Married At First Sight Recap: – Is Love On The Table?

The Married At First Sight couples are definitely at the points where they either really dislike their spouse or really like them. There doesn’t seem to be much a grey area here for this group. At this point, they have gone back to their regular routines and the addition of a marital partner is bringing out their true selves. I knew there was only a matter of time before everything starts to bubble to the surface.

Still new to their marriages to strangers, the spouses explore deeper feelings.  As they dig into each other’s past loves, some couples seize the opportunity to get closer. Others teeter on the edge of heartbreak. Let’s get straight to the recap!

Katina and Olajuwon

Olajuwon is at it, once again. After a heated argument the night before, he questions Katina’s ability to be a wife. Apparently after a long night, she didn’t feel like cleaning. Instead of understanding or offering to do it himself, he starts an argument. He then begrudgingly cleans the kitchen himself. In his mind, that somehow equates to her not taking their union seriously. This guy is nuts.  All he did was sweep! I am a neat freak, so I understand wanting to have a clean kitchen at the end of the night. But these two barely know one another. Katina isn’t going to become a maid and chef overnight just because Olajuwon thinks that is the definition of a wife. They both need to sit down and discuss expectations and be willing to compromise. He is running his marriage like a boot camp and poor Katina acts like she is afraid to put him in his place. It couldn’t be me!

During a conversation about the past, Katina reveals that she was in a verbally abusive relationship. She even admits that she trained herself not to cry because of her ex’s reaction to it. That is so sad.  Now her reactions to Olajuwon make a little more sense. She always seems like she doesn’t want to rock the boat, even when he crosses the line. I’m not sure this relationship is healthy for her. He has a very manipulative and overbearing side to him. He adds he isn’t in love with her. Before he could ever feel that, she would have to meet his standards. WTF I probably would have laughed in his face. Katina smiles and says she wants to do that for him. Sigh! I want someone better for her. She shouldn’t be judged by whether she has a hot meal on the table every night and meets his expectations of a traditional wife. I feel like I’m witnessing someone being groomed and I don’t like it.

During a group outing, Olajuwon expresses his frustrations with Katina. He feels like she lacks life skills and he has to baby her. The guys recommend that he share how he truly feels with her. Obviously, they don’t realize he shares it every day.  I don’t think a home cooked meal every night, falls into the realm of no life skills. Maybe they need to establish a plan on how they will share household duties. They both are working adults who went from single to suddenly married. He is going to have to allow her time to adjust to living with someone and their needs. Meanwhile, Katina vents to the other ladies about the tension in the last few days.

It’s another day and another way for Olajuwon to gaslight Katina. He takes her to a cooking class to show her “his effort”. Insert side eye here. While eating the meal they just cooked, he proceeds to tell her all the ways she is failing as a wife. He even accuses her of putting zero effort into their housewarming.  According to him, she shouldn’t have had to ask her friends to bring anything. Omg… this is so toxic. You would think he was talking about taking the bar exam and not being his wife. She gets so flustered she cries and asks for a break. Can we petition to get Olajuwon off the show? I am sick of him. I blame the experts for this. Why the hell would they take an abuse survivor and put her in a relationship with another verbally and emotionally abusive person?

Lindsey and Mark

You can cut the tension with a knife between Mark and Lindsey. During an awkward dinner, the two finally address the elephant in the room. When asked about their fight, she makes it clear that she isn’t happy and is done going above and beyond for him. He stands his ground and states that she lacks self-awareness. Insert the meme where Homer Simpson backs into the bushes. Ugh… Although I am just watching this on television in my own home, I feel uncomfortable. There are so many issues here.  It would take all day to unpack them all. It’s so obvious that when Lindsey is hurt and acts out. I find it odd that Mark has had all of these issues with women reciprocating his efforts, but he doesn’t like the one who does. He doesn’t like that she is confrontational and her personality is a lot. But he is also diminishing a lot of the things she has done to support him. I know I wouldn’t have been in that bed bug infested apartment putting his things in trash bags on my day off.

When Lindsey and Mark discuss their past relationships, they find yet another thing that makes them different. He doesn’t mind recycling ex’s, while she doesn’t repeat history. She also admits that she needs consistency and support from a partner. In a post interview, Mark says he wants to stay in the present and remain positive. I don’t know if that will be possible with the way things are going.

Mark takes Lindsey for dinner for her favorite cuisine, sushi. Despite the fact that everything on the table is foreign to him, he still tries. I’m still shocked the guy had never had a taco until a week ago, He must really be trying mend things between them or have sex. He takes things up a notch by apologizing for hurting her and telling her he appreciates all of her efforts. Okay Mark, I see you taking Steve’s advice on disarming a woman by being vulnerable. Well, it is definitely working; she is blowing him kisses by the end of the date. I can’t wait to see how long this lasts.

 

Noi and Steve

Noi is trying to earn some brownie points after storming out of the house on Steve when they got into a disagreement. She plans a surprise for her hubby where he is reminded of their past moments through a scavenger hunt. Later, they discuss their past relationships and what love means to them. I find it interesting Noi says she falls in love when she sees how her partner shows up for her during difficult times. Umm…. Has Steve had a chance to do that yet? Steve on the other hand falls in love when he feels totally comfortable with that person. But he doesn’t want to say those words prematurely, which is understandable.

Steve shares with the other men the argument that led Noi to leave. He suggests to the other men they show when they are feeling vulnerable. He says Noi didn’t understand why he was upset, until she saw how hurt he was. Meanwhile, Noi shares the same story with the ladies. She realizes that he was so upset because he loves her, despite him never saying it. She decides after that argument that she doesn’t ever want to hurt him. I guess she was right! On a date, Steve recreates their beach moment on their honeymoon and tells her he loves her. Aww…. These two may save this season.

Jasmina and Michael

Jasmina and Michael have a date at the park and talk about their communication issues. Michael asks her how he can communicate with her better. She condescendingly says he just needs to talk to her in a normal way and its basic knowledge. He gets frustrated and says that what is basic for one person isn’t always what is normal for the other. Ms. Jasmina, you don’t have to raise your voice to speak to someone in a disrespectful way. You keep placing the blame on Michael, but you definitely need to work on your tone as well.

Michael and Jasmina open up to each other about their past relationships. He reveals that in order to fall in love, he has to be comfortable to be vulnerable. In a post interview, Jasmina questions why he hasn’t taken steps to be vulnerable with her. I have a guess! For a guarded person, it’s about baby steps. Before they began that conversation, he just told her it was the anniversary of his brother’s death. That is being vulnerable. It’s not like they have been getting along, so I’m sure that was difficult for him. She may need to work on recognizing those small steps from him.

Jasmina plans an activity for Michael to work on their bodies and marriage at the same time. Although, she has no experience working out, she has them do something that resembles it. During their cool down, she asks him to open up more about his past. Michael is visibly shaken as his recounts his first experience with grief with the death of his brother. In a post interview, she gets emotional thinking about all of the bad things he has endured in his life. Jasmina has to understand in order for someone to open up, they have to feel safe to do so. She can be intense and a cold at times, so needs to let her guard down as well. She didn’t even hug him while he was crying.

 

TELL US – ARE YOU HAPPY THAT CHRIS AND ALYSSA WERE MISSING FROM THIS EPISODE? DO YOU THINK OLAJUWON IS DISPLAYING TOXIC BEHAVIOR OR IS KATINA FAILING AS A WIFE? ARE YOU SIDING WITH LINDSEY OR MARK?

[Photo Credit: Lifetime]

 

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