Trigger Warning: This episode contains discussions of sexual addiction, infidelity, and suicide attempts. Listener discretion is advised.

Chris Bennett is a life coach who helps individuals and couples work through sexual addiction, shame, and compulsive behaviors. But long before he was helping others, he was living a double life—hiding years of pornography use and engaging in multiple affairs during his marriage.

In this episode, Chris shares how his relationship with pornography began at a young age and escalated over time, eventually leading to real-life behaviors that deeply impacted his wife and family. Even after being caught and entering recovery, he struggled to fully commit to change, continuing patterns he knew were harmful.

We talk about the role shame played in keeping him stuck, why partial honesty wasn’t enough to create real change, and what finally shifted when he chose to fully disclose everything. Chris also opens up about how unresolved pain and early experiences influenced his behavior, and how learning to process emotions and meet his needs differently became a turning point in his recovery.

This episode explores questions many people are asking: Does porn addiction escalate over time? Does Porn Addiction Lead to Cheating? And what does it actually take to change?

This episode is sponsored by Relay, a secure peer-support app that connects you with a small group of people who understand what you’re going through and help you stay accountable on your journey to quit porn. CBC listeners can try Relay free for 7 days when they sign up at http://ftnd.org/joinrelay

This episode includes discussion of sexual violence, coercion, and experiences of assault among young people. Listener discretion is advised.

In this episode of Consider Before Consuming, we sit down with Chanel Contos, founder of Teach Us Consent, to talk about how one Instagram post led to thousands of young people sharing their experiences, and ultimately helped drive mandated consent education across Australia. Chanel shares what it was like reading through testimony after testimony of peer-on-peer sexual violence, and how those stories revealed patterns around coercion, misunderstanding, and the way many young people are navigating sex without a clear understanding of consent.

We also explore what’s shaping young people’s expectations around sex and relationships today. How are teens actually learning about intimacy? What role does pornography play in shaping ideas about consent, boundaries, and what’s considered “normal”? And why are rates of youth-perpetrated sexual harm rising in some areas, even as other forms of abuse decline? Chanel breaks down how early, age-appropriate consent education can help address these gaps, and what it looks like to teach consent in a way that builds empathy, communication, and respect from a young age.

Episode Resources:

• Article: What is Inspiring Teens to Try Strangulation During Sex?
• Article: Oral Before Kissing: Porn Culture Has Changed Teens’ First Sexual Encounters
• Chanel's Instagram: @Chanelc
• Teach Us Consent:
• Fix Our Feeds
• Newsletter
• Instagram

Hunter Clark was first exposed to pornography as a child. What started as curiosity eventually became a habit he struggled for years to overcome. Like many people, he tried everything he could think of to quit—willpower, accountability partners, blockers, even extreme personal challenges—but nothing seemed to work. In this episode of Consider Before Consuming, Hunter shares how shame kept him stuck in that cycle for years and how things began to change when he stopped focusing only on quitting porn and started looking at the deeper reasons behind the behavior.

In this conversation, we explore questions many people are already asking: Why is porn so hard to quit? Does shame make porn habits worse? Can pornography affect relationships? And why do so many partners blame themselves when they discover a loved one’s porn habit?

Hunter opens up about the moment he realized his struggle was connected to deeper emotional wounds, the impact pornography had on his relationship with his wife, and how honesty and open conversations helped break the isolation that shame can create. We also discuss the idea that porn habits are often a symptom of something deeper—whether that’s unresolved trauma, stress, loneliness, or other emotional struggles—and why simply trying to “have more discipline” often isn’t enough.

This episode is sponsored by Relay, a secure peer-support app that connects you with a small group of people who understand what you’re going through and help you stay accountable on your journey to quit porn. CBC listeners can try Relay free for 7 days when they sign up at http://ftnd.org/joinrelay

Episode Resources:

• Article: Why Fighting Porn Must Include Fighting Shame
• Podcast: Consider Before Consuming Ep. 152: Chris Chandler
• Hunter's Podcast: Quit Porn with Hunter Clark
• Hunter's Instagram: _hunter.clark