Married at First Sight on Channel 9 – Two down and three to go – couples that is. The remaining brides and grooms have reached the end of their Married At First Sight journey and let’s just say there’s mixed emotions about making it to the finish line.
For Tahnee and Ollie it’s “bittersweet”. The pair aren’t looking forward to spending time away from each other but are “desperate to see their family and friends”.
One thing Ollie won’t miss about the experiment is having to watch himself back on video. The groom acts as if he’d rather stick a fork in his eye than watch his and Tahnee’s wedding back for the first time.
There’s nothing but giggles and smooching sounds coming from Tahnee and Ollie’s apartment, but down the hall at Lyndall and Cameron’s there’s no such sound.
The mood is very tense following a catastrophic Dinner Party that saw Cameron tell Lyndall he didn’t see himself falling in love with her in front of the entire group.
“I rustled a few feathers,” Cameron says. Rustled them? Mate, you burnt the feathers to a crisp.
Their wedding day video couldn’t arrive at a better time, with the experts hoping a trip down memory lane will give the couple the little pick-me-up they’re in desperate need of.
And it kind of works, with even tough country boy Cameron getting a bit emotional.
“Lyndall and I have been matched for a reason,” he says after watching the wedding video.
While Lyndall admits it’s made her “feel a lot better about their relationship than she felt yesterday”.
But not even a lovey-dovey wedding video is going to lift the mood at Evelyn and Rupert’s apartment – not that any such video of their wedding day exists.
After Rupert said that him and Evelyn being intimate didn’t necessarily confirm her attraction to him, Evelyn is well, pretty peeved.
“It’s very frustrating when I’ve been so patient with Rupert,” she says.
It’s no secret the bride has taken the lead throughout their marriage but her patience has finally worn thin.
“I have given it my all but right now I’m over Rupert needing his diaper changed.”
The pair don’t watch their wedding video and Rupert’s mummy – we mean Evelyn – charges out the door without saying goodbye.
Evelyn and Rupert
Evelyn and Rupert don’t waste a minute trying to seek advice from family and friends, they already have their mind made up.
There’s no lack of confidence on Evelyn’s part who says she “knows what she needs to do”.
And as always Rupert is short on words of wisdom. The only thing he has to say is to producers.
“Can I get some water because I’m getting nervous,” Rupert asks ahead of the Final Vows. Hey, it’s progress from the wedding day and at least the producers can make sense of the words.
Evelyn arrives looking as stunning as she always does. Her arrival quickly sends Rupert into a spin, and he chugs so much water that he might drown his internal organs.
“I’m just hoping that I don’t crack under pressure and fumble my words,” Rupert crosses his fingers.
As per usual Evelyn takes the lead and reads her vows first.
She starts by praising Rupert for his “kindness”, “support” and “understanding” and admits that she has “developed genuinely strong feelings” for him.
But those feelings aren’t enough for Evelyn to get past Rupert’s lack of action.
“It took you six weeks to take me on a single day and that was only when I asked you, and that says a lot,” she takes a swipe at the groom.
Rupert looks genuinely confused by this claim but hears Evelyn out till the end.
Unsurprisingly, Evelyn chooses not to continue the relationship.
Rupert is up next, and although public speaking isn’t his strong suit he gives a pretty good crack.
He starts by raving about Evelyn’s dogs Pickles and Mustard, although Evelyn eventually gets her own mention.
“There are so many moments where we have truly clicked. I’ve had such a fun time with you and would not have chosen anyone else to do this with,” he says.
But even Rupert knows that “a platonic connection alone is not enough to sustain a healthy and loving relationship”.
He signs off with this parting message to his wife: “Evelyn, you are an ambitious, courageous, kind and stunning woman. I really do hope you find the love of your life because you deserve that.”
Evelyn can’t deny that even Rupert breaking up with her is “really sweet” and she’s super impressed that he remembered her dogs’ names.
The pair end things with a kiss on the cheek – which is more than Rupert had hoped for – and Evelyn dashes out of there like she’s got a plane to catch.
“I honestly don’t think Rupert’s a bad person, we just weren’t right for one another,” she says.
Tahnee and Ollie
For the first time in three months, the lovebirds find themselves almost 4,000 kilometres away with Ollie returning to Perth while Tahnee remains in Sydney.
Ollie admits he couldn’t sleep for the first night without Tahnee and is starting to realise just how tough the long-distance is going to be.
And even though the pair have been the strongest of all the couples through the entire experiment, even Tahnee has her doubts.
“There’s no question, we can say all these amazing things and have all these feelings for each other but when it gets down to logistics and the realities of it, that’s when it gets scary,” she says.
“With that comes the nervousness for Ollie’s decision, is he ready to make that kind of commitment?”
The magic of television means that just seconds later they are reunited for their Final Vows in the Blue Mountains.
Ollie is loving Tahnee’s “Marilyn Monroe vibes” and they keep chatting and catching up until they eventually realise they have vows to read.
Tahnee says from the “first hello she felt a spark” and ever since “it’s felt like she’s known him for years”.
She chokes back tears as she reflects on the strong feelings she’s developed for Ollie.
“I’m so grateful to have met you. I can’t thank the universe enough for aligning us and putting us together,” she says. And at this point we’re sure the experts are sitting at home rolling their eyes as Tahnee thanks the universe instead of them.
There’s no ifs, buts or maybes, she’s “falling in love” with Ollie – and who could blame her?
Like Tahnee, Ollie says he too felt an instant “spark” but he gives them both a pat on the back for working so hard to turn that spark into something special.
Ollie isn’t sure why everyone in the experiment always made out like they were picture perfect. He says they too “faced adversity” but “the secret sauce is how they tackled it”.
“We’ve had conversations that have been confronting and difficult for the both of us. Each time it’s happened we’ve put our self interests aside and worked hard on bringing it back to us as a couple,” he says.
“That’s something to me that has made me really proud to be with you.”
While there are mentions of long-distance posing a short term challenge, Ollie says “it doesn’t matter”.
He confirms that he’s falling in love with Tahnee and finally answers the question they’ve both been dancing around – are they in a “full blown relationship”?
“I think the same goes if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s a bloody duck,” Ollie grins.
Is Duncan still offering those tissues because help me, I’m crying over a bloody duck.
Our MAFS king and queen go in for a kiss and look over the horizon. “Oh man, we made it,” Tahnee says.
Lyndall and Cameron
Returning home to Darwin, Cameron’s mind is crisper than the corn chip he takes a very loud bite of.
He says having “some freedom” has given him “clarity” and to put it simply he “just doesn’t have those feelings” for Lyndall.
“I’m not falling in love with her,” Cameron tells his mate.
Despite his mate calling Lyndall “a real genuine chick”, Cameron says “there’s too many concerns”.
“The conflict gets nasty very quick, then the remote work and the two different states…it’s just way too hard,” Cameron huffs.
Cameron is just “not too sure he wants to make sacrifices” because Lyndall “doesn’t fit in with his life”.
Basically it’s all in the ‘too hard basket’ and Cameron just wants to get this show on the road.
“I’m just waiting to get hit by lightning, put me out of my misery,” he laughs.
Over in Perth, Lyndall – who is unaware the Cameron has already settled into life without her – is missing her husband.
She catches up with her mum and says that while “there is a connection there” she was hurt by the revelation he made in front of the group.
And Lyndall’s mum is “really disappointed” in Cameron. “I think he should’ve had enough respect and care for Lyndall to say that to her in private,” she says.
She tries to give her daughter a gentle nudge in the right direction by saying Cameron “just might not be the person for her”.
Ahead of the Final Vows Lyndall is hoping that Cameron has missed her, but we’ve got some bad news for her…
“I don’t miss Lyndall and that’s the hard truth,” Cameron puts it plainly. The groom admits that it’s taken him a total of ten minutes to decide his fate with Lyndall.
The pair meet in a lush garden to recite their Final Vows.
Lyndall starts with all the usual sweet sentiments about the beginning of their journey.
“When I first met you on our wedding day, you were warm, welcoming, funny and sweet. You instantly made me feel at ease like I finally found what I was looking for,’ she beams.
But it’s not long before Lyndall goes – as old mate Dan would call it – full “beast mode”.
“Unfortunately, at one point or another, the man I met at our wedding started fading away.
“In our first few weeks together, you could barely sit through the smallest of criticisms, and constantly walked out of hard conversations, leaving me to pick up the pieces.”
Lyndall reflects on her struggle with cystic fibrosis and she says the one good thing the disease has given her is resilience. Thanks to new medicine she’s been given a “new vision of her life” and Lyndall knows exactly what she wants for that life.
“I won’t spend another moment of that life restricting not by my condition, not by my body, not by fear and certainly not by you.
“So to put it plainly, stay in your lane, and I’ll stay in mine. I want to build a life I’m proud of and that life does not include you.”
Lyndall’s strong words clearly bruise Cameron’s ego but he just frowns through and tells her her vows are “well said”.
The groom reaches into his pocket to prepare reading his own vows.
“Before you start, ” Lyndall interrupts him.
“I just feel like no matter what you say today it’s only going to disappoint me again and I think I’m just done.”
And on that note Cameron tosses his vows at Lyndall’s feet. “Perfect, you can have them then,” he snaps.
“Get me in a car, I’m out of here.
“That’s me done.”
Left in the garden alone, Lyndall is not the least bit surprised by Cameron’s storm out, calling it a “classic”.
“It wouldn’t be a hard conversation with Cam spitting the dummy and walking out.”
Married At First Sight continues Sunday at 7.00pm and Monday at 7.30pm on Channel 9 and 9Now.
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