Dr. Phil guest describes feeling ‘floored,’ like ‘ground was opening up’ upon hearing husband would vote Trump

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Dr. Phil guest explains her shock after learning husband would vote for Trump in 2020

In an episode focused on bridging America’s political divide, Barbara, a liberal, explained how she was bewildered when she found out her conservative husband Rick was about to vote for Donald Trump in the 2020 election.  

A couple explained how they kept their marriage together amid a tense election on an episode of Dr. Phil released Friday.

In an episode focused on bridging America’s political divide, Barbara, a liberal, explained how shocked she was when she found out her conservative husband Rick was about to vote for Donald Trump in the 2020 election.  

"It floored me, it challenged what I thought I understood about Rick’s beliefs," Barbara said. "When he told me, I felt like the ground was opening up under my feet, and it was disorienting."

The wife explained at length that she saw a major dissonance between the moral quality of her husband and the presidential candidate he was voting for.

A couple explained how they kept their marriage together amid a tense presidential election on an episode of Dr. Phil. (Screenshot)

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The 2020 election was described as a tense time for their marriage.

"It was upsetting because it was hard to understand, it challenged what I thought I knew about his beliefs, because I know Rick to be a man of integrity, I know him to be very thoughtful, I know him to research his political positions and things, so I was having a hard time connecting up his choice with what I understood about his character and his positions," she said.

She went on to explain, "I had to hang on to just the faith that I know him to be a deeply good human being, I know him to be a man of integrity and I had to just hang on to that while I tried to struggle through and understand this choice."

Her husband Rick, when asked, explained to Dr. Phil that he knew his choice would affect his wife, but after his research deemed it was the right thing to do. 

Then-President Trump works the crowd after speaking at a campaign rally, Oct. 19, 2020, in Tucson, Arizona. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

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"As Barbara said, I put a lot of thought into these things and I felt like in 2016, it was a wash and I could go with a third party candidate, in 2020 I couldn’t," he later specified the sentiment behind his vote was "more against Biden" than in favor of Trump. 

Barbara noted that this disagreement over voting was "the hardest time of our politics affecting our marriage," saying that she resorted to "writing Rick a letter to ask him about his beliefs because I wanted to get my thoughts together, I wanted to make sure I was expressing myself because the stakes felt so high."

They communicated about their political differences in the 2020 election via letters back and forth. 

President Biden delivers a primetime speech at Independence National Historical Park, Sept. 1, 2022, in Philadelphia. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

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"It gave me a chance to think about what he was saying and really try to process it a little bit rather than responding when my emotions were high," she explained. 

Presidential election year 2020 was a time of crisis for many marriages across the country.