[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for Married at First Sight Season 15 Episode 9, “Are You Going to Gaslight Me?”]
Married at First Sight‘s Season 15 couples are hitting some relationship highs while others are experiencing marriage lows in the latest episode, “Are You Going to Gaslight Me?”
As the pairs continue to experience their new lives together, considerations are being made as Decision Day looms on the horizon. Below, we’re breaking down all of the key moments from the pivotal installment which could strengthen some bonds and spell the end for others, so beware of spoilers ahead.
Tensions Rising
(Credit: Lifetime)
One evening while preparing dinner together, Mitch listens to Krysten talk about her career goals which include a desire to someday flip houses. Considering his stance on sustainability and social justice, Mitch isn’t quite taken with the idea and his less-than-enthusiastic reaction sort of deflates Krysten. The discussion turns tense as she tries to get him to see it from her perspective.
Meanwhile, Nate grows frustrated with Stacia when she wants him to explain when he might fall in love with her. As the pair talks in circles, he says he’s inclined to give up on their relationship if she tries pressuring him as he sees her tactics as manipulative.
And Miguel meets with one of his friends to discuss concerns about Lindy, who got quite emotional over the fact that he wouldn’t add her to his healthcare plan unless she took his name. Miguel’s friend Steve worries that his friend is turning off his red flag detector, but Miguel reassures him that he’s taking everything into consideration, including her more emotional moments which definitely concern him.
First Dates
(Credit: Lifetime)
While the couples settle into married life more and more, Morgan tries putting her best foot, or rather, fin, forward by planning a special date for her and Binh. After experiencing some bumps on the honeymoon, she wants to try and reset their vibe with a mermaid school class, so they put on a fake tail and jump into the pool for a flipping fun time.
Meanwhile, Mitch and Krysten go on a karaoke date where he gets to see her let loose and she gets to witness her hubby’s knack for freestyle rap. The evening doesn’t go quite as planned when an argument they’d been having about his reaction to her career goals is brought up. Krysten one day hopes to flip homes and provide houses to families, and it doesn’t quite align with Mitch’s views, leading to some tension. When they go on a different date that includes beach cleanup, he’s happier but she explains that she wants him to appreciate the efforts she’s making to fit into his world, hinting that he needs to consider her dreams as well.
After getting in a spat of their own at home, Stacia and Nate try out a cooking class together and hash things out. After feeling pressured by her to say, “I love you,” Nate explains that he just wants to understand why she’s pushing for it and she admits that she’s fearful he won’t fall in love. She’s not comforted when he asks her to have a little faith in him.
Alexis and Justin go on a beach picnic date to talk about the most recent developments in their relationship. Chatting about their approach to dating, Alexis admits if there wasn’t the added layer of marriage to their relationship, she may have already broken up with him, citing the debacle with her dog’s health and Justin’s lack of sharing details regarding the pup’s wellbeing.
During another date at home, Binh prepares a Korean BBQ meal for Morgan so that when she walks in the door from work they can just eat. She appreciates the gesture and they end up talking candidly about their past, particularly Binh’s struggle to meet his father’s expectations and explaining how that impacted his behaviors early on in their marriage. She finds the exchange encouraging and tells Binh that she wants to help him reach a point of self-acceptance.
Expert Assignment
(Credit: Lifetime)
All of the couples receive a basket from the experts that includes some wine and questions for them to ask each other. Among the top questions listed is whether or not they’ve experienced being in love in the past. First up in the pairs to discuss are Stacia and Nate, who get candid about their feelings. According to Stacia, she’s falling in love quickly, but he’s lagging behind, which raises concerns as she wants assurances.
Meanwhile, Mitch tells Krysten he isn’t sure he’s ever been in love, and she explains that she has been and has suffered because of it when the relationships ended. Justin tells Alexis about the time he was in love and how that blinded him from how used he was by his partner. He explains that it stemmed from the one-sided love he was shown by his father and how that influenced his behaviors in relationships. Alexis just asks for trust, telling Justin that it’s the most important thing for her.
Morgan and Binh get vulnerable during their drink and question session as she recalls her previous relationship, labeling it a “right person, wrong time” kind of situation. He reflects on his past as well, saying that there was the “one that got away” as he endured challenges in life in the midst of their potential relationship. This then pushes Binh to open up about how his relationship with his father has impacted certain facets of his life, and that for this reason, he projects insecurities on others like Morgan.
Lindy and Miguel discuss grace and how she’s willing to give it when she likes most things about him, but he is less forgiving and open to granting grace. Lindy pleads with Miguel to not keep score in their relationship but instead reset when they have arguments or setbacks so that they can thrive moving forward.
Group Meeting
(Credit: Lifetime)
Before convening as a whole group, the wives present their husbands with new shirts, with the men unaware that they’re being tricked into wearing the same shirt. All is going smoothly until Mitch refuses to wear the garment, forcing Krysten to let him in on the joke so she can convince him to put it on. He arrives wearing the shirt for the other men to have that realization moment but quickly opts out for a different top post-reveal. As the couples take their seats, they’re addressed by Dr. Pia Holec, a psychotherapist sex therapist.
Presenting them with “emotion wheels,” she encourages them to share how they’re feeling in their new marriages. Justin is the first to speak up, admitting he can get emotional, but Alexis gets annoyed with his response and lets her opinion be known. Meanwhile, Krysten worries aloud about how she’s letting herself get a little lost in her relationship with Mitch as she tries to adhere to his sustainable lifestyle; she’s hoping to find more balance in the weeks ahead.
Morgan and Binh talk about how things are getting better for them as the days pass, noting a marked improvement from their honeymoon. When it comes to Lindy and Miguel, she brings up how she wants her husband to see her crazy side but that she’s been holding back out of respect for him, and he doesn’t love it. Stacia tells the therapist that she’s been lonely and vulnerable in her relationship with Nate as he needs reassurance that he’s on his way to falling in love. Meanwhile, he complains that his actions should prove to her the effort he’s putting into the relationship.
As the event winds down, cameras follow Stacia and Nate back to their apartment where they sit down to talk. He’s upset that she isn’t seeing his actions as proof of his commitment. She argues that she wants to see a deeper side to him, but Nate is convinced she’s not giving him the proper amount of time to do so, leaving them in a precarious position.
Finally, in the last moments of the episode, apartment cameras capture an argument between Morgan and Binh in which she says Alexis told her everything. Separately, we learn that Binh has supposedly been telling lies about Morgan behind her back and she now knows. Has the trust been broken beyond repair? Fans will have to wait until next week to find out for sure, so stay tuned.
Married at First Sight, Season 15, Wednesdays, 8/7c, Lifetime