Married at First Sight alum Elizabeth Bice has explained why she and estranged husband Jamie Thompson are going through an "ugly" divorce.
|
ADVERTISEMENT
|
RELATED: 'MARRIED AT FIRST SIGHT' COUPLES NOW: WHERE ARE THEY NOW? WHO IS STILL TOGETHER? WHO HAS RE-MARRIED? (PHOTOS)
"Are you okay, first of all?" Kevin asked Elizabeth during the special that aired Wednesday night on Lifetime.
"No," Elizabeth replied, trying to catch her breath.
"This has been really emotional. This has been really, really hard. It was probably one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make, but I had to do something to take care of myself."
Elizabeth, who wed Jamie on Married at First Sight's ninth season in 2019, admitted she was "not well in [her] marriage" to Jamie.
And so Elizabeth clarified that she and her Married at First Sight spouse "are" definitely divorcing.
As Reality TV World reported this past summer, Jamie filed for divorce from Elizabeth on June 23, just two months after dropping the bombshell via social media that Elizabeth had left him and they were separating.
"There have just been some actions within the marriage that I cannot forgive," Elizabeth told Kevin on the MAFS special, "and there were just a lot of times when I never felt like I was enough in the marriage."
Elizabeth elaborated, "I always felt like I was constantly having to fix something of myself or change something. And just one day, I finally said, 'I am enough and why doesn't this person love me the way I love me?'"
Elizabeth recalled watching a clip from their Married at First Sight season that was "very eye-opening" to her.
"Because I just felt like I was still staring at the same relationship that I started with," Elizabeth shared, referencing how she and Jamie had explosive arguments on Married at First Sight.
FOLLOW REALITY TV WORLD ON THE ALL-NEW GOOGLE NEWS!
Reality TV World is now available on the all-new Google News app and website. Click here to visit our Google News page, and then click FOLLOW to add us as a news source!
With the couple's divorce underway, Elizabeth revealed that she and Jamie no longer talk at all.
"It's been very ugly," Elizabeth noted.
"I have a lot of anger, and I'm upset with myself more than anything because I am a strong person and I really stand up for anybody being treated fairly. And I'm really upset with myself because I didn't take my own advice."
Elizabeth explained that if a partner crosses your boundaries, "you need to remove yourself" from the relationship.
But the Married at First Sight alum acknowledged, "I'm not sitting here saying that I didn't contribute!"
Kevin pointed out how Elizabeth can be a "fiery person." As fans may recall, Elizabeth even flipped over her living room table during an "epic" argument with Jamie on the show.
"Yeah, and you know, I actually dissected why I did all of that, because I never did that kind of behavior before. I don't get mad! That's my thing, is I typically don't get mad," Elizabeth claimed.
"But I really do believe that kind of behavior comes from not being heard. It's not acceptable and it's not right by any means, like, you do not get your way by acting like that."
ADVERTISEMENT
When asked if Elizabeth would be willing to go to therapy with Jamie to try to fix their problems, Elizabeth replied, "No, no."
"I know the behavior I tolerated, and I do not [think he can change]," the Married at First Sight alum continued.
"I do not believe that at all, period. The things that came out of his mouth -- the fact that's inside of you or that you think that of me..."
Kevin interjected and reminded Elizabeth how she and Jamie looked happy together when he had seen them last. Kevin recalled Elizabeth and Jamie holding hands on the couch and how Elizabeth was showing off her new engagement ring.
"I feel like a lot of people kind of go through this type of behavior with a spouse. You will hide a lot because you're trying to keep the peace and you're trying to be as normal as possible. I really did see a future with us," the Married at First Sight alum explained.
"I loved him. I still do love him; I'm not a psycho and I can't just turn that off. But you try and you have that hope inside of you, like, 'I see our future. This could be really beautiful and maybe they're just going through something right now or maybe this is just a phase or something.'"
Thanks to a little push from Kevin, Elizabeth finally shared the upsetting things Jamie had allegedly said to her.
"Jamie would be like, 'Hey, you're not doing this right. You did this wrong.' And, you know, 'You said this wrong. I don't want to talk about that. You mispronounced this. Why is that over there? Why didn't you pick this up? Why is my latte too hot?'" the Married at First Sight alum claimed.
"You're pushed and you're pushed and you're pushed, that is a cracking point. That's what cracking looks like to somebody when you're just like, 'What the f-ck is wrong with me?! I didn't know I had these many flaws.'"
Elizabeth, however, insisted that she has no regrets about marrying a stranger on the show and staying with Jamie for this long.
"I always say, 'There are no failures, only discoveries.' I'm just open for life. I have no idea what I'm doing," Elizabeth concluded.
When Jamie filed for divorce from Elizabeth in late June, he shared on Instagram, "I did something I thought I would never have to do. Here I am, sitting in front of the Denver courthouse."
ADVERTISEMENT
Alongside a selfie of himself looking glum, Jamie continued, "After months of deliberation with Beth, we were just unable to find common ground. I had really hoped to resolve this, but it feels like we have reached the point of no return. So, I made the decision to go ahead and file for divorce for the sake of my own mental health and wellbeing."
Jamie called filing for divorce "one of the hardest things" he's had to do "in a very long time."
The Married at First Sight alum continued in his post, "It saddens me a lot to be at this point. I was never sure if I would get married. But, I sure didn't want to get divorced either (even if it was an arranged marriage courtesy of Hollywood)."
Jamie had first announced in late April that he and Elizabeth were separating and he wasn't sure if their relationship would ever recover, and then about a month later, Elizabeth broke her silence and told her Instagram followers in a Q&A session that she wasn't in the best place to talk about her relationship.
"I'm not ignoring [your messages]," Elizabeth wrote in May. "[I'm] just not [quite] ready to open up. But I appreciate you supporting the journey."
Elizabeth subsequently took to Instagram in mid-June with a video titled, "Let's talk Separation."
Elizabeth wrote in the caption, "Okay, it's time to address this moment happening in my life... I think you all deserve some honesty. I am healing and finding my new path and really appreciate all of the love and support. It means the world to me!!!! Xxoo Beth."
Elizabeth began the video by "getting the elephant out of the room" for her fans.
"I know everyone wants me to talk about my separation right now... And I don't want to gatekeep what's going on. Everyone who follows me has pretty much followed me because I was on the show where I married a stranger, and I totally welcome that. Welcome to my life! I'm not upset my relationship is in the public eye," Elizabeth said.
The Married at First Sight alum reasoned, however, "But come to find out, I'm a real human and I have these real emotions, and I'm just not ready to talk about some things in public yet. There are a lot of emotions that come with getting out of a long-term relationship, and when that time comes, I will talk about those."
"But I can't even form sentences right now," she admitted, "because I can't even put my emotions together."
ADVERTISEMENT
"I still cry in the middle of the night right now, guys, okay?!" the Married at First Sight alum confessed.
"So that being said, I totally respect everyone's comments and concerns, and I love you for that -- I do. Just give me a little bit of time... because I can't!"
But Elizabeth assured her fans that she'd get to the point of sharing eventually, adding, "So stick around and watch the show."
Jamie revealed on April 22 that he and Elizabeth had already been living apart for a month. He claimed Elizabeth left him because their "fighting had gotten really bad" and he had said a lot of things he shouldn't have "out of anger and frustration."
Jamie said while time away from Beth was "not easy" to deal with, he believed it was "necessary" to become a better version of himself.
The Married at First Sight alum then revealed in a Q&A session that, although he had "made a lot of mistakes," he wasn't willing to accept all the blame for the falling out with his wife.
"I also haven't felt like I've had any reciprocation back of, like, how to fix this and how to move forward. So she's been gone for four weeks. I think at this point, it's better for me to focus on myself and trying to become a better version of myself, honestly. That's all I can say," Jamie explained.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)
In terms of what happened or what went wrong, Jamie surprisingly disclosed, "Nothing. It's basically death by a thousand paper cuts, at this point."
"I think the winter was really hard on us here in Colorado and we weren't ready for all that," Jamie elaborated. "And being stuck inside with sub-freezing temperatures daily and snow on the ground for weeks at a time -- and we're both active... people."
"So I think we just pushed each other's buttons, honestly. And five months of doing that straight, here we are today."
ADVERTISEMENT
Jamie also admitted that he and his Married at First Sight wife felt "pressure" to create "an image of happiness" on social media, even though their relationship had been struggling for months.
"To me, that's not real. We took a lot of heat coming off the show. We were our most authentic selves, our most raw selves on that show, and I just want to be honest... A lot of people are invested in our life, and I feel like I owe you guys an explanation," Jamie said.
When asked why he couldn't work on himself while continuing his marriage -- given the couple had made a vow to support and love each other through sickness and in health -- Jamie said he believes a healthy marriage is when "people grow and evolve together."
"I don't think being apart and growing and evolving is always the best solution. I don't know, it's just my opinion. Why would you need to be apart to work on yourself?" the Married at First Sight alum shared, seemingly criticizing Beth's need for some space.
"It almost seems like maybe you shouldn't be in the marriage at that point... If you get to a point where things aren't evolving or getting better, then that's where I'm at today. I've got to step away and take care of myself."
Jamie went on to admit that he wasn't sure if Elizabeth was going to be angry at him for speaking about their separation publicly.
"I don't know. I'm really trying to do this in a tactful way. I don't want to say anything bad about her. I'm not here to bash Beth and drag her out behind the woodshed, so to speak, as we say in the South," Jamie noted.
Jamie said that prior to his April 22 separation announcement, he and Beth had talked about potentially going public with the news of their breakup in a united fashion.
"If we could've worked together to address this publicly, we probably could've worked together to work on our marriage," the Married at First Sight alum said.
Jamie later insisted he was "absolutely not" ready to date again.
"I'm good on the dating streets. I think for me, right now, I just want to take some time to work on myself. Dating is not going to solve anything. Finding that perfect someone is not going to make life great all of a sudden," Jamie reasoned in his Q&A.
ADVERTISEMENT
He concluded, "If I'm 45 having my first kid, or 50, you know, medicine is great these days. What are you going to do?"
Jamie said at the time that he and Elizabeth were both going to therapy and he planned to continue working on his anger management.
Jamie acknowledged he and Elizabeth probably "should've been going to therapy" together and that they had swept a lot of their fights under the rug -- which resurfaced and worsened later on.
But Jamie insisted on April 23 that he still loved Beth "a lot" and cared for her "tremendously."
"We just can't seem to get to the point where we can have enough healthy conversation to start discussing what this looks like going forward," the Married at First Sight alum said.
"Initially, I wanted her to be here and work on things together when she left. I thought this was going to be a three or four-day thing... It hurts. It's not what I want."
Jamie, however, said he recognized they both probably needed a little space from each other.
"And now I'm like, 'How do you keep reaching somebody who doesn't want to be reached?' She just wants her own space, and honestly, I've got to do what's best for me and take my own space too," Jamie said.
Jamie admitted he definitely "lost" himself trying to please Beth in their marriage, although he wouldn't call her a "demanding" person. He said he really wanted their relationship to work.
"I started putting my hobbies, my goals, my own personal stuff aside trying to focus on this relationship, and that's just a piece of advice -- don't lose yourself. Be true to yourself. Know yourself," Jamie told his followers.
He also said they got in "way over their heads" with moving around the country for Jamie's job -- including stops in San Francisco, Santa Barbara, North Carolina, and then Colorado.
ADVERTISEMENT
"I think we were both struggling to make each other happy... Why were we relying on each other to make our own selves happy vs. just being happy on our own?" Jamie noted.
Elizabeth and Jamie chose to stay together on Married at First Sight's ninth season, which was based in Charlotte, NC, and aired in 2019.
Back in May 2021, Elizabeth and Jamie talked about having kids together on a Married at First Sight: Countdown to Decision Day special that aired on Lifetime.
"Are we waiting? What are we doing, babe?" Jamie asked Beth on the show.
"Speaking of babies," Elizabeth began, "Jamie and I are actually thinking to start towards the end of the year now. So, like, it's in the conversation... I am going to be a cool mom!"
Elizabeth and Jamie hit it off right away when they met at the altar as strangers on Married at First Sight four years ago.
Elizabeth and Jamie were crazy about each other, as well as sexually attracted to one another, but their passion and tempers often resulted in volatile disputes.
Elizabeth sometimes got overly emotional over things that bothered her, while Jamie sometimes used his words as weapons and complained about their lack of physical intimacy. He even called Elizabeth "a materialistic c-nt" at one point.
However, with the help of the Married at First Sight's experts, Elizabeth and Jamie managed to get through every rough patch and effectively communicate, resulting in what they thought would be a happy and long-lasting marriage.
Both spouses recognized by "Decision Day" that they didn't want to live without the other.
RELATED: 'MARRIED AT FIRST SIGHT' COUPLES NOW: WHERE ARE THEY NOW? WHO IS STILL TOGETHER? WHO HAS RE-MARRIED? (PHOTOS)
ADVERTISEMENT
And click here for more updates on former Married at First Sight cast members and info on where they are now!
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
