Married at First Sight featured Pastor Calvin Roberson reprimanding Luke Cuccurullo for his "verbal abuse" to his new wife Kate Sisk, and Stephanie Sersen realizing sharing a home with AJ Vollmoeller was going to be harder than she had expected during Season 8's fifth episode Tuesday night on Lifetime.
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The couples were matched by Married at First Sight experts Pastor Cal, Dr. Jessica Griffin, and Dr. Pepper Schwartz based on compatibility, personality, life goals, hobbies, religion, views of marriage and gender roles, and much more.
Over the course of the season, which filmed for seven weeks, each couple will be shown moving navigating the joys and struggles of daily life together after agreeing to an arranged marriage.
The Married at First Sight broadcast began with the couples boarding their flights, leaving from their honeymoons in Costa Rica to go home.
Each couple decided to spend the night at one spouse's home before choosing where to settle down for the rest of the experiment.
Kristine checked out Keith's room in his grandmother's house, and she was shocked to see clothes everywhere and shoes piled to the top.
"This was definitely not what I expected. This is like a teenage boy's room and I am definitely going to be in charge of decorating our new place," Kristine said in a confessional.
Kristine determined she wasn't going to fit in Keith's room and so they should stay in a hotel for the night.
Stephanie then checked out AJ's apartment, and he said he sacrificed space for a prime location. AJ admitted he had "storage problems."
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Stephanie thought AJ's place was "pretty cute" but acknowledged it definitely wasn't big enough for the both of them. AJ noted his apartment didn't feel like a home and Stephanie was going to bring that aspect to his life.
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Will brought Jasmine home and she thought his house was pretty nice and organized, which was a pleasant surprise considering she came to the conclusion he's a messy person on their honeymoon.
Will also met her beloved dog, Bentley, whom Jasmine admitted was her "top priority."
Jasmine and Will seemed to be on the same page they both want children, and she said it was heartwarming to hear how family-oriented he is when he spoke of being an uncle and mentor to local children.
Pastor Cal then met with Kate, who revealed Luke was not attracted to her physically.
Kate recalled how Luke had said he felt "repulsed" and "dead inside" after their first real kiss on their honeymoon, and Pastor Cal appeared taken aback.
"That's not kind. I don't think anyone deserves that kind of language, especially when you're in the honeymoon phase of your relationship," Pastor Cal told her.
Kate feared the situation was only going to get worse, and then she wondered how bad things could possibly get.
"Outside of calling you names, that's pretty abusive," Pastor Cal noted.
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Kate said if a boyfriend had said something like that to her, she would leave the relationship and "write them off" as "a bad person," but since she was married, Kate was committed to working through her issues with Luke.
Pastor Cal didn't want Luke to make Kate feel bad about herself.
"I don't want you to be verbally abused, because what he said bothered me," Pastor Cal said, adding that staying together as a couple doesn't mean a marriage is working.
However, Kate promised Pastor Cal everything else Luke had said to her was "wonderful."
It then became time for Pastor Cal to speak with Luke, and he was clearly fired up.
"In all of my time on Married at First Sight and in all the couples I've dealt with and counseled, I've never heard anyone say something so vile to their spouse. It's abusive, it's rude, it's uncalled for, and we cannot allow this. We cannot stand for something this violent!" Pastor Cal told the cameras.
Luke then told Pastor Cal he had already experienced a lot of ups and downs in his relationship with Kate. He was nervous to find out what Kate had told Pastor Cal, and he was clearly uncomfortable to talk about their private issues regarding intimacy.
Luke confirmed his reaction to his first kiss with Kate, and then Pastor Cal said, "If you can't turn it around, respect this woman, be the man I'm expecting you to be, then you need to get the heck up out of here."
Luke said "a lot of emotions" were going through his mind and heart and his talk with Pastor Cal really freaked him out.
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"I know I didn't handle the situation the best, but I respect Kate as a person. The last thing I ever want to do is hurt Kate," Luke insisted.
Luke explained to Pastor Cal that Kate had placed a lot of pressure on him during their honeymoon and then drinking "intensified" his feelings and behavior.
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"Is she desirable to you?" Pastor Cal asked.
"Right now, I'm not 100 percent about it, but I'm working on it," Luke said.
"I'm really bummed out there's not that immediate physical spark, but I think attraction can grow once you get to know someone a little more. I feel right now, we are at a low point, and I'm really hoping we can turn it around."
Luke said, however, he was convinced his marriage was "retrievable" and he was still dedicated to the process. They both wanted to repair their marriage and make things work.
Pastor Cal told the cameras it was going to be necessary for Luke to provide the atmosphere where Kate could feel emotionally secure. If he succeeded, Pastor Cal noted, "They may have a chance!"
Kate made it known her attraction to Luke was strong and she had a good idea of why they were matched to begin with.
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On Day 9 of marriage, Stephanie and AJ aimlessly walked the streets and acted like tourists together in their own city. AJ shared his "useless information" with his wife, and they both had fun.
Stephanie said she and AJ got "closer and closer to love" every day and she was certain they'd both get to that point soon enough.
"I'm very glad I took this leap of faith to get married to a stranger because I want love in my life more than anything. It's the one piece I've been missing for a long time," Stephanie said.
Afterward, Pastor Cal visited Jasmine and Will the day before she was going to stay in his house for the first time.
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However, the couple apparently agreed on a 60/40 arrangement so Jasmine could feel like her husband was acting as a provider and giving her protection.
Pastor Cal pointed out Jasmine probably made more money than Will, but she explained her father had always been "the man" of the house and she grew up in a traditional family when it comes to gender roles.
Jasmine even admitted she wouldn't care if Will expected her to be "barefoot and pregnant," cooking in the kitchen.
Pastor Cal suggested Jasmine and Will needed to find their own norm and it might look different from what she was used to seeing from a couple.
"It's going to be very hard to break out of [my perspective]," Jasmine said.
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The couple revealed they could see themselves having children in two years but they hadn't done anything intimate other than kissing.
Jasmine assured Pastor Cal that Will was not "in the buddy zone" but she needed him to "take charge" and make the first move. Jasmine was game for anything as long as her husband initiated the interaction.
Pastor Cal told the cameras if they didn't get out of this "friend space," children may never be an option for them.
On Day 10 of marriage, Pastor Cal dropped in on Stephanie and AJ, who were very happy in their marriage.
The pair revealed they had discussed finances on Day 2 of their relationship and their "structured" approach to money aligned perfectly and it was an easy conversation to be had.
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AJ also said he found Stephanie "very attractive" and loved how driven she was at work. AJ intended to fight hard for his marriage the whole way through.
Pastor Cal suggested the couple should "cherish" these moments because a "stellar" marriage is rare.
Jasmine was then shown telling Will that she enjoyed spending the previous night at his house. Jasmine admitted to her husband that she was surprised they hadn't been more intimate yet.
"I think sex is very important in a marriage. I think that's one of the ways you communicate," Jasmine explained.
"Because it hasn't happened yet, I'm thinking Will is just focusing on being respectful. I do want to be respected, but I also want my husband to be aggressive and take the lead in every aspect of our marriage."
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Will assured Jasmine, however, he was sexually attracted to her. Will, however, wanted to get to know Jasmine first; he didn't want her to fee like "an object or a piece of meat."
On Day 11 of marriage, Pastor Cal checked in with Kristine and Keith.
Keith joked the experts did well in matching them except he asked for a tall woman with a big butt. He said he's "cool" with his wife being "fun-size."
Keith and Kristine discussed having one major joint account for bills and expenses as well as their own separate accounts. However, it seemed the pair disagreed on who was going to take charge of the household.
"It bothers me that Keith makes less [money] than I do, but I'm happy that he's in school and they didn't just match me with a sloucher. He has ambitions and he does want more, and that's what is really important," Kristine told the cameras.
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"What I'm seeing is that Kristine is doing the cooking, she's taking care of the finances. She's pretty much doing all of the heavy-lifting. I know she feels as though she's good with that for now, but that cannot be sustained," Pastor Cal told the cameras. "She will break under that weight."
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Pastor Cal then warned Kristine and Keith that trouble was coming down the road for them and they didn't even see it.
Keith acknowledged he was spoiled, and then Kristine revealed they had not consummated their marriage yet.
Kristine said she was really attracted to Keith but had trouble getting over the fact they didn't know each other one week ago. Pastor Cal, however, gave the couple permission to be married.
"I know that moment will definitely come, and when it does happen, it's going to be like fireworks," Kristine gushed to the cameras.
Meanwhile, Jasmine was getting settled in Will's home for their temporary stay there. While she was excited about the change of pace, she was a bit heartbroken to leave her own beloved home.
Will then revealed to Jasmine he had lived with an ex-girlfriend before. Jasmine was actually glad to hear that because "women can be very particular" and he had to learn how to be respectful of her space.
They'd eventually move into a place of their own, but in the meantime, Jasmine was looking forward to "practicing making some babies."
Meanwhile, Stephanie and AJ were getting ready to move into a new place together. AJ had never lived with a significant other before, so he was really nervous.
AJ also became a bit frustrated by the packing process because he didn't even know what his new place was going to look like. In addition, he didn't want to empty out his apartment since his office was still going to be there.
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Stephanie recognized this was a huge change for AJ and big change typically stresses people out. She wanted AJ to work this out "in a better and more constructive way."
Stephanie didn't want to fight or allow something in the marriage to go wrong, but she was still upset inside.
Kristine was then shown saying Keith's wardrobe could "definitely use some help."
Afterward, Kate and Luke moved in with each other, and Luke had apparently comforted his wife the night prior when she was feeling doubtful and concerned. He also gave her a nice hug when she was feeling nervous.
"I do not know how long it will take for Kate to trust me. I just feel bad I hurt her so bad to start. I'm just going to continue to show her that I'm going to step up to the plate and our marriage means a lot to me," Luke said in a confessional.
"I really want it to work, and I'm optimistic it will work out."
On Day 13 of marriage, it was move in day. Each couple was given a "neutral location" so they could start their lives on equal footing and build up their marriage from the ground up.
Stephanie could sense an entirely different tone from AJ as they moved in together. She noted his "attitude can change really fast" from happy to frustrated to angry.
"I'm realizing living together is going to be more of an adjustment than I thought," Stephanie told the cameras.
Kristine then cooked Keith a meal she knew he would love to show her affection for him, but she noted she wouldn't be cooking all the time.
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"He just really knocked this one out of the park," Kristine said in a confessional.
The couple enjoyed their first meal together in their first place, and they looked forward to many more intimate moments together. However, Keith worked nights, and so that was something Kristine had to get used to.
Meanwhile, Kate felt like she was on a roller coaster. They had fun and laughed a lot, but those silly moments would quickly boil down to serious and sometimes awkward conversations.
Kate said their relationship felt more like a friendship than a marriage, but she knew that's what Luke wanted and so she respected that and was okay with it.
Luke then surprised Kate with two bottles of her favorite wine to brighten the mood and help her transition easily into their new home. Luke said the last thing he wanted was a divorce.
The episode concluded with Kristine saying she was "ready for fireworks" with Keith behind closed doors, and Jasmine was looking towards "getting closer" to Will as well.
"I'm going to let this whole sex thing marinate for a few days," Will said, adding that he wanted their first encounter to feel natural and not forced.
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
