Caleb ’08, MEd ’12, and Stefanie Rouse give people the tools to thrive in their marriage. As prominent Christian social media influencers and relationship coaches, the Rouses show others what is possible when relationships and marriages are centered on Christ. “Our story has been about obedience to God, posting what He’s called us to share, and speaking life on social media,” said Caleb Rouse.
Originally from Duarte, Caleb grew up attending events and chapels at Azusa Pacific University. At Maranatha High School, a Christian school in Pasadena where his father served as principal and his mother was an art teacher, Caleb excelled as a basketball player. “So many of my friends went to APU, so it was my dream to go there and play basketball,” he said. After a year at a junior college, Caleb earned a scholarship to live out his dream of playing for the Cougars. The team experienced massive success, going to the NAIA Championship quarterfinals in back to back years. “I loved being a part of APU’s basketball team,” he said. “But I got a herniated disc in my back in my senior year and everything changed.” Although he received tremendous support from APU’s athletic trainers, Caleb would never play again for the Cougars. His injury forced him to reconsider his plans.
Instead of pursuing a professional playing career overseas, Caleb Rouse decided to follow in his family’s footsteps as an educator. He had majored in social sciences, and after graduating in 2008, he immediately began pursuing his Master’s in Education. While he advanced through his master’s program, Caleb coached basketball and track and field, substitute taught, and tutored international students at his alma mater, Maranatha. “Those were some of my favorite years as an educator, pouring into students through coaching,” he said. After finishing his masters, he was hired full-time as a teacher at Village Christian School in Sun Valley, teaching world history, government, and economics. “I loved my students and how creative I was able to be in my instruction. I was passionate about helping them grow in their academics and their faith.”
During college, Caleb had been in a serious long term relationship, and when it ended, he was left devastated and confused. He began searching for answers in all kinds of places, but didn’t find them. “That’s when God really got a hold of me and showed me that He needed to be the foundation I would rely on,” he said. “When your worth is in something outside of God, it doesn’t align with His plan for your life.” He made a list of every quality he wanted in his future wife and who he wanted to be as a husband. In 2012, he began dating Stefanie and they married in 2013.
Both Rouses were teaching at Village Christian School when Stefanie felt called to begin sharing about faith and relationships on Instagram. “I told her that it had to be from God because neither of us were interested in social media before that,” Caleb said. “I switched schools and became a history teacher and athletic director at Graves Middle School. My new job had a large enough salary to support both of us as Stefanie launched into social media full-time.” Both Rouses experienced success as Caleb was voted teacher of the year for three consecutive years from 2016-19 and Stefanie began growing a massive following. Soon the Rouses started travel blogs and landing brand deals, sharing photos and videos from their trips on social media. As their accounts continued to grow, Caleb quit his teaching job to join Stefanie full time in content creation.
Then the pandemic struck, and their travel content was put to a halt. Caleb and Stefanie turned to God to ask Him what He had next for them. “We heard God telling us to focus even more on helping people at all stages of relationships so they could have a thriving marriage one day,” Caleb Rouse said. “So we built out our coaching program and started bringing our followers from Instagram into it, doing one-on-one and group coaching.” As their following and coaching program grew, publishing company Rockridge Press reached out with a book proposal. A Year of Prayer: Daily Moments of Contemplation, Devotion, and Grace was published in 2022. The advance from the book helped the Rouses pay for their move to Pittsburgh where they could be close to Stefanie’s family.
In the following years, Caleb and Stefanie landed brand deals on podcasts and appeared on the YouVersion Bible App. “Sharing messages on the Bible App is amazing. It’s like being on primetime TV in how many people we reach from across the world,” Caleb said. “We didn’t plan for any of that to happen. We just walked in obedience to God and He began blessing us with one opportunity after another.” Soon after, they were approached by an agent who helped them secure a book deal from Tyndale House Publishers to write a book: Wholehearted Love. “It was our passion project. We brainstormed and took a bunch of ideas we have in our relationship course, using our stories to make it relatable, sharing mistakes we made, how God redeemed us, and moving from a place of pain and loneliness into a place of being ready for wholehearted love,” Caleb said. “We want people to know that they can begin living the life of abundance God has for them right now. There’s no need to wait, no matter your circumstances.” Wholehearted Love became the No. 1 book in Christian marriage on Amazon and Tyndale asked Caleb and Stefanie to write two more books, 52 Prayers for My Wife and 52 Prayers for My Husband, which will be released in January 2025.
We’re excited to share stories of how we’re not perfect, but we trust God to help us grow in our marriage, and know He can help others through our stories.
Caleb and Stefanie Rouse are eager to keep growing their community, coaching more people through their relationships and marriages, and offering hope through their social media platforms. They also look forward to growing their family. “When we moved to Pittsburgh, we had a miscarriage and lost our twin boys Shiloh and Asher,” he said. “It was an extremely difficult season, but God has continued to heal us. We’re here to encourage anyone who might have gone through similar loss. Your story is never over. We always have hope in God.”
Follow Caleb and Stefanie on Instagram and YouTube for more advice on relationships, marriage, and thriving in faith.