'Married at First Sight' recap: Ikechi says Emem violated his sexual consent, Camille and Thomas consummate

Married at First Sight featured Ikechi admitting Emem had turned him off by allegedly violating his sexual consent, Emem feeling confused and rejected, and Camille and Thomas consummating their marriage during the Season 18 episode that aired Wednesday night on Lifetime.


Married at First Sight's eighteenth season stars five Chicago-based couples marrying at first sight, moving in together, and trying to make newlywed life work for eight weeks.

RELATED: 'MARRIED AT FIRST SIGHT' COUPLES NOW: WHERE ARE THEY NOW? WHO IS STILL TOGETHER? WHO HAS RE-MARRIED? (PHOTOS)

The five couples who tied the knot at first sight are Camille and Thomas, Karla and Juan, Madison and Allen, David and Michelle, and Emem and Ikechi.

If at the end of the eight-week experiment a couple is unhappy, they can choose to split and part ways on "Decision Day."


The Married at First Sight broadcast began on Day 19 of marriage with Madison confronting Allen about how she was "disappointed" in him for not attending the flag football game.

Allen explained how Madison had essentially ignored him at the bar following his birthday party and she "disappeared" on him. Madison said she went to the bathroom and couldn't find him after that.

"We both have phones," Allen argued. "I feel more of the 'solo Madison,' and I haven't felt 'the us' yet. I think it was maybe retaliation, I think, in some sense, on my part."

Madison called that a "trigger" for her because she had experienced that "back and forth" conflict in past relationships, but Allen clarified how he got in his head and didn't intentionally try to hurt her.

"And I didn't want to be a downer at the football thing," Allen explained.


Madison told Allen that she was trying to make their relationship work but she was struggling.

Meanwhile, Thomas spoke to Camille about how it was probably difficult to be a Black woman in America and he could understand her perspective on their cultural differences a little better.

But Camille confirmed that she liked Thomas and didn't want to change him, and so the couple felt good about where they were at in their marriage.

For Emem's part, she and her friends were still upset about the fact Ikechi had called her "aggressive" and got defensive about it. Emem thought asking questions was a direct way of getting to know someone, but she didn't consider that behavior aggressive.

Emem pointed out how she and her husband needed to dive deeper and stop having shallow conversations.


"I don't know how to show up because I don't want to be considered aggressive," Emem complained. "I don't know what's to come."

On Day 20 of marriage, Michelle and David got their eyebrows done together, and David said he was trying to open Michelle up more. The couple therefore decided they should do an activity together, such as bowling, in order to let loose and have fun.

Thomas was then shown surprising Camille with a personal massage at home while she was surrounded by candles and rose petals. Thomas also had champagne waiting for her, and Camille thought the gesture was so sweet and thoughtful.

Camille said she felt very "special," and Thomas' massage skills clearly turned her on.

"Maybe it's time to stop playing around and see what it's all about!" Camille quipped at the end of her massage.


The couple then kissed, headed to the bedroom, and kicked the cameras out.

Three weeks into marriage, Karla opened up to Juan about how there was a lack of communication in her family and her parents didn't really express themselves to her or show her affection. Karla explained that's why it was so important to her to receive affection from her husband.

"I understand it's a big deal for you, you know?" Juan replied.

"I am listening and hearing you. I just haven't gotten there yet, and I hope you're not taking it personal. The affection you're looking for, I'm working toward that. But to get to that place, you just have to be patient with me."

Karla replied, "If I'm important to you, you'll make the effort -- and actions speak louder than words."


When Michelle went bowling, she told David's friends that he had good values but she was having trouble accepting his lifestyle and living arrangement, which clearly played a role in their lack of a physical connection.

Michelle also complained that David cussed too much, which his friends insisted was "a simple fix."

David was frustrated to hear Michelle's complaints. He said he felt like "a punching bag" and that Michelle wasn't getting anything she wanted out of their marriage.

Michelle admitted maybe her expectations were too high and unrealistic, and David's friends asked her to see the positives in David and try to focus on those for a while.

David was upset Michelle was zoning in on his lifestyle and finances rather than seeing how genuine he is and how much he cared.

Madison and Allen later met with Married at First Sight expert, Dr. Pia Holec, and Madison admitted she was used to being single and so it was hard for her to break out of those habits.


Madison acknowledged she could prioritize Allen more, but she asked him to compliment her more in return.

Since Madison was struggling with the physical connection, Dr. Pia gave them a sexy game of Twister to play in which they had to answer intimate questions about themselves while making game moves.

When Camille and Thomas met with Dr. Pia, Thomas gushed about how Camille impressed him every single day and he felt lucky to have her, and Camille revealed that the couple had consummated their marriage.

Camille said sex made her feel closer to Thomas and she'd be open to being playful in the bedroom. Camille revealed nothing was "off limits" for her, including whips and chains.

"It gets a little crazy over here!" Camille quipped, adding how she and her husband were having a pretty beautiful progression.

Later on, Camille brought Thomas some stud earrings, and she liked how he looked. Camille gushed about how Thomas' "swag meter" kept going up and she could tell that her husband was feeling himself.


On Day 25 of marriage, Emem filmed herself sharing how she and Ikechi had gone out to dinner.

"I did ask him a question, like, 'What did you do to prepare for marriage?' He raised his voice in the middle of the restaurant to the point where people around were looking, and I had to say, 'You know what? You're getting loud and we need to go,'" Emem claimed.

"I am so confused how we went from happy and.... enjoying each other's time to now me asking questions about marriage and it turns into something so large like this."

Emem admitted her marriage "was not healthy" at this point and she needed the experts to step in.

During Juan and Karla's counseling session with Dr. Pia, Juan explained how he didn't feel "chemistry" with Karla yet and he didn't feel an urge to hold her hand or kiss her.

"I don't think the physical attraction is there for me... I am not there yet," Juan said, although he acknowledged that Karla was a beautiful girl.


Karla asked Juan to make more plans for them and spend more quality time with her.

It then became time for Emem and Ikechi's meeting with Dr. Pia, and there was some immediate tension between them. Dr. Pia accused Ikechi of having an attitude, but he clapped back saying he was just tired.

Ikechi complained about how Emem continued to pepper him with questions, allegedly, and that's not the way he wanted to get to know her. And during the session, Dr. Pia had to ask Ikechi to stop with passive aggressive comments.

"This is about sex," Ikechi revealed. "She asked if I want her, and I said, 'Hey, I don't want to have sex with you until I know... who we are and what we are.'"

Ikechi said he wanted to mentally know Emem before they took that step in their relationship but Emem still made a move on him and initiated sex -- and he had to turn her down.

Ikechi claimed Emem started acting funny around him after that and he had to walk around on eggshells in their apartment.


Ikechi called Emem aggressive again and said he had to tell her multiple times that he wasn't ready for sex.

"It just feels like there are times when I'm just a piece of meat in the house, like, the things I'm not ready for, she's like, 'Let's go.' And I'm like, 'Look, I told you to stop,'" Ikechi explained.

"I've expressed that, and it seems like she's like, 'What the f-ck are you talking about?' It's like, 'Whelp, you're my husband,' and I'm like, 'Well, I don't know you.'"

Dr. Pia asked Ikechi if it felt like Emem was "violating [his] consent," and Ikechi responded, "That's what I said."

Emem admitted she was confused because she had received mixed signals from Ikechi. She recalled, for instance, how she had her hand on his leg and he moved it to his private parts during the honeymoon.

Emem told Dr. Pia that she was touching him, "nothing crazy," and he asked her to stop. Emem said she simply wanted to know why and Ikechi responded by saying he didn't know her.


Ikechi allegedly thought Emem would've wanted intimacy with any man at that point, but Emem insisted she felt comfortable with Ikechi and she just wanted him.

Ikechi explained how Emem being physically aggressive was "a turnoff" for him because he didn't want to be intimate with someone he barely knew.

Dr. Pia asked the couple if they could start over and just get to know one another, and so they both agreed to try again.

Emem apologized for having made Ikechi feel uncomfortable, and she acknowledged it was "too much" for him and she was hearing that now.

Later on, Michelle explained to Dr. Pia how David's lifestyle made her feel like she was going back to her childhood, which would feel like failure to her.

Dr. Pia asked Michelle to try to stop focusing on the superficial, but Michelle said she worked hard to attain those things and she had every right to enjoy them.


Michelle didn't think David was going to be able to be a provider for her, but Dr. Pia said there are other ways to provide for a spouse and David has shown and proven that he could give her security and stability.

After Madison and Allen played their sexy game of Twister and learned new details about each other -- such as Madison had already thought of Allen in a sexual way -- Juan opened up on Day 26 about his childhood and how he had moved around a lot.

Karla shared how she wanted to start a cosmetology business, and Juan said he'd help her in any way that he could, including setting her up with her marketing team.

The episode ended with Ikechi and Emem trying to be authentic with each other, and Ikechi shared how he just wanted to enjoy the moment with her and essentially take sex off the table for a while.

Dr. Pia also showed Michelle a video of what she had asked the experts for at the beginning of the process, and Michelle realized all of her requests described David and she never mentioned finances.

Michelle appeared to shut down in that moment and get annoyed, and she vented to Dr. Pia about how she simply didn't have a connection with David.


"You are not allowing yourself to have a connection with him," Dr. Pia concluded. "Let that man in!"

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