On this week’s episode of Married at First Sight- Happily Ever After, the couples meet with the experts after being counseled for the last eight weeks. They want to check in with each couple to see if they are truly on the road to happily ever after. I am more interested in what happened when the cameras stopped rolling and these couples weren’t under the supervision of the experts. Hopefully, there will be a tell-all special to reveal what happened behind the scenes.
Jephte Pierre finally decides to step up to the plate and help Shawniece Jackson with some of the household duties. He decides to cook… badly, but he still gets an A for effort. You can tell the kitchen is a foreign place for him. Even so, Shawnieceappreciated the gesture. The end result is stuffed peppers that actually look pretty good.
Anthony D’Amico takes the initiative to help Ashley Petta decorate the nursery. He comes home with several bags of frilly and fluffy pink items. Ashley is surprised he went out and bought things by himself, but very happy he took the lead.
Danielle Bergman and Bobby Dodd have movers put their things in storage. Their goal is to stage the house for listing. Bobby is quietly having panic attacks thinking about potentially losing money on his house and moving before the baby. Danielle has taken over the whole process. She doesn’t seem to care about Bobby’s hesitation. It is clear they are not seeing eye to eye. Nevertheless, Bobby continues to let Danielle steamroll him.
Shawniece and Jephte decide to take family photos with the new baby. It’s a stark difference from their cringy wedding photos where Jephte kept calling his wife a stranger. Shawniece gets him and the baby lavender outfits, so they can take their own daddy, daughter photos. Jephte admits that he sometimes gets jealous of Shawniece’s bond with the baby so it meant a lot that she surprised him with the additional photos.
Bobby finally poses some real questions about moving and a realistic plan. Danielle actually listens to Bobby’s frustration and decides to compromise. They agree to stay longer at their current home if they don’t get an acceptable offer within a certain time period. I know that Bobby wants to make Danielle happy, but she came into the marriage with a lot of debt and spending issues. He is going to have to learn to put his foot down when it comes to financial concerns. Clearly, that is not her area of expertise.
Dr. Jessica Griffin asks all of the couples to write letters to their daughters. Ashley and Anthony share some very sweet messages about the other being a great parent. Surprisingly, Danielle actually writes a letter that shows her emotions. Hopefully, she continues to work on this so her daughter is as comfortable expressing herself as Bobby. Jephte is overcome with emotion as he reads his letter to his daughter. Shawniece still hopes he will start to be just as good of a husband as he is a father.
The experts visit the couples for the final time. This will help them see if the tools they provided have helped them grow. Ashley and Anthony have come a long way. You can see that in the two years they have been married, they have gotten better with their communication. Dr. Pepper Schwartz feels that all of their growth will only make them better parents to their daughter.
Dr. Jessica Griffin meets with Jephte and Shawniece. As usual, Shawniece is very complimentary and optimistic of Jephte and their marriage. She really wants to make her husband happy and for him to love her. He, on the other hand, wants the love to flow naturally. Dr. Jessica feels that Jephte has matured, but it is him who will have to really decide to be in the marriage since Shawniece has always been invested. Honestly, I am going to scream if he talks about not loving her one more time.
Pastor Calvin Roberson meets with Bobby and Danielle. They discuss their previous issues with intimacy. Bobby feels that everything has gotten better since his wife hasn’t been sick lately. Danielle admits that she has been practicing being more open emotionally, and giving positive comments. She wants to get better at making sure her husband knows how she feels about him. I must admit she does seem a little less robot like this episode, so maybe the practice is working.
Ashley and Anthony go and visit the house to look at the space for the nursery. They recount meeting one another on their wedding day. They feel that have really enjoyed being married and growing with one another. Update: They have moved into their new home and are adjusting to life in the suburbs. But still, haven’t decided on a nursery layout.
Danielle decides to wait on Bobby for the day. She acknowledges how much he has done for her and she wants him to relax for once. She even gives Bobby a harmonica to blow every time he needs anything. He definitely gets a kick out of the instrument, because he summons her with it at least a dozen times. I am glad to see Danielle actually do some cleaning.
It seemed like Bobby was her and her dog Henry’s maid/butler even before she was pregnant. So it was nice to see her doing something for him. Let’s just hope that lasts and the household duties become more equitable. Update: They accepted an offer and Danielle found her dream home for their family. Bobby’s recliners didn’t make the cut.
Jephte and Shawniece take a walk near their wedding location. They recall their wedding day and how they felt during the process. Shawniece feels like everything may not have happened the way she wanted, but she is excited to have a family. Jephte decides that he needs to make Shawniece some promises. He tells his wife that he does love her (this is debatable), but he wants it to grow.
He also wants her to know he isn’t just there just for the baby (also debatable). Shawniece breaks down and tells him how much she needs him. I really hope these two work out, but I am just not sure at this point. Shawniece is such a beautiful person and she has been treated very poorly by Jephte. I hope he grows up for his daughter. She will learn relationship dynamics by how he treats her mother. Update: Shawniece has since returned to work and Jephte has taken his three-month paternity leave.
TELL US – DO YOU THINK JEPHTE IS JUST THERE FOR HIS DAUGHTER? HAS DANIELLE GOTTEN BETTER AT COMMUNICATING HER EMOTIONS? WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE SEASON?
[Photo Credit: Lifetime]
