutual care. She describes the abuser as taking what they can while keeping the other person confused. The hosts reflect on how emotional swings become a tool. They talk about the way happiness and sadness can both be used as levers. Skye explains that even gifts and affectionate gestures can be part of manipulation when they are used to regain control. The conversation keeps returning to the idea of supply, power, and emotional access. Faith sits underneath the whole exchange as a source of endurance rather than a lecture. The hosts validate the pain without smoothing it over. They ask practical follow-ups that keep the story grounded in lived experience. The episode closes by speaking directly to listeners who feel alone, too sensitive, or unsure of their own judgment. It leaves them with the message that what happened was real and that healing is possible.

As heard by us

A frank, faith-filled conversation that names narcissistic abuse and helps survivors steady themselves again.

Surviving toxic love gets a plain map here. The hosts let Skye Bellarmine's 20-year account of narcissistic abuse speak plainly, and that restraint helps the hard parts land.

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Why you'd press play

Press play if you need words for the confusion after narcissistic abuse.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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