“Jeremy has been so kind throughout this entire process of my disentangling journey,” she told E!. “He’s been so patient with me because I know it must be so hard for him to see these wrestlings, and there are long days where it’s just emotionally taxing and hard. He has only been there to support me, to cheer me on.”

And along the way—amid date nights, becoming a mom, writing books, packing and unpacking, hunting for deals at Trader Joe’s, the occasional movie premiere and other staples of SoCal living—Jinger got more in touch with who she really was with the cameras off.

“I was always concerned about being so agreeable with [Jeremy], and not having my own opinion,” she said. “I wouldn’t really think for myself. I would just think, What’s the right answer, or what do I think I should say to him right now? Like, if he lost a game of darts I would tell him, ‘Great job.’ And he’d say, ‘I was terrible, but you can tell me that, it’s OK.'”

While she at first thought she had to be “this agreeable wife” in order to keep it all together, Jinger explained to E!, “Jeremy encouraged me to not be somebody I’m not, but just to be myself and feel comfortable and share my own opinions—and have opinions on life.”