Trigger Warning: This episode includes discussion of sexual abuse and trauma. Listener discretion is advised.

What happens when the person you trust most is secretly violating that trust for years?

In this episode of Consider Before Consuming, Zoe Watts shares her story of discovering that her husband had been drugging and sexually assaulting her while she slept. Zoe opens up about the confusion and disbelief she experienced, why it took time to fully understand what had happened, and the emotional and physical toll the trauma left behind.

Zoe also discusses how abuse within marriage is often minimized or misunderstood, the harmful cultural messages that blur the lines around consent, and the disturbing online communities built around sharing and consuming nonconsensual “sleep content.”

After her story became part of a major CNN investigation into online sexual exploitation, Zoe founded End Eye Check, an advocacy movement focused on raising awareness around drug-facilitated sexual abuse and supporting survivors.

In this episode, we discuss how sexual abuse can hide within long-term relationships, why some survivors struggle to recognize abuse right away, how online communities normalize exploitative content, and what healing can look like after trauma.

Episode Resources:

• Victim Resources
• End Eye Check: Join The Campaign
• CNN Article: Exposing a global ‘rape academy’
• Article: She Was Asleep While It Happened: Gisèle Pelicot and the Disturbing Rise of “Sleep Porn”
• Podcast: Consider Before Consuming Ep. 163: Amanda Stanhope

In this bonus episode of Consider Before Consuming, Elisabeth and Scott bring you into a conversation they’ve found themselves having often behind the scenes.

As Fight the New Drug’s social media manager and presenter, Elisabeth is constantly immersed in current events, research, and the realities young people are facing online. Scott, who works more behind the scenes, intentionally keeps some distance, but hears about these stories secondhand. This episode is an opportunity to bridge that gap and bring listeners into that same conversation.

Using a real case involving AI-generated explicit images at a small U.S. school—where 347 images were created of 59 minors—they break down what happened, what it reveals about the world young people are navigating today, and what parents and communities need to understand right now.

Episode Resources:

• FTND Live Presentations
• Conversation Blueprint: Let's Talk About Porn
• Documentary: Brain, Heart, World

In this episode of Consider Before Consuming, we’re joined by Dr. Nicholas Lawless, a clinical psychologist and couples therapist, to explore how pornography can impact connection in relationships.

Does porn affect relationships? Can porn change how you see your partner? Is watching porn considered cheating? Why does porn sometimes feel like a betrayal?

Dr. Lawless shares what he’s seen in both research and real-life couples—how shifts in attention and expectations can lead to disconnection over time, and what it looks like to rebuild connection.

If you’re wondering whether porn is affecting your relationship, or how to reconnect if something feels off, this episode offers a clear, practical perspective.

This episode is sponsored by Relay, a secure peer-support app that connects you with a small group of people who understand what you’re going through and help you stay accountable on your journey to quit porn. CBC listeners can try Relay free for 7 days when they sign up at http://ftnd.org/joinrelay

Episode Resources:

• Articles: How Porn Can Impact Relationships
• Documentary: Brain, Heart, World
• Dr. Lawless' Practice: DRT Psychology