Resetting Love: How to Build Healthier Relationships in 2026

I have been working on a project, for many years, my book called BE Married....one of the many reasons I haven't released it yet, is because I felt like a fraud. I don't want anyone to think my marriage is perfect, or I am the perfect wife. In fact, I am far from a perfect wife. I often thank God for the grace my husband Bryan has given me. We have been married almost 40 years, and we still don't always get it right. We are and will always be a work in progress. My book coming out in 2026 is a way to constantly "reset" your marriage. A study you can do together once a year. A solid way to communicate. Tools and practices to intentionally communicate with one another. 

This article includes 7 ways you can prepare to reset your marriage in 2026. I would love to hear of any of the steps you decide to implement. 

Love isn’t something you find once — it’s something you reset over and over as you grow. Every year invites a fresh start, and 2026 is the perfect moment to rebuild connection with intention, honesty, and spiritual alignment. Resetting love doesn’t mean something is broken; it means you’re choosing to strengthen what matters most.

1. Rebuild Your Foundation, Not Your Fantasy

Healthy relationships aren’t built on chemistry — they’re built on clarity.

Resetting love starts with defining the marriage you want, not repeating the one you’ve inherited or tolerated. When couples stop reacting and start designing, they regain power. Vision brings unity. Assumptions destroy it.

Ask each other:

• Who are we becoming as individuals?
• What do we want our marriage to model for our children and community?

Great marriages are built on purpose, not autopilot.

2. Communication Is the Currency of Connection

Most relationships don’t die from big betrayals — they die from years of silence.

Resetting love requires upgrading your communication style:

• Speak the truth without attacking.
• Listen without preparing your defense.
• Use curiosity instead of criticism.

Healthy couples are not perfect communicators; they are persistent communicators.

3. Lead With Responsibility, Not Blame

You can’t reset love if you’re waiting for the other person to change first.

Own your tone, your habits, your reactions, and your emotional stewardship.

Responsibility creates safety — and safety creates intimacy.

When you stop pointing the finger and start owning your role, the whole relationship shifts.

4. Practice Daily Pursuit

Love at the beginning is effortless.

Love that lasts is intentional.

In BE Married, the theme is simple but powerful:

Pursue your spouse the way you did before you had them.

A daily text.

A gentle touch.

A thoughtful question.

Small deposits build a marriage that compounds in value.

5. Build Emotional Fitness Together

2026 will demand emotionally strong marriages. Stress, ambition, parenting, business pressure — it all tries to pull couples apart.

Resetting love means choosing practices that strengthen your bond:

• Pray together.
• Evaluate your week together.
• Celebrate progress, not perfection.
• Apologize fast. Forgive faster.

Emotionally healthy couples stay connected even when life gets loud.

6. Honor Each Other’s Calling

Your spouse is not your competition.

Your spouse is not your project.

Your spouse is not your limitation.

They are God’s assignment to your life — and honoring their calling is part of honoring your covenant.

Supporting each other’s growth creates a marriage that expands rather than constricts.

7. Choose Legacy Over Ego

Every conversation, every conflict, every decision is shaping the story your family will tell about love.

Resetting love is ultimately about choosing legacy:

• Will our children see a marriage built on grace or resentment?
• Will our home reflect peace or pressure?
• Will our relationship point to God or to our own disappointments?

Healthy marriages aren’t perfect; they are intentional about the story they are writing.

Final Word

2026 can be the year you reset, rebuild, and reimagine your marriage.

Not by starting over — but by starting together. My upcoming book BE Married will be a guide for couples who want to love with maturity, lead with humility, and build with purpose. And this is the heart of it: Marriage thrives when two people commit to becoming better versions of themselves, not better judges of each other.