Married at First Sight alum Doug Hehner has revealed he has been battling addiction his entire marriage to wife Jamie Otis.
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While Doug and Jamie's successful marriage has served as a pinnacle of hope for other Married at First Sight couples over the years, the OG spouses certainly had tough obstacles to overcome as well as a deep secret in their marriage.
"I had addiction issues before the show, and it was never really addressed, on my part, why I didn't drink," Doug revealed during the Married at First Sight: Former Cast Tell All that aired Wednesday night on Lifetime.
"I never discussed the extent of it with [Jamie] until recently," he added.
Jamie shared, "The whole time I've known him, he's been in recovery. I mean, he was taking a secret medication that he hid from me to stay off the addiction and to stay sober."
But Doug revealed how he's "recently come off of" this medication.
"I feel like that's a lot to celebrate, by the way," Jamie told her husband.
"So we've had a lot of hurdles to overcome," Doug confirmed, "and I think we're in an amazing place now."
Doug praised Married at First Sight and its experts for providing the pair with a strong "foundation" on which to work through issues and grow in love.
"There's little nuggets that we've carried throughout the entire marriage so far," Doug noted.
"I feel like that's marriage," Jamie added. "That's relationships with people, and I feel blessed that everything happened the way it had to happen. I'm really proud of my husband."
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And Doug concluded that "it's been way over 10 years of being sober" for him.
Doug's addiction battle wasn't the only hurdle he and Jamie have faced together.
Doug and Jamie lost their first-born child, whom they named Johnathan, in 2016. Jamie had delivered her son at 17 weeks when she was only four months pregnant.
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Following the tragedy, Jamie went on to suffer a chemical pregnancy and another miscarriage.
And while Jamie was pregnant with their daughter Henley Grace, now 7, she and Doug were living with Doug's parents and he had lost his job at the time.
"There were a lot of things that were amounting to a super amount of stress," Doug admitted. "And [Jamie and I] weren't clicking. It was a total clash."
Jamie and Doug's marriage aired on Married at First Sight in Summer 2014.
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As a result, Jamie and Doug opted to stay together on "Decision Day," and they went on to start a family.
Jamie and Doug are now parents of son Hendrix Douglas, who was born in May 2020, and daughter Henley, who was born in August 2017.
The couple revealed in early 2021 they had begun trying for a third child, but then Jamie shared in August of that year they had decided to put Baby No. 3 "on the back burner" while they worked on strengthening their marriage.
Jamie and Doug, however, announced in early March how they're currently expecting twin babies.
In addition to starring on Married at First Sight's first season, Jamie and Doug co-starred on Married at First Sight: The First Year, a spinoff which continued to follow the two MAFS Season 1 couples who opted to remain together during their first year of marriage.
Jamie and Doug also later starred on Married at First Sight: Jamie and Doug Plus One, their own spinoff which premiered in December 2017 but didn't last.
Jamie then served as the host of Married at First Sight: Unfiltered, the show's post-episode discussion show that also airs on Lifetime, but she has since been replaced by Keshia Knight Pulliam.
Jamie and Doug also appeared on Season 3 of Married at First Sight: Couples Cam on Lifetime.
RELATED: 'MARRIED AT FIRST SIGHT' COUPLES NOW: WHERE ARE THEY NOW? WHO IS STILL TOGETHER? WHO HAS RE-MARRIED? (PHOTOS)
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
