Coercive Control Examples: The Hidden Ways He Undermines Partnership

Coercive Control Examples: The Hidden Ways He Undermines Partnership

From Betrayal Trauma Recovery by Anne Blythe, M.Ed.

April 28, 2026 · 19 min

About this episode

This episode discusses coercive control in relationships, highlighting its deceptive nature and the emotional abuse it can cause.

Coercive control is a sustained pattern of controlling a domestic partner. However, coercive control inherently means that it’s not a partnership at all. Here’s why. Coercive Control Definition Coercive control is a sustained pattern of control in marriage through deception. It’s a system of deception and manipulation meant to give one partner power while maintaining the appearance of normalcy, even goodness. The key word is pattern . Often, the spouse being controlled doesn’t recognize it. From the outside, all she sees is a husband who seems kind, composed, spiritual, or self-aware. And coercive control can continue both during marriage and after separation or divorce. If your husband starts to exhibit behaviors he never exhibited before marriage, it’s likely that the man you fell in love with was a mask he wore to coerce you to marry him. This means you may have been experiencing emotional and psychological abuse the entire time. Learning the 19 different types of emotional abuse is essential. Our free emotional abuse quiz will help you see if what you’re experiencing is harmful to you. Why Coercive Control Is So Hard to Identify When your…

People in this episode

Host: Anne Blythe

Topics covered

  • coercive control
  • emotional abuse
  • manipulation
  • partnership
  • domestic abuse

Keywords

  • coercive control
  • emotional abuse
  • manipulation
  • domestic partnership
  • psychological abuse
  • deception
  • relationship dynamics

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