Married at First Sight's three couples are making completely different progress -- or lack thereof -- as they reach the halfway point in this extreme social experiment.

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Tres Russell and Vanessa Nelson have a beautiful relationship except for the fact Vanessa has trouble communicating with her husband.

When show psychologist Joseph Cilona personally asked Vanessa what she's afraid of during a drop-by visit, Vanessa explained, "My biggest fear is that I'm going to be fully invested, and the other person isn't, or that I'm going to put in a lot of effort, and it's going to lead to nothing."

Vanessa realized her inability to trust easily stems from the fact her father had abandoned her as a teenager when her parents got a divorce. Vanessa's mother reassured Tres, however, that Vanessa acts that way in most of her relationships because she has scars.

In a desperate attempt to get inside Vanessa's mind, Tres asked her about the situation with her dad before bed one night, and Vanessa willingly opened up about her struggle. The moment clearly brought them closer together and Tres was thrilled his wife was starting to let him in.

With Tres and Vanessa sitting on the top rung of the ladder of improvement, let's head downward. 

After moving into a new house together, Sam Role and Neil Bowlus decided it was in poor shape and an inconvenient location. Sam therefore suggested they move into her old townhouse with her former roommate. While Neil thought this would be a quick fix to their dilemma and they'd immediately look for a better place to live, Sam got very settled and wanted to stay there.

Neil was given only a few drawers for his clothes in Sam's bedroom and she informed him that they'd need to share a key and therefore coordinate entry/exit times in the house. Neil got up the nerve to say the arrangement wasn't working for him, and Sam barked at him for not saying something sooner.

During a sit-down conversation, Neil said he's take the entire burden of looking for a new home on his own shoulders, even if it takes 24 hours a day to find one -- a statement to which Sam replied, "That was so fake." Neil then quipped, "I learned from the best." He thought they were joking around but she wasn't in the slightest, so she kicked him out of her place.

Sam initially thought Neil "deserved" to be thrown out, but after calming down, she acknowledged her reaction was harsh. Sam then welcomed Neil back inside and the fight appeared to blow over. The pair agreed to live in separate residences until they found a new home together, but they took a huge leap forward in their relationship when Neil planned a murder-mystery dinner for her birthday.

And then there's David Norton and Ashley Doherty.

David went away on a brief work trip and told the cameras he truly missed his wife. They FaceTimed and seemed to be getting along great as friends, which was promising, but things came crashing down when Ashley admitted to the show's psychologist she just wasn't attracted to her husband.

David had been hoping Ashley's standoffish behavior was just normal for her, that she behaved like that in all her prior relationships with men until a certain point -- when could she ultimately trust them and feel comfortable. Ashley typically takes a few months to start being intimate with men, but she was "having a really hard time" moving beyond friendship.

The psychologist reminded Ashley it had only been three weeks, and then he advised her to stop focusing on just looks. Ashley broke down into tears, feeling defeated and guilty.

"I thought it would grow over time, but it hasn't been there," she told the expert.

Once David joined the conversation, Ashley explained, "Three weeks in, I feel like I should be comfortable with some physical things, and I'm really not."

David interpreted that as Ashley's just not physically attracted to him, and while she hated to admit it, he was right and it hurt him. Joseph Cilona asked the couple to stop putting pressure on physical intimacy so Ashley could have a chance for her feelings to catch up to David's. Although not happy, David obliged and Ashley was surprised he was fine with it. 

Married at First Sight airs on Tuesday nights at 9PM ET/PT on FYI.


About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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