Eventually, Dr. Powell worked up the courage to forge her own path, but it wasn’t easy.

“Now that I’m being authentic and happy and joyful — yeah, there are some people who don’t like me as much,” she says. “I don’t necessarily fit in with them the same way I used to. But at least I’m being true to myself. I’m doing what I know I need to do for me.”

“ Always be authentic in all aspects of your life, and especially in your romantic relationships,” she adds.

“I was trying to be someone else in order to make other people happy and I learned that you can’t do that. You can’t be anyone but who you are. You have to be yourself.

“Do what it is that you want to do. Find that space to be fearlessly yourself and live from there.”

Images: Rex/Embodied Arts Collective

This is the biggest challenge most couples face when it comes to being happy