Have you been through heart wrenching heartbreak?
Have you been extremely disappointed when it came to love?
Have you ever lost hope and questioned your future?
Have you ever felt such heavy grief it was hard to move forward?

The weight of heartbreak is REAL friends, we hear it. And no matter who you are, you aren’t immune from heartbreak. We experience it in a variety of ways. Rejection is always peaking its head into our lives.

Our guest on the podcast today majorly understands the struggle with heartbreak. Tenley, a retired dancer and performer found herself capturing the hearts of many as a 3 time runner up through ABC’s The Bachelor Franchise.

Tenley’s story is filled with heartbreaks as she shares with us today, but the most incredible part about her beautiful story is how she held onto hope, fought for worthiness, and remained firm in claiming God’s love throughout her journey. Today it's more true than ever that persevering and clinging to God's truth will bring redemption as He brought her an amazing man, her now husband Taylor Leopold!

Tenley lives a life reflective of her lifestyle brand, Tenley’s Sweet & Free Life. Through her own personal health story and passion for living well, Tenley became a certified Holistic Health Coach, sharing her love for nutrition working with individual clients, and as the co-founder of The DIY Cleanse, the cleanse for people that hate cleansing! With her dance background, Tenley is passionate about fitness and living an active and health lifestyle. You’ll find her sharing her love for travel and adventure, simple and attainable fashion and beauty tips, her faith and personal stories that motivate and inspire, true stories of newlywed life, and often creating healthy recipes and always sharing healthy lifestyle tips to live a balanced and happy life.

Just a little over a year ago Tenley got married to her now husband Taylor Leopold and they are HAPPILY married and live in the San Diego area and even just bought their first home together!

We are confident that hearing Tenley's stories of heartbreak and her profound strength and perseverance through it all is going to be SO encouraging for you today friends. Maybe you have never been through a heartbreak but are just weary in your season. Or maybe you have been through multiple relationships and feel defeated. Or maybe you just got out of a recent heartbreak. Whatever place you are in, this episode is for YOU today, friends.

Heart of Dating is so excited to welcome former Bachelor contestant Tenely Molzahn Leopold to the show for this episode! Apart from formerly being on The Bachelor, The Bachelor Pad, and Bachelor in Paradise, Tenely is also now a holistic wellness coach! This past year, Tenley married the love of her life and best friend Taylor after a journey of heartbreak and rejection. On this episode, Tenely shares her journey with Kait and how God can transform heartbreak into an EPIC Love story.

How has marriage been so far for you?

• She shares that not much has changed
• She shares that not much has changed so far from when her and her now husband Taylor were dating (except that they now just getting to do life together.)
• Because Tenley waited for her husband for so long, she talks about how it was worth it because now she gets to be in love and do life with her best friend.

Can you tell us about your story about loving and losing?

• Tenley shares her story about her getting married at 23 and her heartbreak and divorce she went through at a young age being a victim of infidelity.
• She shares she went through a heavy stage of denial while trying to heal from heartbreak.
• After her divorce, her sister signed her up to be a contestant on the Bachelor to help her move on.
• Tenley shared about having to undergo rejection not being chosen on the Bachelor.
• She also shares about some lessons she’s learned from being on the show, However, she does NOT recommend going on the Bachelor as a step in healing from Heartbreak)
• She said in the end she was happy with not being chosen because she doesn’t want to have to force someone to want her.
• Tenley shares her story about dating after the Bachelor and meeting someone on the show The Bachelor Pad.
• She shared about clinging on to the wrong person for too long for emotional stability is toxic because you begin to fall in love with the idea instead of the person.
• Tenley shares that she embraced her season of singleness right before going on Bachelor in Paradise, and share that it was one of her favorite seasons to get to know herself and strengthen her walk with Christ and her faith.
• Tenley talks about how going on Bachelor in Paradise was a different experience because she looked at dating in a more healthy way after truly healing from her heartbreak.

Is Being a Christian Simply enough when looking for a suitable partner?

• “The whole reason for relationship is to give God glory”
• Just because two people are Christians doesn’t necessarily mean they’re on the same faith walk.
• Pursuing Jesus wholeheartedly and simply going to church are very different things.

What have you learned from The Bachelor?

• Tenley talks about how she lives in much more peace now since she no longer puts on a facade of who she is.
• Not having to constantly “audition” or pursue someone who doesn’t want to be with her, was filled with freedom.

What were some aftermath symptoms after going through Heartbreak?

• Tenely talks about that post heartbreak she beloved many lies of the enemy such as not feeling she was good enough.
• Tenely dealt with a lot of pain with her own self-mage and struggled with believing her worth.
• Trust issues with not only others but herself after her heartbreak became very prevalent and toxic.

What would you tell those who are staying in relationships that aren't the best for them?

• If you have any little bit of “this isn’t the greatest” in your heart, pray and make the decision to reach out towards God’s best.
• Don’t listen to everyone, be careful who you share your heart with. Look for a select few trusted people who can mentor you and value their guidance.
• Be true to yourself.
• There’s a battlefield of the mind, and there is a deep journey of self love that we must have to go through.

What can you do to move forward from Heartbreak?

• Surrender your desires to Him and put your trust in Him.
• God truly has His best set aside for you, so when you’re broken, focus on what’s yet to come.
• God wants to use our brokenness to help others.
• Seek therapy if you can, and at minimum seek out mentorship and ask them to help you keep you accountable.
• Make moments for yourself and soak up your season of singleness.
• Take care of yourself! Your mind, you emotional wellbeing, and your physical health!
• There are healthy ways to go through heartbreak.
• Remember you are WORTH being pursued!

How has God led you to where you are now with you husband Taylor?

• God spoke to Tensely heart in her season of singleness and told her “Your Epic love story is already written”
• Soon after, God brought Taylor into her life through a mutual friend setting them up.
• God revealed to both of them a peace that they were going to marry one another.

What’s your final nugget of dating advice?

• Be content in your current season.
• Hold on to what you’re looking for and wait on God’s timing.

Other Resources

Follow Tenley on Instagram HERE

See her website HERE