Skip to content

The Trauma Bond

August 19, 2026 · 1 h 8 min

Show notes

This week on The Dating Detectives, Mackenzie and Hanna sit down with Lauren, whose relationship with a charming, attentive man slowly transformed into a terrifying cycle of manipulation, abuse, apologies, and increasingly desperate attempts to leave. Lauren opens up about the trauma bond that kept pulling her back, the shame and confusion that can make leaving feel impossible, and what happened when the situation escalated far beyond a toxic relationship—eventually drawing the attention of the FBI and leading to a federal witness tampering case.

Click here to join our Patreon! For only $5 a month you will get 2 extra episodes a month, monthly virtual live events, and access to our community page. And now for $9 a month you can get all of that, plus ad free episodes!

If you've been dogfished and want to share your story on the show, email [email protected] or contact us through our website using this link

This episode is sponsored by We-Vibe. Visit wevibe.com and use code DATINGDETECTIVES at checkout for 20% off your first order.

This episode of is sponsored by ZBiotics. Get 15% off at zbiotics.com/tdd with code TDD

This episode is sponsored by Shopify. Sign up for your free trial period at shopify.com/datingdetectives.

This episode is sponsored by OSEA. Get 10% off your first order sitewide with code DATINGDETECTIVES at oseamalibu.com.

***The following Program contains names, places and events that have been anonymized or fictionalized for the purposes of protection and safety. The following Program is provided for entertainment purposes only and any commentary from the hosts are strictly conjecture and should not be held as making any definitive statements about the truth or identity of any particular individuals or circumstances.

If you or a loved one are involved in an abusive relationship, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 for support.


See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

All episodes of The Dating Detectives

Settings

Display

Language

Decides which stations you see first on the home page.

History

Recently played stations and episodes and your latest searches are only stored in this browser.

Notifications

A short notice when a podcast you follow has a new episode. Turn off single podcasts with the bell on their page.

Account

Save favorites – in the app and on the website.

Keyboard shortcuts

/
Open search
Space
Play or pause
← →
In the player: back 15 s, forward 30 s (episodes) · in a row: next tile
↑ ↓
In a row: target within the tile
Home / End
In a row: first or last tile
Esc
Close window or menu
?
This overview
Now playing

Go to station page

Play next

    Add episodes with “Play next” – they play after the current episode.