We’re finally getting to all the drama with the couples, and this is what we signed up for, yes?
No couple was spared on Married at First Sight Season 11 Episode 7 when they each visited each other’s homes before moving into apartments, and it gave everyone an idea of the person of whom they were married.
Also, the hour revealed the first of the issues that could tear the couples apart.
Brett & Olivia
Who imagined at the start of the season that Olivia would be the one most viewers are talking about and criticizing most? She’s done a 180 from the woman we were introduced to, and because of that, she’s distracted us from all the ways Brett’s behavior bugged us.
And let’s be clear, Brett is still shady as hell, and there are some red flags there, but within his relationship with Olivia, he’s not the one who comes across with all of the issues.
Well played, sir. Well played, indeed!
Once again, Olivia does make you wonder why she agreed to participate in this process. She can say she’s ready for marriage all that she wants, but from what we’re saying, she doesn’t have room in her life for it.
She doesn’t know how to make room and space in her life for another person and their individualism. It’s coming across as though if things aren’t going her way or by her standards, then she’s disappointed and wants to find a way to fix things until they do.
She held her apartment in a nicer part of town in the highest-esteem. It was an OK apartment, and everything, but Olivia was set on him moving into her place.
She wasn’t open to anything else before she even checked out his place. Oddly, because of Brett’s indifference to her apartment, and I guess he didn’t seem as excited about it to her liking, she had nothing to say when he showed her his own.
Despite the large difference in their salaries, Brett actually bought a house of his own. In this day and age, particularly in a city with a high cost of living as New Orleans, that’s impressive, and Brett was proud of himself.
But Olivia didn’t waste time criticizing his place and his lack of design meeting her standards, and it came across needlessly bitchy and childish.
The financial issues between them reared its head again when they had their sitdown with Pastor Cal. It was revealed that despite making a decent living, Olivia has debt, and she doesn’t budget.
The woman who makes it a priority to travel all year-long or splurge on fancy dinners and football games doesn’t do the best job of budgeting her money.
Brett, on the other hand, does. As a married couple, he inherits her debts, but Olivia doesn’t believe in sharing her money with him.
Olivia going on this whole spiel about Brett not being able to keep up with her lifestyle and how that frustrates her was absurd.
The crazy thing is Brett showed no indication that he would stop her from doing the things that she wants, he only mentioned that he can’t afford to do it with her.
She said she wanted him to be able to do things like travel and go to games with her, but she also said that she wouldn’t pay for him to do it. Make it make sense!
If it’s so important to her, then why wouldn’t she handle financing all of their future trips she wants to do? It seemed reasonable, especially since they would have shared finances, and Brett said he could handle all of their budgeting and teach her how to budget better.
So far, if Brett is a man who feels emasculated by a woman who makes more than him, it’s being overshadowed by Olivia, who seems to have the biggest issue.
Brett doesn’t appear annoyed with Olivia because of her making more, but rather, it seems as though he’s responding to her treating him as if he’s a disappointment for not keeping up with his lifestyle or that’s he’s irresponsible for budgeting, which is absurd.
Oddly, Pastor Cal, while trying to mediate between the pair, seemed to focus more on Brett being “insecure” and not arguing fair. However, he never addressed any of the issues with Olivia.
Go figure.
But it’s the biggest plot twist that Brett has somehow finagled himself into being more sympathetic than Olivia here.
Woody & Amani
On the flip side, the other man who raised flags in the beginning along with Brett, but won people’s hearts, well, he’s back to his old ways.
Woody and Amani’s whirlwind romance fueled by sexual attraction had them as the second favorite couple behind Amelia and Bennett.
However, the matching special and premiere rarely lie. Woody, while endearing, had some issues that suggested he was not the best person to be getting married, let alone married to a stranger.
Now, the honeymoon is over, and the real Woody is coming back out. The two of them were cute visiting the other’s house.
Amani didn’t have anything negative to say about Woody living with his grandmother, which is something that could’ve bothered many.
It was their discussion with Pastor Cal that led to cringeworthy moments. For starters, we already knew these two had sex, and they’ve probably been going at it like rabbits, taking “showers” like crazy.
But what was concerning to hear is that they haven’t always used protection. WTF?!
Yes, they’re married, but this is an accelerated process that has them married to a stranger. It’s irresponsible to have sex with someone like this unprotected.
Woody joked about trying to put a baby in her, but was it a joke?
Also, they headed into some troubling territory when they got into a discussion about body autonomy.
A comment about Amani shaving her head turned into something where Woody revealed she would have to talk about that with him first, and it could affect his attraction to her.
It’s super shallow, but it’s also the Woody we met, so it’s not surprising.
Amani shouldn’t have to tell him if she plans to change her appearance, and it’s not up to him to decide what she can do with her body and can’t. He attempted to compare it to him quitting his job without telling her, but that’s not the same thing at all.
And when he noticed the conversation wasn’t going in his favor, he tried to backpedal and also brought up a situation with an ex who had an abortion without telling him, but again, it’s not the same thing.
They got past that argument, but their happy bubble has burst, and reality is setting in.
Bennett & Amelia
One of the best parts of the installment was Bennett telling Amelia to take her shoes off when she entered his Tiny House/ Shed.
For the first time, Bennett displayed some insecurity when he saw Amelia’s place she shared with roommates, and he found out that she was homecoming queen.
But while most people would have lost their minds at Bennett’s blue shed and all of the meager contents within it, Amelia loved it.
Gosh, those two are so wonderfully weird, you can’t help but smile.
Unfortunately, they’ve been putting off the discussion of what Amelia’s job could mean for their future. She’ll probably have to relocate, and it’s not something Bennett wants to do. They won’t talk about it, though.
They can’t keep putting off the inevitable. Bennett doesn’t want to move, but given what we know about them, if he wants their marriage to work out, then this is something he’ll probably have to compromise.
He’s close with his family, no doubt, and he loves New Orleans, but he has more flexibility with his job then she does.
Karen & Miles
Why did Karen sign up for this process?
While many would argue that Henry and Christina are the most painful to watch, Karen and Miles can often give them a run for their money.
The issue isn’t Miles; it’s that Karen is looking for any reason to push him away.
He’s a great man, and he’s committed to this process. He’s pouring more into it than he’s getting out. It makes you hurt for him.
They have their cute moments where it seems like the chemistry could be there. Their shoe banter was adorable, and they didn’t have any strong aversion to each other’s places.
Once again, the issues came out when they sat down with Pastor Cal.
Karen didn’t need to come onto Married at First Sight; she needed to sit in some therapy or take some time and space to work through her issues with her previous relationship before jumping into this.
It’s not fair when they cast someone with all of these hangups and issues. It’s unfair to the person they pair them with, too.
Karen is bringing a boatload of baggage from her past relationship into this new one with Miles, and she’s making him pay for things that her ex-boyfriend did.
She’s afraid of getting hurt again, and so she’s guarded with Miles, but in the process, she’s hurting him as well. Cal was right to say that it should be “happy spouse; happy house.”
Miles is a giver, and we’ve been seeing that since they walked down the aisle. He’ll keep giving over and over again.
At some point, you can’t give from an empty cup, and it has to be reciprocated. Unless Karen can work on that, these two may not work out at all.
Henry & Christina
It may not seem like it, but Henry is warming up, and we’re getting more glimpses of his personality and humor.
Christina wasn’t nearly as judgmental about his home as Olivia was, but it was surprising that she had much commentary when we found out that she doesn’t have one of her own.
Christina has been staying in her car, maybe? Or maybe she’s been living with someone else, but her home was back in California, and it led to some confusion.
She claimed she told Henry all of this, but they rolled the tapes back to their wedding night, and she didn’t. She was vague and misleading, and while Henry may seem aloof, he pays attention to everything.
Henry is quiet, but he reads people well, and that’s why despite his quirks and the fact that he’s an acquired taste to most, he’s a personal favorite.
When you ask him things directly, he will tell you what he thinks, and he doesn’t hide his feelings either.
He’s the type of person who files things away and processes them.
Henry does need to work on communicating more. He doesn’t give Christina much to work with, and up until this point, it seemed as though he took for granted that she knew what he was thinking.
And Christina has a gripe about Henry not being assertive enough for her, but it does make you wonder why she doesn’t take the bull by the horns herself.
She’s not used to putting herself out there, and I get the impression she’s accustomed to men chasing after her. She can’t handle that Henry isn’t, and she’s too afraid to put herself out there first.
As much as she talks to the camera and others about his lack of communication and her feelings about it, she never says anything to him.
But then their session with Pastor Cal was probably enlightening for her.
It’s the most Henry said about Christina, and he was brutally honest, too. It sounds as though he finds Christina physically attractive, but he’s not drawn to her personality.
He described her as impatient and high-maintenance, and the thing is, Henry isn’t wrong. Christina has put on a decent face pretending as though she’s fine with the pace their going, but she isn’t.
Apparently, Henry has still picked up on it anyway, and it has affected how he treats her. And she is very high-maintenance. She’s also been condescending at times, among other things.
Henry has taken note of this, and he’s not attracted to it, but this is the first time he said anything about it. It caught Christina off guard, and you can bet she’s pissed and hurt.
If Christina’s response to all of this is that she did most of the work, and she’s out of his league, then would she have proven his point?
Anyway, Henry has friend-zone Christina, and the funniest part about it is that she’s very similar to his gaggle of friends, including his ex-girlfriend.
It’s doubtful this pairing will work either, but then again, did anyone believe they should be put together in the first place?
Pastor Cal mentioned something about their opposing personalities complementing each other, but they’re too different.
Also, it’s not Christina’s job to pull Henry out of his shell, for one, there’s nothing wrong with his personality, and for the other, she doesn’t benefit from that at all.
It was a poor matchup, and Henry is another case of someone signing up for something he was ill-prepared for, and it’s not working out as planned.
But something tells me they’re about to bring all the drama, and I’m ready for it.
Over to you, MAFS Fanatics! What are your thoughts on Woody? Do you think Karen needs to stop drudging up the past?
Are you sympathizing with Oliva or Brett? What do you make of this Henry and Christina situation? Hit the comments below!
You can watch Married at First Sight online here via TV Fanatic.
Jasmine Blu is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.