Madison Prewett says the most intimate part of her marriage has nothing to do with sex.
The former "Bachelor" star opened up about the struggles she and husband Grant Troutt faced during their first year of marriage and the nightly ritual she credits with transforming their relationship.
"We pray together every single night before bed. That changed our marriage so much," Prewett said during an appearance on "The Riley Gaines Show."
The author, 30, rose to national prominence in 2020 as the runner-up on season 24 of "The Bachelor," starring Peter Weber. She later married Grant Troutt, the son of billionaire businessman Kenny Troutt, in 2022, and the couple has since welcomed a daughter. Since leaving reality television behind, Prewett has built a life centered around her Christian faith, marriage and motherhood.
But Prewett admitted adjusting to married life wasn't as easy as she expected.
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"That first year of marriage was really hard," she said.
The couple was navigating a series of major changes at once, including moving cities, changing jobs and building a new community.
"It was a lot of new at one time," Prewett said. "But more than anything, I mean, marriage is a mirror. And so it just exposes everything that you've tolerated, or you've thought you've dealt with or whatever it may be, it just exposes it all. The good and the bad, right?"
She explained that living so closely with another person forced both of them to confront parts of themselves they may have previously overlooked.
"And so this person seeing you so up close, and they're seeing the best of you and the worst of you," she said. "And so that first year was really, really hard."
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For Prewett, the turning point came when she stopped focusing on what she believed her husband needed to change and turned toward prayer.
"I went from just complaining and frustrated all the time with just, you know, 'Why are we fighting? Why are we having the same conversations again and again? Why doesn't he get me?' Or whatever it may be, right?" she recalled.
At first, she admitted, even her prayers centered on changing Troutt.
"I was like, 'Oh Lord, please change him. Please change him and show him how to love me because he ain't loving me well," Prewett said.
But she said that mindset eventually shifted as she began examining her own role in the marriage.
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"As soon as I started praying that, you know, a couple weeks into that, it was like the Holy Spirit convicted my heart and brought me to this place of, 'no, no. I'm not being the godly wife God's called me to be,'" she said.
Prewett said she began asking God to help her become the kind of wife she believed she was called to be rather than concentrating solely on her husband's shortcomings.
The couple also began praying together every night.
"We started praying together every single night and just the unity that that creates – like obviously we think about, you know, sex and sexual intimacy being such a unifying thing. And it is. And I would say the most intimate thing is spiritual intimacy."
She added, "And so, anything that you can do that just cultivates such a spiritual closeness and unity and intimacy. And so for us, that's praying together often [is important]."
Prewett revealed that she and Troutt had taken communion together the night before the interview, describing the practice as another way married couples can intentionally share their faith.
"Last night we took communion together," she said. "And so, even just taking time, maybe once a week where you come together, and you remember just the sacrifice of Jesus and what He went through for us and reflecting on that and remembering that and worshiping Him."
She warned that married couples can easily fall into separate spiritual routines if they aren't intentional about sharing their faith.
"Because I think it is easy too, to also have like two separate spiritual journeys where it's like, 'Oh, that's his faith, this is my faith, this is quiet time, this is his quiet time,'" Prewett said.
She added that creating shared spiritual moments within marriage is "one of the most beautiful, powerful, uniting, unifying things that we can do."
Prewett's shift toward a quieter family life has extended beyond her marriage.
The former reality star revealed that she has been off social media since January after Troutt first stepped away from the platforms himself.
"Grant actually got off social media first, so he started the trend. And then I followed," she said. "It's like a family thing."
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After roughly eight months away, Prewett said the decision has been transformative.
"Riley, when I tell you, it has been the most freeing thing in my life," she said. "I feel so much more present everywhere that I am."
Prewett said her relationship with social media changed dramatically after "The Bachelor" thrust her into the public eye.
"When I came off ‘The Bachelor,’ like my whole life just flipped upside down almost instantly," she said.
Before appearing on the dating show, Prewett said she was involved in foster care and adoption while living a relatively private life in Alabama.
"When I came off the show and just having this platform, having all these opinions about me, there was just a lot of healing that needed to happen over the time, over the past four years or so," she said.
Prewett said stepping away from social media gave her an opportunity to separate her sense of identity from public praise, criticism and productivity.
"I just wanted to be at this place where I'm like, ‘Maddie is enough as a mom, as a wife, as a friend, as a human being, apart from anything she can produce that is seen and praised by other people or criticized and hated by other people,’" she said.
The break has also allowed her to spend more uninterrupted time with her daughter.
"I'm so present with my daughter," Prewett said, explaining that she now has more space to think creatively about how they spend their days together.
She admitted she isn't sure when she will return to social media — or whether she ultimately will.
"I don't know when I'll get back on. I don't know if I ever will. I think I will, but I'm just at a place where it's been so freeing and healing."
Her "Stay True" podcast still maintains a social media presence managed by someone else, but Prewett said she doesn't keep the apps on her phone.
When Gaines asked whether she missed the positive aspects of social media, Prewett's answer was blunt.
"I don't miss anything."
She said leaving the platforms forced her to confront her own desire to remain visible and relevant.
"I think I didn't even realize how much I have to fight this desire to be seen and this desire to be relevant," she said.
Prewett later described the hiatus as the opposite of a sacrifice.
"This is the best decision I've ever made," she said.
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