Couples Spotlight: Marlon & Rashida Cohen

Marlon and Rashida met at church during a youth ministry meeting. She needed a ride home that night, he offered (it was late and raining), and the rest is history. They quickly became friends through different ministries in the church and have been married for almost seven years.  Marlon has a background in sales and marketing, and Rashida is a Chiropractic Doctor who specializes in caring for pregnant women and children. They are the proud parents of two children; Cameron age three and Kennedi age ten months. Together, they own and operate Advantage Rehab and Wellness Center — two very successful chiropractic offices in  Washington, D.C.

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Do you have any advice for other couples in terms of how to make a relationship work when you are in business together?

Marlon: For us, the biggest thing is communication. We’ve had challenges with this in the past. But we’ve changed things for the better. We realized that when we weren’t doing what we needed to and it just starts to affect things at home and at work. We’re in a really good groove right now and it’s because we have good, open dialogue about what we’re feeling, thinking, what we want to do, and where we want to go in both our professional and personal lives.

Rashida: One thing they taught us in our pre-marital classes at work is to have family meetings to discuss the business of the marriage. I don’t like to sit down and be structured but I know it’s important that we do. And it helps when we do set time aside to talk about the family. It’s so easy to just go go go and not take time to slow down and really talk about these things. We have to have meetings.

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How do you find time to connect outside of work and kids?

Marlon: Therein lies the challenge. We’ve done better recently but it’s a work in progress. We are trying to get better with scheduling our date nights. The two offices are our children and we have to tend to them and then get home and tend to the babies. The best time for us to [connect] is late at night after we’ve put the kids to bed.

Rashida: Marlon doesn’t know this yet, but I’ve decided in my mind to identify dates and people lined up to watch the kids so that we can make that time. I enjoy going out with my husband and it’s important for our relationship.

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Finish this sentence: Our marriage is still standing in spite of…

Marlon: In spite of ourselves, is what first comes to mind. In spite of those things that are in us (pride, etc.), we’ve done a great job of loving each other, loving on each other and working with each other.

Rashida: In spite the day-to-day challenges…life’s challenges, business, children, etc. Despite the haters that try to mess up your game and mess with you — it just draws us closer and makes us stronger. It can be a strain and stress on your marriage when you have little ones that need so much of your time. But it’s important to make time for your spouse as well. So our marriage is still standing despite the lack of sleep! [laughs]

Thank you so much  Marlon and Rashida for sharing your beautiful story with us.

BMWK — Can you relate to Marlon and Rashida? Leave a comment letting us know what inspires you about their story.