On Tuesday night's episode of FYI's hit reality TV series "Married at First Sight," it's four weeks into the arranged marriage social experiment and the three couples are each moving forward in their relationships at their own pace and they each had a visit with spiritual expert Greg Epstein. One couple felt comfortable enough to discuss the possibility of children, one couple made a breakthrough in communication and another reached its breaking point.
Tres Russell & Vanessa Nelson
Russell and Nelson experienced a physical attraction early on in their relationship and still are the only couple that consummated their marriage this season so far, but they still struggled with emotional intimacy. During a training session for Nelson's puppy Nola, Russell got to see a more nurturing side of his wife and he said he could tell that she would be a good mother. They discussed the possibility of children in the future, and even though Russell said he didn't want to rush into it, it was good to have that conversation with his wife.
On Epstein's suggestion, the couple went out to a "drink and paint" workshop and worked together on a joint painting, which required communication and allowed them to make memories and learn more about each other. After dinner that night, Russell called his grandmother on speakerphone and she gave the newlyweds some advice. "It takes a lifetime to learn somebody," she told them, "and that's the journey."
Neil Bowlus & Samantha Role
The couple is still living apart, and they struggled with an intimacy exercise from Dr. Joseph Cilona before they experienced a breakthrough in communication. The intimacy exercise required the couple to sit facing each other with knees and hands touching, but Role make faces and laughed which upset Bowlus. But during Epstein's visit, he suggested that even though Bowlus is not Jewish, he should try to learn more about Role's culture through non-religious things like food. Role suggested that she cook a traditional Jewish meal for her husband and she put him in charge of preparing and frying latkes while she made a matzo ball soup.
They bonded as they cooked together in her kitchen and they each shared emotional stories about their childhoods at the dinner table, and Role even gave her husband advice about rekindling his non-existent relationship with his father. "I feel like we actually are a unit now," Role told the cameras. "Maybe we can grow together."
David Norton & Ashley Doherty
Norton has been patient with his wife Doherty, but he reached his breaking point with her during the intimacy exercise from Dr. Cilona. They sat with their knees touching and the first task was to name three things they liked about their spouse. Norton answered quickly, but Doherty struggled when she couldn't name three things she liked about him, and Norton accused his wife of "half-a--ing" the assignment as she pulled her knees away from him. T
hey took a break to cool down and write down what they were feeling, but Norton lost his temper again when they reconvened. He asked his wife what she expected from the experience of marrying a stranger. She asked him the same question and he responded, "I expected someone to try." During his visit, Epstein said Doherty is still having a hard time opening up but advised the couple to have a wide variety of experiences together and to revisit their wedding photos. They laughed as they critiqued their photo album which helped Doherty feel more comfortable around Norton. They also had fun during a kickball game with Norton's friends and Norton cheered his wife on and patted her on her back. "I'm hoping if we can just continue to have fun and not overthink everything, then we can get to a good place," Doherty told the cameras.
