Married at First Sight featured Jasmine Secrest and Airris Williams reaching a "turning point," Kirsten Grimes feeling "defeated" and "in the middle of the road" about whether to stay married to Shaquille Dillon, and Clint Webb and Gina Micheletti sleeping in the same bed at "The Couples' Retreat" during the Season 16 episode that aired Wednesday night on Lifetime.

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The remaining four Nashville-based couples on Married at First Sight for Season 16 are Airris and Jasmine, Kirsten and Shaquille, Gina and Clint, and Nicole Lilienthal and Chris Thielk.

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Domynique Kloss and Mackinley Gilbert decided to get a divorce on Day 12 of the process and were not featured in the latest episode.

Married at First Sight experts Pastor Calvin Roberson and Dr. Pepper Schwartz matched the five couples for matrimony in Tennessee.

The show features strangers meeting at the wedding altar and then spending the next eight weeks embarking on a honeymoon, moving in together, and navigating the joys and struggles of daily life together.

And at the end of the experiment, Married at First Sight's Season 16 couples will reach "Decision Day" and have to decide whether to remain married or decide to end their marriages and divorce.

According to Pastor Cal, this is the "most intense season of Married at First Sight yet."

The Married at First Sight broadcast began with only nine days to go until "Decision Day." The four remaining couples of Season 16 were going to gather at a house in the mountains in Gatlinburg, TN, and enjoy a weekend together known as "The Couples' Retreat."

While driving to the retreat, Airris and Jasmine played a question and answer card game, and Airris shared how Jasmine had taught him to give himself grace by living his truth. Airris told Jasmine that she had told him it's okay to feel how he was feeling, and to not feel guilty about it.

Meanwhile, Nicole wanted to talk about her and Chris' "residence situation." Nicole suggested looking for a house that would take their three dogs, but Chris said they could just live separately for a while if they needed to.

"If we're struggling so much to find a solution now, what are we going to do later?" Nicole asked.

Chris said they didn't need to find an immediate solution because they both still had their old places, but Nicole complained to the cameras how she's a proactive person and she knew that, in order to live together, they had to talk to leasing offices, look at different apartments, and discuss their budget.

Nicole wished Chris had "a little more pep" about this conversation, but Chris told Nicole to just have fun over the weekend and not think about their living situation until Monday.

Nicole was clearly bothered by Chris' unwillingness to talk about their living together and arrive at a conclusion, but she told the cameras -- after getting stuck in traffic -- that she wasn't going to have "a temper tantrum" and would try to be in a good mood so she wouldn't ruin the weekend for anybody else.

For Clint and Gina's part, they were still in the "friend zone" but needed to share a bed at the retreat. Clint wondered if sleeping in the same bed would finally ignite a spark between them.

Shaquille also hoped he and Kirsten would meet each other's needs and continue to communicate and grow as a couple.

That night, the four men competed in a pageant to be crowned "Mr. Couples' Retreat." Chris, Shaquille, Clint and Airris each had to dress in their best outfit and then answer a series of interview questions.

The women judged the pageant, and they were shocked when Clint walked out with a man bun, leather jacket, no shirt and mountain boots. Airris looked snazzy in a red-striped suit with a red sweater underneath, and Shaquille rocked a black-and-white pinstripe suit with a sparkly black tie.

Chris rocked a long black wig and made the women laugh with his dance moves.

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For the questions, the men were asked how they would lower the divorce rate, what advice they would give as a marriage counselor, and whether they believed traditional marriage roles still hold up today.

The men had similar answers, but Airris ended up winning the pageant with his great answers. Airris, for example, said he'd raise the legal age for divorce to 30, and he said his goal in a marriage would be to find out how to please the woman and make that happen.

Chris placed second, Shaquille finished in third, and Clint landed in fourth place for the pageant.

Jasmine said she was "1,000 percent proud" of her husband because he "killed it," and Airris loved the feeling of being a king and a winner.

There appeared to be no awkwardness when Gina and Clint went to bed together that night. They said it felt like Jamaica all over again, and the couple felt comfortable with each other.

With eight days to go until Decision Day, Jasmine was upset because Airris had meditated in the morning without her. Jasmine had asked Airris the night before if they could do it together, but Airris admitted it slipped his mind.

Airris was glad that Jasmine spoke up, and he wanted her to become more comfortable speaking her mind and her truth. Airris therefore conducted another meditation session for her, and the couple looked forward to a relaxing day together.

Chris then sent Nicole on a little scavenger hunt around the house. He taped papers all over the deck, sharing with Nicole how she's beautiful and strong, how she amazed him every day with her caring nature, and how he was thankful and grateful to be her husband.

Nicole received validation that she didn't even know she needed from Chris, and she noted how she was appreciating it more and more.

After the cast enjoyed a few laughs over bears approaching their cars and Clint going outside "in the middle of it," Kirsten and Shaquille went indoor sledding and had a blast. Kirsten, who was the adventurous one in the relationship, was actually a little scared to try this, and Shaquille joked about how he "never thought [he'd] see the day."

Kirsten and Shaquille then spoke about Decision Day, and Kirsten said, "I really don't know how it's going to go. I feel like we've been having a lot of issues as far as the communication, which has definitely taken a toll on me. I feel defeated at times, and it makes me feel uneasy."

Kirsten asked her husband, "Is this something we want to build on?"

But Shaquille thought their communication had improved and they were growing as a couple. Shaquille said he had been working on being positive and optimistic, and so Kirsten's stance on their marriage left him feeling a little confused.

Meanwhile, Clint and Gina sped things along by going to a go-kart track that resembled a small roller coaster, and Clint said sleeping next to each other really helped their relationship.

Gina said she was just focusing on each and every day, and she told Clint that she really enjoyed his company and his friendship.

Clint said he could see "for sure" why the experts had matched them, and he thought they were doing a good job of embracing the good parts of their relationship and having fun together.

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For their activity, Jasmine and Airris went indoor rock climbing, and Jasmine actually defeated her husband on one of the climbs -- which really impressed him.

Jasmine told Airris that she noticed he was putting more effort into their relationship since they had met with the experts but she wished he would give even more. Jasmine asked Airris to be present, put his phone away, and try to make their marriage work.

Airris agreed he could do better, but he also asked Jasmine to put him in his place if she felt the need to. In turn, Jasmine promised to be more vocal and expressive instead of simmering on her feelings and allowing her mind to wander.

That night, Clint cooked the cast dinner with the help of the other men while the women sipped on some wine on the house deck.

Gina told the women that she really enjoyed Clint as a person and was trying to love him as a friend, and Clint told the guys how he and Gina didn't have a preconceived outcome for Decision Day.

"We don't want to judge things too early... We're always assessing," Clint announced.

And Airris agreed, saying he and Jasmine didn't want to get to the end of the process with any regrets. Airris and Clint discussed how it'd be easy to give up but neither of them wanted to yet.

Jasmine also shared how she and Airris' relationship was improving, mainly because she was beginning to speak her mind.

But Airris was still waiting for "some type of spark" or "a-ha moment" with Jasmine in the intimacy department. Airris just needed to picture their relationship being happy and healthy after Decision Day in order to say "yes" to staying married.

Shaquille shared how he was attracted to Kirsten and got everything he had asked for, but he explained how Kirsten had been closed off for weeks -- and then it hit her that Decision Day was around the corner.

"Now she's like, 'I'm ready to receive you.' And me, on the back end, I'm like, 'Damn, I've been trying since Day 1! If we could've started off on a good note, a positive note, we could be further than Chris and Nicole," Shaquille told the guys.

For Kirsten's part, she declared how she was "in the middle of the road" when it came to saying "yes" or "no" on Decision Day. She thought her conversations with Shaquille didn't need to be so difficult, and she had yet to introduce her husband to her father.

Shaquille said he wasn't going to beg Kirsten anymore to spend time with her family, but it was clearly bothering him.

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During dinner that night, Airris told the group how he and Jasmine weren't where they wanted to be but they had all the resources to get there.

Airris shared how he wanted to create a safe environment for Jasmine to be vulnerable, and then he commended his wife on handling things so gracefully.

"I just want to salute you because that could not be easy," Airris said of Jasmine feeling a lack of security and safety in their marriage.

"You could've broken down. You've had your moments, but I feel like they were healthy moments... I feel like you could've left and said, 'I don't want to deal with this, this is too much.' You could've yelled or screamed, and none of that would've been wrong... But I just want to congratulate you for your strength."

Airris' speech brought Jasmine to tears, and she finally felt "seen" and understood.

Kirsten then announced how she needed more grace in her marriage and for things to be consistent.

Chris also told the group how he and Nicole had said, "I love you," to each other.

But Gina said she and Clint were "stuck in the friend zone." Gina said while there were "little annoyances here or there," they didn't fight and nothing warranted wanting a divorce. Clint agreed they were headed in the right direction and were trying their best to light a fire between them.

"When it starts feeling forced, it makes it feel even more unattractive. For me, I didn't sign up for this journey to be married to a friend. I have lots of friends," Gina explained.

That night, Airris had a work event that he couldn't get out of, and so he had to leave Jasmine with their pals for the 80s party that night. Jasmine was sad that Airris needed to leave just when they were starting to progress their relationship.

Jasmine called Airris' speech at dinner "a turning point" because she believed that Airris was finally seeing her for the woman she is. Jasmine said when Airris was singing her praises in front of everybody, it "fluttered [her] heart" a little bit.

Jasmine said she missed her husband already and couldn't wait for him to come back.

The cast then partied that night, celebrating Clint and Nicole's birthdays. Clint went all out with eyeliner, a spiked belt and cheetah pants, and the group had a blast -- even Jasmine, who was admittedly the "seventh wheel" at the party.

Nicole also said this was the best birthday she ever had because she had new amazing friends as well as a wonderful husband.

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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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