'Married at First Sight' finale recap: Decision Day arrives and couples decide to divorce or stay together

Married at First Sight's sixth season concluded with two couples deciding to stay married and one couple getting a divorce on "Decision Day" during Tuesday night's finale on Lifetime.


Married at First Sight's extreme, eight-week social experiment ended happily for Shawniece Jackson, a 29-year-old entrepreneur and cosmetologist, and Jephte Pierre, a 26-year-old second grade teacher, as well as Ryan Buckley, a 29-year-old firefighter, and Jaclyn Schwartzberg, a 29-year-old teacher turned sales representative.

Both pairs decided to stay married after being matched by Married at First Sight experts Dr. Jessica Griffin, Dr. Pepper Schwartz, and Pastor Calvin Roberson in Boston, MA.

RELATED LINK: 'MARRIED AT FIRST SIGHT' COUPLES NOW: WHO'S STILL TOGETHER? WHO BROKE UP? (PHOTOS)

However, Molly Duff, a 25-year-old commercial insurance adjuster, and Jonathan Francetic, a 28-year-old U.S. Army veteran and former financial associate, unfortunately opted to split and file for divorce.


The Married at First Sight episode kicked off with three days left until the couples had to make their final decision on whether to stay together or part ways.

After a blowout fight in Orlando, FL, all signs pointed to the fact Molly and Jonathan were done with each other.

Molly felt sad, numb and in shock that her marriage was over. She admitted it would take her a while to get over the relationship because she had put so much effort into it.

Molly said Jon made it very clear he regretted doing the whole show to begin with. On paper, Jon checked off all of Molly's boxes, but she just never found herself physically attracted to him. Molly felt like a failure because the experts had set her up with a great match -- someone who shared her same values, morals and hobbies.

Since Molly was missing chemistry with Jon, she expressed sadness over messing it all up and disappointed people.


"I feel very nervous going into Decision Day just knowing I'm going to see Jon again and he pretty much hates me at this point," Molly told the cameras.

"I don't think he's going to be open to get back in the marriage. Would I love it? Absolutely, but I can't force people to communicate and resolve things."

Meanwhile, Shawniece explained she definitely wanted to stay married to Jephte but worried about what was inside his head, especially after their big fight in Vermont. Jephte was also always the person who was reserved and hesitant in the relationship.

RELATED LINK: 'MARRIED AT FIRST SIGHT' STAR SHAWNIECE JACKSON PREGNANT WITH HER FIRST CHILD!

Jephte was then shown calling a friend and saying Shawniece was kind, cool and caring; however, he wasn't in love with her yet. The idea of being in a marriage without love scared Jephte, but at least from Shawniece's point of view, she was falling for her husband more and more every day.


With two days left until Decision Day, Dr. Jessica told the cameras she didn't believe Molly and Jonathan did everything they could to make the marriage work. Dr. Jessica also noted that "hurt people hurt other people," and so there were probably deep emotions contributing to Jon's anger.

Jonathan then took a hike with his mother and discussed how Molly had shut down and put her walls up after they said, "I do." Jonathan felt helpless the whole time, saying there wasn't much more he could have done in that situation.

"I don't think Molly and I can repair the damage that's been done to our marriage, and I don't think Molly wants to fix it anyways," Jon told the cameras.

As for Ryan and Jaclyn, Ryan was still unsure about whether he wanted to stay married, and wished he wasn't. Ryan and Jaclyn simply fought a lot, and when they'd fight -- even over little things -- divorce would be brought up and threatened.

Ryan thought Jaclyn was wonderful, and he knew they were matched for a reason, but the firefighter's parents insisted it doesn't take eight weeks to solve all the problems in a marriage.


Jaclyn then acknowledged in a confessional she wasn't in love with Ryan yet. But after going through so much together, Jaclyn could envision herself falling in love with her husband. In order to get to that point, however, Jaclyn needed to fully trust Ryan.

"I want it to work. A lot about him I adore. I want to say yes. I want more than anything to want to say yes," Jaclyn told a friend, "but I need to be more assured he wants this and he won't just, at any point, check out."

The night before Decision Day, Shawniece set up a romantic date for Jephte outside their house complete with lights, pillows and a blanket. After giving Shawniece a joke gift of socks, he bought her some lingerie, which was definitely outside of his comfort zone.

Shawniece also registered for a star in their names, telling the cameras that even if they couldn't go the distance, they'd always have a star together in the sky. Shawniece's gift made Jephte very hopeful their marriage could work.

Meanwhile, Jaclyn was feeling vulnerable because Ryan refused to communicate with her and answer her calls and text messages.


Jaclyn was desperate for some reassurance from her husband, and she called the constant need to question his feelings for her "sickening."

"I was falling, and I feel like you're only trying to prevent me from it, and you're doing a really good job lately," Jaclyn told Ryan over what was supposed to be a romantic dinner.

Ryan said he wasn't trying to push his wife away, but he also wasn't in love with her yet. Jaclyn simply asked Ryan to be true and sincere with his intentions on Decision Day. She wanted him to follow his heart.

As for Molly and Jonathan, they hadn't spoken to each other since meeting with Dr. Jessica in their previously-shared home. Molly didn't think Jon realized how much this hurt her, but Jon was venting about how Molly didn't even deserve how much he fought for their relationship.

"I'm so far beyond sad. I'm checked out and done and ready to move on at this point," Jon told the cameras.

Decision Day then arrived, and Molly and Jonathan met with the experts first. Molly apologized to Jonathan, saying the only thing that was missing for her was the fact she didn't want to "jump his bones."


Molly was grateful for how Jon entered the marriage for the right reasons, but Jon couldn't come up with one thing he was thankful for by participating in this experiment. Jon said he completely regretted doing the show to begin with, because not only did he lose his wife, but he also lost his job and his apartment.

Jon felt like he was starting over in life, and Molly was upset to hear that he got absolutely nothing out of the eight weeks he had spent with her. Molly attempted to tell the experts that this type of behavior from Jon never helped their situation, and things going sour wasn't entirely her fault.

But at one point during the meeting, Molly and Jon started flirting and cracking jokes back and forth. Their banter was natural and it seemed like they had chemistry, so Pastor Calvin confessed it was "ridiculous" they couldn't make things work.

"If he said he didn't want a divorce, would you?" Dr. Jessica asked Molly of Jonathan.

"It's hard for me to give up if my partner is not giving up," Molly replied.

But Molly still said getting a divorce was the right decision for them both. Molly didn't feel that she fell short in any regard during her time on the show and that Jonathan and herself just weren't meant to be.


Jonathan then agreed he wanted a divorce as well because they had "crashed and burned" as a couple. Jonathan didn't think the damage done to their marriage could ever be reversed.

Ryan and Jaclyn were up next, as they sat down with Dr. Jessica, Pastor Calvin and Dr. Pepper.

Ryan noted he had to stop trying to win every argument, and he ultimately told Jaclyn that he wanted to stay married.

Ryan told his wife that she was the person he wanted to be with and he wants to make her happy. Ryan added that he only had eyes for her. Jaclyn also wanted to stay married, saying there was so much for them to look forward to and she was falling in love with him.

"I think I found something I was really looking for, and that could be a lifelong partnership," Jaclyn told the cameras.

Ryan expressed how "lucky" he was to have Jaclyn by his side, adding, "I want to spend the rest of my life with her."


And the episode concluded with Shawniece and Jephte's choice on Decision Day.

Jephte admitted that sex would never make him feel closer to his wife, nor would it make him fall in love with her. Jephte also confessed that he probably had sex with Shawniece too soon, before he was emotionally ready.

Shawniece just sat in her chair quietly, taking this all in. Jephte then said he was afraid he might never fall in love with his wife. While Shawniece could obsess over this notion, she knew it wouldn't be healthy to do so, and she had no desire to drive herself crazy. Despite the unknown and Jephte's fears, he told Shawniece that she's a great person with such a big heart.

"And I think we're both meant for each other," Jephte noted, "so I'd like to stay married."

RELATED LINK: 'MARRIED AT FIRST SIGHT' COUPLES NOW: WHO'S STILL TOGETHER? WHO BROKE UP? (PHOTOS)

Shawniece almost immediately broke down into tears, telling the experts she was so thankful for them and for Married at First Sight.


"I really prayed about it and I want you to know you're an awesome person and I know you have a great heart," Shawniece told her husband, "and I want to stay married because I believe in us. We both challenge each other and make each other stronger, and together, we will be unstoppable."

RELATED LINK: 'MARRIED AT FIRST SIGHT' STAR SHAWNIECE JACKSON PREGNANT WITH HER FIRST CHILD! 






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