Relationships and MS with Nikoma and Simone Bell | S7E09

Love, resilience and real talk – that’s what today’s episode of Living Well with MS is all about. We're thrilled to welcome husband-and-wife team Nikoma and Simone Bell, authors of Marriage & MS: Embracing Life and Love Beyond the Diagnosis. 

Together, they open up about navigating life, love and MS – sharing practical advice on relationships, caregiving, intimacy, and creating space for honest conversations, especially in underrepresented communities. Whether you're living with MS, supporting a partner, or simply curious about how real connection thrives through life's challenges, you won’t want to miss this heartfelt and inspiring discussion. 

 

Topics and Timestamps: 

01:41 Meet Nikoma and Simone. 

03:09 Top tips for keeping a marriage strong while living with MS. 

05:52 Support for Black men with MS.

08:37 Common struggles among care partners and how to handle them. 

10:27 How to talk to young children about MS. 

12:15 Keeping intimacy alive in relationships with MS. 

13:12 Managing feelings of guilt and being a burden.  

14:37 Staying together despite MS – defying the odds. 

17:30 Talking about what can’t be seen – invisible symptoms.

 

More info and links: 

• Learn more about Nikoma and Simone and their work 
• New to Overcoming MS? Visit our introductory page   
• Connect with others following Overcoming MS on the Live Well Hub  
• Visit the Overcoming MS website   

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Feel free to share your comments and suggestions for future guests and episode topics by emailing podcast@overcomingms.org. 

 

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