Danielle Ruhl and Nick Thompson are not afraid to put in the work when it comes to their marriage.
Though the couple had their fair share of ups and downs on season 2 of Netflix’sLove Is Blind, they ultimatelydecided to get marriedon the finale and have since remained together.
While they’re enjoying their new life as husband and wife since their wedding on June 8, Nick, 36, and Danielle, 29, admit they’re also continuing to learn about each other daily — thanks in part to couples counseling.
“We’re in couples counseling and we have been now, for almost the entire time since we’ve finished [the show],” Nick tells PEOPLE. “We’ve put frameworks in place for communication. We’ve had to force ourselves through some conversations [about] what we actually need in that moment and [have] worked on being able to articulate that.”
“Sometimes that means walking away for a little bit or sometimes that means, ‘Let’s table it and drop it and forget about it,’ " he explains. “There are so many different things that we’re applying to our communication [style] that has really given us a good step to move forward.”
Echoing her husband’s thoughts, Danielle says their decision to seek out couples therapy, as well as individual counseling, was so they could put their best foot forward in their marriage.
Danielle Ruhl and Nick Thompson on Love Is Blind.Netflix
“A lot of couples, when they’re dating, have the opportunity to naturally learn one another’s language as you would if you’re trying to learn a language outside of English,” she explains. “Learning that in such a short period of time is very difficult and takes a lot of patience, love and understanding from both sides.”
Danielle adds, “That’s why we are trying every single day to figure out how to interpret what the other person’s saying because my definition of something could be an entirely different definition of what he thinks something is. There’s a lot of unnecessary conflicts that happen just based on misinterpretation.”
Danielle Ruhl and Nick Thompson.Netflix
She also notes that their transparency about attending therapy is “important to both of us to help break the stigma.”
“It is important,” she adds. “You don’t have to go for the rest of your life. You can go even just for one argument, one disagreement… and it’s okay. It doesn’t mean that your marriage is going to be over. It doesn’t mean you’re doomed. It means you both have the goal of wanting it to work.”
In addition to being married, Danielle and Nick have also been adjusting to life as public figures — and the constant critiques that come with it.
Inher Instagram post, Danielle explained that she had told Nick about a previous “traumatic experience” right before he went to the couple’s party in Mexico. While he was gone, Danelle — who was sick at the time and missed the gathering — said she “started to get in my own head,” which led to a panic attack, and later, an argument with Nick.
“I am fully aware that I can project my anxiety onto others and it is something I am constantly working on,” Danielle wrote in the post. “However, being dragged down on the internet for my mental health and being ‘diagnosed’ with every disorder in the book based on an hour of footage taken from months of filming is not only damaging to myself and my family, but to anyone else who have had similar experiences.”
About their love story being retold on television, Danielle tells PEOPLE, “It’s hard because there’s a lot of positive and negatives.”
“Of course, rewatching the reason that we fell in love, and the reason that we’re still in love, that’s beautiful,” she explains. “But there obviously were some disagreements and conflicts, and those are hard to watch back. But watching it back makes us proud of where we are and how we have been able to put effort into learning how to communicate better.”
Danielle Ruhl and Nick Thompson at their wedding.Netflix
“There are 100,000 reasons [why I love her],” says Nick. “Right now, it’s [her] passion, individually. When I look at how she approaches her job and her friends and her family, and the drive and the strength of going out and being an advocate for mental health.”
Season 2 ofLove Is Blindis streaming on Netflix now.
If you or someone you know needs mental health help, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.
source: people.com
