Married at First Sight Recap | The brides and grooms have returned to Skye Suites from The Retreat – well, most of them.
Claire lets us in on a secret – one of the brides has gone missing.
“I received a message from Tayla: ‘Hey Claire, everything got so hard with Hugo acting like he did, I got so overwhelmed. I went back to Tassie yesterday morning,'” Claire tells cameras.
But Tayla’s husband Hugo is oblivious to the fact that she has fled the experiment.
“It’s just a shame that she [Tayla] didn’t give Hugo the clarity and the closure that he deserves,” Claire says.
Down the hall another couple is left picking up the pieces of their relationship following The Retreat.
Bronte is reeling after Harrison dumped her over text.
After dealing with accusations that their relationship was fake, Harrison wanted “reassurance” from Bronte.
“I want a family, I want a marriage and I’m willing to move but that’s not enough for him,” Bronte tells cameras.
“I said, ‘Do you want me to go home?’ He stormed out and texted me saying, ‘This relationship is done.'”
Harrison’s version of events is a little different: “Bronte said she wanted to go home and that for me was the moment that ended our relationship.”
Feeling like she’s “been taken for an absolute ride”, Bronte now sees “as bright as day” that the girls were right in saying that she was being naïve to Harrison’s ways.
Cocktail Hour
Claire works up the courage to tell Hugo that his wife has done a runner.
And after Cameron walks in looking like the Paddle Pop lion she pulls Hugo to the side and breaks the news.
Hugo goes into a state of shock. “Is that legitimate?” he asks.
He gives himself a minute to process the bombshell but for the most part has a very positive reaction.
“Yes I’m disappointed Tayla left, I was hoping to get some closure but I guess that’s not going to happen,” Hugo tells cameras.
“I guess that’s not going to happen so I’m keen to just enjoy the night with friends.”
Someone who isn’t as cheery after receiving bad news is Bronte.
She storms into the cocktail lounge and into the arms of the other brides who console her as she weeps over her text message dumping.
On the other side of the room, Harrison tears up as he tells the boys his version of events and well, let’s say everyone’s having a hard time buying it.
“It feels fake, what we’re seeing,” John Aiken observes.
And Ollie spots crocodile tears: “Every time Harrison tears up – god bless him – he actually doesn’t cry.”
The Dinner Party
Alyssa wastes no time bringing up “the elephant in the room” – that Harrison broke up with Bronte over text.
Harrison is quick to defend himself and says that he had no choice because Bronte “continually breaks his trust” and he needs more reassurance that Bronte is committed to the relationship.
Bronte reinforces that she wants a family, a marriage and is willing to move from Perth to Sydney to be with Harrison. But that’s not a good enough answer for Harrison.
“That’s a wishy washy flippant answer, I’m sorry,” he shrugs.
Completely defeated, Bronte doesn’t know what else she can do. “I can’t win,” she sighs.
The Dinner Party has only just begun and Bronte has had enough. She storms out and breaks down in tears in the hallway, before going home.
“How is that meant to be a man that’s falling in love with me,” Bronte cries to Lyndall.
With Bronte no longer there to defend herself Claire rips into Harrison.
“How can you say you’ve fallen for her and then you say it’s over,” Claire questions.
“That’s the emotional manipulation I’m talking about.”
Harrison doesn’t appreciate Claire pointing the finger and in retaliation he delivers this blow: “You’re literally the loudest mouth in here with the worst relationship.”
With an evil smirk, Harrison then does his best to tear Claire and Jesse’s relationship to shreds. He declares that Claire only stayed in the experiment after her kiss with Adam to repair her image.
“Jesse I think you’re a great guy and you deserve heaps better than how you’ve been treated,” Harrison tells Jesse.
Unfortunately for Claire, Harrison’s words quickly get inside Jesse’s head.
“What Harrison said is what I’m perhaps afraid to say or even admit to myself,” Jesse reflects.
“How can I trust that you stayed to build a connection with me and not to repair your image,” he tells Claire. “And this is the problem with cheating, I can’t trust you.”
Jesse knows that in Claire’s heart of hearts, she only sees him as a friend.
“The way that Claire and Adam connected that night was the way I wanted to connect with Claire,” he says.
The group is heartbroken by Jesse’s admission but Harrison sees it as a victory.
While we are certainly looking for a change of pace from the sadness sweeping the room, we certainly didn’t see this next special guest coming. All the way from Tasmania… it’s Tayla!
The group erupts into chaos as Tayla arrives late and takes a seat at the table without greeting anyone – including her estranged husband Hugo.
“I don’t think anyone expected me to be returning. They were all shocked and Hugo “looked like he’d seen a ghost,” Tayla tells cameras.
Hugo doesn’t know what to think of the situation but decides the best course of action is to take Tayla aside for a private chat.
“I don’t know what I’m walking into but I hope it will be as respectful as possible,” Hugo tells cameras.
While Hugo doesn’t necessarily expect an apology from Tayla he doesn’t expect a grilling but that’s exactly what Tayla serves up.
“There’s not one thing you’ve done this entire time that’s made me think you want to make this work,” Tayla snaps.
“You let me down.”
Hugo is just as confused as we are. Aren’t those his lines?
Tayla has the nerve to tell Hugo she is gracing him with a second chance.
Tayla tells cameras that she predicts that Hugo “will feel really bad for how he’s treated her”, will profusely apologise and come running back to her.
But she’s thrown a curveball when Hugo reveals he doesn’t want a second chance.
“We’re not each others’ person,” Hugo says.
“Do we even need to go to the Commitment Ceremony, we both know that we don’t want this.”
The pair – led by Hugo – decide to end things then and there.
“I think it’s time for me and Tayla to call this relationship quits,” Hugo tells cameras.
“I think Tayla is a great person in her own way, but she is not someone that I want to continue to be in a relationship with.”
Married At First Sight continues Monday to Wednesday at 7.30pm and Sunday at 7.00pm on Channel 9 and 9Now.
