On Married at First Sight‘s Tuesday, February 2, episode, just over a month into marriage, the three couples were clearly starting to feel the pressure — and some of them were about to implode. While some of the FYI series’ newlyweds were vocal from the start about their fears and doubts, others let their emotions simmer just below the surface until they couldn’t take it anymore (which, it turned out, was perhaps not the best approach).
Sam (Unofficially) Wins the Housing Battle
Despite his attempts to persuade his wife to get their own place, Neil Bowlus revealed they’d been staying at Sam Role‘s townhouse with no definite plans to move out. Neil seemed to be a pretty good sport about the less-than-ideal situation (which, ICYMI, involved living with Sam’s roommate), but still wished they’d struck out on their own.
“There’s not much room here,” he sighed. “So we’re going to have a [Fourth of July] barbecue at the park.” The party turned out to be quite a success, however.
Sam was comforted by the fact that Neil’s friends are a lot more like her (i.e., loud and direct) than like Neil. “I think he’s an extreme introvert. That’s just his personality,” she noted. “Even hanging out with his friends, he just had nothing to say. He said absolutely nothing.” To be clear, that was a good thing. “I’m relieved,” she added. “It’s not me. That’s just who he is.”
Dr. Logan Levkoff seconded Sam’s realization. “There is a lot of yin and yang between them, and that’s not a bad thing,” she explained. It seemed that once Sam realized this, she became instantly more secure in the hope for their marriage.
“At the end of the day, to me, all that matters is your happiness,” Sam cooed at her husband as she curled up next to him on the couch after the BBQ had ended. (This is the same woman who had consistently challenged his manhood, called him passive-aggressive and complained she couldn’t “crack” him.) “As long as you’re happy, and I’m following what I’m supposed to be doing, what we’re supposed to be doing, to make sure that this accelerated relationship lasts, then I’m happy.”
But was Sam willing to move to make Neil happy? Yes … someday. Sam rattled off her list of housing requirements, which gave Neil hope that she was at least thinking about it. That’s as far as they got, though.
Three’s a Crowd for Vanessa and Tres
Tres Russell and Vanessa Nelson hosted a Fourth of July celebration at their home, which went really well — until Tres’ friend Jenna showed up. Long story short, Tres and Vanessa do not see eye-to-eye on whether men and women can be (platonic) friends. “It’s good to have girls who, you know, you don’t hook up with,” Tres said with a laugh. “I mean, girls who are just strictly your friends, and Jenna is one of those friends of mine.”
Meanwhile, Vanessa had her doubts. “I don’t really think that men and women can just be like straight, straight friends. I don’t really have a lot of straight male friends, honestly,” she explained.
Enter Jenna, a notably attractive young woman. Vanessa immediately ran over and clung to Tres as she chatted with the new guest. When the conversation halted (roughly two sentences in), Vanessa took to making out with Tres in front of her. Jenna got the message but told the cameras that, while Tres was looking to settle down, “He [still] looks forward to that one day a week where he can let loose.” The message: Vanessa wasn’t giving him that slack — and that could be a problem.
Things went from tense to worse when another partygoer commented that Tres and Vanessa looked “in love,” and Tres quipped, “That’s a strong word.”
Vanessa Walks Out
By the next morning, as Vanessa huffed around the house, Tres had figured out something was wrong but admitted he had “no idea what happened.” Vanessa finally told him her grievances: First, he had gone to the gym when he knew she was taking her sick dog to the vet. Second, he wasn’t in enough of a “husband mentality.” And third, he “s–t all over” her friend’s comment about them looking in love.
“I feel like you want me to be something that you want to build me to be,” Tres replied. “I need to know what you mean by ‘husband mentality’ because I feel like I’ve done everything that I should 100 percent do.” Vanessa responded by walking out.
“I’m going home,” she said. “It’s probably best we take a little time alone and revisit this.” Tres was visibly confused as Vanessa drove off. (He wasn’t the only one.)
Happily, a calmer Vanessa returned the next day ready to have an adult discussion. “I’m putting a lot of effort into this,” Tres promised before suggesting she “make a list” of what she wants in her ideal husband, so he could circle the things he could do and cross off the things he couldn’t. That at least got her to laugh.
The conversation then turned serious as Tres told her how upsetting it was that she’d left. “I’ve been left in the past, and I always assumed that when I got married, my wife would be the one person who’s not going to leave.” That hit Vanessa hard, and she admitted leaving “wasn’t the best thing,” apologized and vowed not to do it again.
Ashley Confronts David About Asking Out Another Woman
As bad as things got for Vanessa and Tres, however, they might have gotten even worse for David Norton and Ashley Doherty. After hosting their own Fourth of July bash, David was walking on air over how well it had gone. He beamed at the camera and said he felt ” like the king of the world.”
Unfortunately, Ashley had a different take on the day. “I just feel like I’m another one of the guests at the party,” she lamented before complaining that David had left her by herself the whole time. He apologized and argued that he’d wanted her to get to know his friends without him there to dominate the conversation — but he had much bigger problems headed his way.
When he proudly presented Ashley with flowers and a cupcake for their one-month wedding anniversary, she was not smiling. “I wish I could take in this moment more, but I have something to talk to you about. I’m so confused,” she began. Then she dropped the bomb: “I got a message last night that you had asked a girl out for drinks this past weekend.” The color drained from David’s face … and the episode ended.
Tell Us: Do you think David really asked out another woman?
Married at First Sight, produced by Kinetic Content, airs on FYI on Tuesdays at 9 p.m. EST.
