Battle to Save the Union: An Inside Look at Marriage Counseling

March 5, 2009 — -- After spending a dozen years together, Kathryn and Heath find themselves on a therapist's couch — for them the last stop on the road to divorce court. Here's part two of an intimate look inside a marriage in trouble.

Click here to read the first part of this story, which aired Wednesday.

As the two sat down with therapist Terry Real, their conflicts closed in on Heath's infidelity and their different approaches to child rearing. The pair has an 11-year-old son, and Kathryn also has two teenagers from a previous marriage.

Click here to take inventory of your relationship.

Though the couple didn't ask to have their last names withheld, ABC News has not released them to protect the pair's privacy.

Heath said his tense relationship with stepdaughter Coco, who is almost 18, is a sore point in the marriage. He cited what he claimed was her out-of-control behavior as part of the reason he moved out three weeks earlier.

Halfway through the marathon counseling session, as Real suggested that Katharyn should acknowledge that Coco "has issues," Heath seemed to have trouble staying in the room.

Real recognized something else was going on but wasn't sure what it was.

"It's like you're like a kid in a high chair and I'm trying to feed you some Gerber baby food, and I get the baby food out and you take the spoon out of my hand," Real told Heath.

"I'm naturally a defensive person," Heath responded. "I know exactly why I act the way I act."

Then a dramatic revelation seemed to partly explain why Heath felt the need to flee his current drama.

"I was physically, emotionally, sexually abused," Heath revealed. Real believes the trauma of Heath's early life has made it difficult for him to fully engage in a relationship.