Married at First Sight on Channel 9 – While most of the Married At First Sight brides and grooms are preparing to meet their partner’s family, Ellie and Ben are focusing on more fundamental relationship steps… like just being in the same room as each other.
Ben did a runner last episode, and he’s still not returned.
We can only presume he’s having an absolute sulk at the state of his marriage, and Ellie is growing more tired by the second.
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“I don’t see a way forward because he’s not here right now. I feel like I’m being short changed, like where is he?” Ellie wonders.
And funny you asked Ellie, because Ben is finally here!
With his Woolies bag and guitar case in tow, Ben comes back looking like a 19-year-old busker returning from their Euro gap year.
Despite all his baggage (emotional and literal) Ben says the time away was the “wake-up call [he] needed”.
“I haven’t been fully present in listening to Ellie and her needs,” Ben finally talks some sense.
“It was a hard but welcome slap in the face.”
Ben is taking the first steps to make it up to Ellie. He starts by making a grand apology in the form of a song that’s reminiscent of an ’80s teen romance movie.
We didn’t know that Ben had a musical gift and after hearing his song we still don’t know that he does.
Here’s a taste of just some of the lyrics.
“I’ve been unaware of my f–ked up behaviours. Thank youuuu Ellieeeee.” It’s now clear why Taylor Swift has left Australia, there’s a new master lyricist in town.
Ellie is in tears at the beauty of the song.
“No one has ever done that for me before,” she sobs. And we hope no one ever does it again Ellie!
Ben’s ballad has left Ellie hopeful that they can turn a corner – but it turns out Ben’s performance was just that, simply a performance.
As night falls, bickering can be heard coming from Ellie and Ben’s apartment.
“Someone’s gotta leave, I’m not sharing this place with you tonight,” Ellie snaps.
So what has angered Ellie so much?
“Ben sat me down for two-and-half hours and listed everything that he has not enjoyed about this relationship,” she explains.
“It was just like nitpicking at me.” We can confirm Ben’s list was not sung in C-sharp.
Out in the hall, Ben explains that after feeling like the focus has been on him, he wanted to flesh out ALL of their relationship issues – including the ones Ellie is responsible for.
Here are some of the top priority issues on Ben’s list, and we can thank Ellie for taking precise notes.
The issues include things like Ellie’s make-up application and the generational gap between them because he’s 39 and she’s 32.
What’s Ellie supposed to do, change her age?
“He didn’t like that I was from the Gold Coast, he didn’t like the fact that I was sensitive or emotional,” Ellie rattles off more of the outrageous list.
“I don’t know what the purpose was, it’s just so hurtful! What is any of it going to achieve except make me feel s–t about myself.”
MAFS EPISODE 18 RECAP: Lucinda’s dad gives Timothy a dose of reality while one couple leaves the experiment for good
But Ben’s biggest concern isn’t the fact that he’s hurt Ellie, it’s the “horrendous” timing of the argument because he hasn’t even had the chance to have dinner.
He’s simply starving, especially because he’s just had his tooth removed.
And we hope Ben has his guitar ready because we think he might be writing a breakup song very soon.
“I’m so done, I’d rather be single then spend another night with Ben,” Ellie concludes.
Cassandra and Tristan
While Ellie and Ben are on the brink of divorce, Cassandra and Tristan are about to sit down with their parents.
The couple have struggled to get their relationship out of first gear but the love is definitely there.
Tristan gives his mum Jolan and Cassandra’s dad Moddy an honest but diplomatic relationship update noting that the couple have had “some rocky times”.
Observing the body language between his daughter and her husband, Moddy thinks there might be something the couple aren’t telling their parents.
And when Tristan says he’s an “open book”, Moddy takes his word for it and fires this very direct question: “How’s your sex life?”
It was at this exact moment that Tristan realised he is not in fact an open book.
We also think we need to get Moddy and Lucinda’s dad Michael together. With their vibrant outfits and big personalities, thrse two could make a podcast about their daughters’ love lives and we’re ready for it.
EXCLUSIVE: ‘Mortified’: Lucinda reacts to that ‘birds and the bees’ chat her dad had with husband Timothy
But back to Tristan answering Moddy’s question about his and his daughter’s sex life.
“This is really awkward to talk to parents about but I’m attracted to Cassandra, I’ve just struggled to make the first move,” Tristan admits.
Cassandra says apart from the intimacy, Tristan is “everything she wants in a partner” she was just hoping for instant sparks.
But despite Cassandra and Tristan’s feelings that they’re a bit behind, Moddy encourages the pair with a helpful metaphor about marriage, logs and firewood. It doesn’t make much sense to us but it seems to get through to Cassandra and Tristan.
Sara and Tim
In the spirit of setting things on fire, there’s one person that’s arrive to burn the whole house down – Tim’s rogue best man Ben.
Despite what his mullet may have you assume about him, Ben does a little hop, skip and a jump into the bar where he’s hoping to get all of Sara and Tim’s “goss, drama and tea”.
Sara’s friend Cherise also joins the couple for drinks.
Sara tells Ben and Cherise about the time Tim told her “relax” and Ben takes it as an open invitation to tell Sara to relax at every opportunity he gets.
It’s safe to say Ben has gone maxi on the relaxi.
Sara finds Ben to be a bit “childish” while her friend Cherise worried that Tim might be the same because “birds of a feather flock together”.
But Cherise need not worry because Tim puts his foot down and tells him to “relax” on the jokes and reign it in.
“We’re in a good place to enjoy each other and try and build something special together,” Tim says proudly.
Sara is very happy to see Tim standing up for her and their relationship, and on that note they cheers to “relaxation”.
Andrea and Richard
Andrea and Richard could do with a dose of Sara and Tim’s chill pills, because they are currently trying to recover from their first fight.
And the timing couldn’t be worse with Andrea’s best friend Kate-Marie and Richard’s daughter Roxy about to arrive any minute now.
Richard is annoyed after Andrea spent the night on a phone call with her friends for two-and-a-half hours. But the real issue is that Richard doesn’t feel like Andrea is making an effort, and their once close connection is starting to diminish.
The couple have reached a block after Richard shared too many details about the sex life leaving Andrea feeling like she’d been disrespected.
It’s a far cry from the once perfect couple they were at the start of the experiment.
When Kate-Marie and Roxy join them for lunch, Richard can’t hide his sadness and breaks down into tears.
“From my point of view Andy is not into me at all anymore,” Richard cries.
“I don’t understand what’s happening”.
As Andrea’s friend of 30 years, Kate-Marie explains that Andrea is likely retreating because of the trauma of her exes.
But Andrea is slowly getting past that and sees that Richard “is such a good man”. “We have so much fun. I adore your dad,” she tells Roxy.
Roxy is hopeful for her dad and Andrea: “I see so much potential between them, I really really do.”
Having Roxy and Kate-Marie has been a bit of intervention for the pair.
“I really do feel better and I want to try because that man is a beautiful man and I feel ready to sit on the lounge and snuggle up,” Andrea says.
Could Andrea and Richard get right back to where they started from? We guess we’lll see at tomorrow night’s Dinner Party… grab your popcorn, it’s going to be a big one.
Married At First Sight continues Wednesday at 7:30pm on Channel 9 and 9Now. Catch up on every episode of MAFS for free on 9Now.
Stream every episode of Married At First Sight for free on 9Now.
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Recap is courtesy of Lauren Attard at Channel 9
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