The Bachelor alum Madison Prewett has responded to criticism over her recent comments that she loves being a "submissive" wife to Grant Troutt.
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"[It] was a challenge for me," Madison acknowledged at the time. "Now, it's, like, my favorite thing. I love talking about submission."
Madison's remarks offended many listeners, and so she issued an apology on the December 14 episode of her "Stay True" podcast.
"It just kind of grieved our hearts and my heart that there wasn't context around it," Madison said alongside Grant, according to E! News.
"If you don't explain what the Bible is saying and give context to it, then you just say that word flippantly, it can be received in a really hurtful way. So we just want to say sorry."
Madison said she understands how some people may interpret "submissive" as being oppressed or enduring "abuse" in a relationship.
Madison pointed out how the word "submit" could be a trigger or bring up trauma from "things that have happened to you or things that you've seen around you."
"When you hear that word, you think of it meaning that if you're a woman, that it means oppression and that you have no voice and you are silenced and you are controlled," The Bachelor alum explained.
"When you hear that word, I think it can strike a lot of different feelings."
Madison insisted that she is not under Grant's control in their marriage.
"That is in no way of how I meant it of what the Bible is saying nor in how we live," Madison noted.
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"Our marriage dynamic is not like that in any way."
Madison and Grant -- who share daughter Hosanna, 10 months -- went on to clarify their "roles" in their marriage.
"It's not exercising this dominant power and authority," Madison said.
"[Submissive] doesn't mean that the wife is weak or passive or has no voice or is not equal with the husband. That's not at all what submission means, nor is it what we believe submission means when it's talking about that in the Bible."
Grant reportedly referenced Bible passages, specifically the book of Ephesians, to help explain where they're coming from.
Grant shared how he believes Ephesians provides a "blueprint for godly, biblical marriage."
"It starts off with two verses to the wife and then there's about six or seven verses to the husband," Grant explained, according to E! News.
"In those two verses to the wife, it says, 'Wives submit to your husbands.' That's where that word comes from."
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Madison shared how she views Grant as "the spiritual leader of the home" following their October 2022 marriage.
When trying to reframe what it means for the man to be the "spiritual leader," Madison clarified that it does not mean he is "oppressive or domineering."
"Grant is the provider and protector of the home," Madison said. "I get to come under his care in a way that's not like, 'Oh, I have to,' but in a way where I feel safe."
Madison added how there's a level of "respect" and "honoring" that she gives to Grant, willingly, and not because she has to.
"[I do it] because it's the way in which God calls us to and in the way that I truly have found to feel the freest and the most content in our marriage," Madison explained.
Madison therefore summarized submission, in her opinion, as honoring and respecting her spouse yet having "equal rights."
"Not one person is more important than the other, not one person has a bigger voice than the other, not one person has the dominating authority over the other," Madison said.
"We have the same rights. We just have different roles. What God calls for when you get married is there to be a laying your life down for one another, a service to one another."
She concluded, "You're serving the other person. You're not just thinking about yourself all the time."
Madison's controversial, early-December podcast comments made headlines and sparked debate amongst her listeners.
Even former The Bachelor star Ben Higgins -- who is a proud Christian and often talks about God and religion on his "Almost Famous" podcast -- previously admitted he has "a lot of questions" for Madison about what he heard.
Ben explained on an episode of "Almost Famous" earlier this month that he and wife Jessica Clarke listened to the "Stay True" episode.
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"I don't really know Grant, so I can't speak to that. I think I'll tell Madi [that] I don't love the quotes out of context when it comes to the life of the sacred and talking about God because it never can really be summed up in one sentence."
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Ben apparently didn't see eye to eye with Madison when it came to her one-sentence remark about submission.
Ben -- who is dad to daughter Winnie with Jessica -- shared, "I think what's biblically true, and what Madi would [likely] agree with... is God is so much bigger than what we can communicate in one sentence or that we can put our stake in the ground and be, like, 'This is the way it should be and this is the way it is.'"
Ben pointed out how "God is so much bigger" and impossible to put into a box.
"And oftentimes we fall short talking about God and talking about ethics and morality and biblical interpretation," Ben said.
He continued, "The God that we love and believe in to be real and active in this world is indescribable. You can't put words to it, and I think that's where people get in trouble if they try to put words to it."
"When they try to put words to it in a way that is so countercultural," he added, "that can come off [as] so offensive to a majority of people."
Ben then clarified that he and Jessica "do not practice a household of submission."
"In this Christian household, my wife does not submit to me and my authority, and we work great," Ben revealed.
Ben -- who tied the knot with Jessica in 2021 -- went on to divulge, "Our household, I would like to believe, represents the heart of Jesus, which is an egalitarian household of equableness and compromise and self-sacrifice."
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"It's her dance and her life and her marriage, and if it works for her and her family, [then great]," Ben said.
"Honestly, my response [to her comment] is, 'Great, every couple has their own dance.' Now, do I believe that every couple needs to have the same dance? No," he concluded.
Madison found fame when she competed on Peter Weber's The Bachelor season. Ben, for his part, starred on The Bachelor's 20th season.
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
