'Married at First Sight' recap: Zach refuses to move in with Mindy, Brandon takes off on Taylor, and Michael cries over "failing" Meka marriage

Married at First Sight featured Zach Justice refusing to move into an apartment with Mindy Shiben, Brandon Reid taking off on Taylor Dunklin after their honeymoon, Michael Watson breaking down over his "failing" marriage to Meka Jones, and Katie Conrad crying over lingering feelings for her ex-boyfriend during Wednesday night's Season 10 broadcast on Lifetime.


An unprecedented five pairs of strangers were matched by returning Married at First Sight experts Dr. Pepper Schwartz, Pastor Calvin Roberson, and Dr. Viviana Coles to marry on Season 10 of the Lifetime reality series.

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Brandon, a 34-year-old sales manager originally from the U.S. Virgin Islands who was raised in Washington, D.C., wed Taylor, a 27-year-old research scientist from Pittsburgh, PA.

Zach, a 32-year-old fitness professional from St. Mary's, GA, wed Mindy, a 34-year-old figure skating coach from Frederick, MD.


Michael, a 31-year-old education director from Washington, D.C., was shown marrying Meka, a 25-year-old category analyst from Baltimore, MD.

Katie Conrad, a 26-year-old mental health professional from Woodbridge, VA, married Derek Sherman, a 26-year-old cyber security engineer from Maryland.

And Jessica Studer, a 31-year-old nurse manager from Oak Harbor, OH, walked down the aisle to Austin Hurd, a 31-year-old network technician from Maryland.

Married at First Sight, Episode 7

The Married at First Sight broadcast began with the five couples returning home to the Washington, D.C. area, where reality was about to set in after their honeymoons in Panama.

The couples had only been married for one week at this point, and Katie and Derek said they were very happy to be home.


Pastor Cal revealed the show had provided each couple with "a neutral apartment" to live in and all the couples would be residing in the same apartment complex for the rest of the experiment.

Both parties were therefore able to feel they were entering the marriage on equal footing.

RELATED LINK: 'MARRIED AT FIRST SIGHT' STAR BRANDON CLAIMS TAYLOR COMMITTED ADULTERY DURING MARRIAGE, ONLY DID SHOW FOR PUBLICITY (EXCLUSIVE)

Derek knew there were going to be bumps in the road, but he said he was looking forward to making the apartment his home with Katie. He was excited to go through daily life with her, and Katie seemed to be on the same page.

Katie and Derek were so exhausted, however, they decided to go right to sleep their first night in the apartment.


Meanwhile, Meka was relieved to settle into her normal life and build on her marriage with Michael. Michael tossed a throw pillow on the floor once he moved in, saying he didn't like decorative stuff, and Meka admitted she wasn't okay with that.

But the couple was starting to have a playful dynamic with each other, and they shared a few laughs before bed.

Taylor moves in alone after Brandon goes missing

Taylor was then shown moving into her apartment alone after she and Brandon got into a fight in Panama over how he had been treating the show's production team poorly.

"I don't know where my husband is right now. He left the airport and I really don't know where he went. I feel like Brandon quits a lot. He runs away from conversation, he runs away from production, he runs away from a lot of things," Taylor said in a confessional.

"The amount of ups and downs I've had with Brandon have been a ridiculous amount of pivots and changes. I don't like to be disrespected, but I'm not ready to give up on this marriage, so I hope we can find common ground... and work out our issues."


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And this was the first time Austin and Jessica had ever lived with a significant other. Jessica acknowledged it was going to be a big adjustment, but both she and Austin appeared very happy together.

Jessica just asked Austin not to be messy and leave his clothes on the floor in the bathroom.

Zach refuses to move in with Mindy

As for Mindy and Zach, Mindy revealed to the cameras Zach had told her that he wasn't ready to move in together and so they planned to go their separate ways.

Mindy therefore moved into the "neutral apartment" alone, but she still maintained hope and optimism.


Mindy said she had signed up for Married at First Sight because was hoping to find the love of her life and a best friend, and she noted a person who chooses to do this show should be ready to give so much effort to a relationship.

"I know that's where I am. I just see this as an important step... showing I'm following through on my commitments. I'm hoping Zach will eventually decide to move in and really make this work, but only time will tell," Mindy told the cameras.

Zach explains why he won't move in with Mindy

On Day 8 of marriage, Zach said he was doing what felt right and comfortable to him. His goal was to allow his relationship to proceed naturally rather than forcing it by moving in with his stranger wife.

"I don't want to try to just put on a show," Zach said, explaining that he didn't want to go against what he believes in for the sake of the Married at First Sight process.

RELATED LINK: '90 DAY FIANCE: BEFORE THE 90 DAYS' COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER? WHO HAS SPLIT? WHERE ARE THEY NOW? (PHOTOS)

Zach was looking for clarity and said he was just being honest. Although his approach was unusual for this circumstance, Zach still intended to put a lot of effort into his marriage.


But Pastor Cal told the cameras, "Zach needs to man up and at least move in, get to know [Mindy], find out who she is, and see whether or not this woman can enhance your life."

The couples visit their partner's current home

Each pair of spouses then showed each other where they lived before appearing on Married at First Sight.

Jessica said Austin's place looked like "a Bachelor pad" and was "very minimalist." She noticed Austin didn't even have a sheet on his bed, but Austin didn't think that was weird at all.

Given Jessica is a very tidy and organized person, she was a little worried about living with Austin. However, Jessica didn't see that being much of a problem in the future, and certainly not a dealbreaker.

In turn, Austin was a little concerned because she packed a ton of clothes to bring over to their new place and he didn't think she needed all of them.

Michael immediately observed Meka was very clean but had an "unnecessary amount of pillows" on her bed. Michael took the liberty of searching her place and snooping through her room, but Meka laughed it off and claimed she had nothing to hide.

Pastor Cal visits Taylor

Meanwhile, Taylor said Brandon was not calling her back or answering any of her phone calls. Taylor said Brandon was not trying and was breaking the vows he had made at the altar.

Pastor Cal stopped by Taylor's place to talk about the challenges in her marriage, and she shared how she had a great time getting to know Brandon on their honeymoon but he disliked being filmed and was rude to the production team.

Taylor said she didn't like "the difficult" and moody side of Brandon, who had apparently tossed his wedding ring before leaving Panama and having a total "meltdown."

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"He told everybody on the bus to go f-ck themselves," Taylor told Pastor Cal, adding that Brandon was "acting very childish" and disrespectful.

Taylor admitted she was "so over it" and didn't want to be married to such a disrespectful person.


Pastor Cal couldn't believe what he was hearing and replied, "Wow... This is crazy. This is not the person we chose for you. I don't tolerate disrespect like that."

Pastor Cal had a tough time wrapping his head around the things Taylor claimed Brandon had done, saying he was shocked and disappointed in such behavior and needed to get to the root of the problem.

Brandon suddenly shows up

Suddenly, Brandon showed up at the apartment with a big bouquet of flowers for his wife. Brandon told Taylor he was sorry for everything that had been going on, but Pastor Cal still wasn't impressed.

Pastor Cal asked to speak with Brandon alone and attempted to find out why he was so affected by the cameras. Brandon explained it was tough for him to be so vulnerable all the time considering he's a very reserved and private person.

"I reached a breaking point and I was just tired. All I wanted was some time to myself and I had a meltdown because I felt like I was being played," Brandon said.

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"Played by who?" Pastor Cal asked.

"Everyone. Everyone involved. Taylor brought up how I'm being portrayed on TV, saying, 'I don't want to be married to someone who's an assh-le.' It kind of bothered me a little bit," Brandon explained.

"It was like, when the going gets tough, are you going to completely be done? And so at that point, I lost it and thought, 'This woman is not in my corner.' If I feel like you're not Team Brandon and you're not here for me, you've got to go."

Pastor Cal pointed out Taylor needed to be an equal partner in their team, and Brandon admitted the pastor was right. Pastor Cal also said he shouldn't lash out and cause damage when he's upset.

Pastor Cal accused Brandon of alienating his wife, and Brandon owned being "a stupid guy." He said he felt bad about how he had treated Taylor and needed to "man up" and take full responsibility for blowing up.

Pastor Cal said Brandon taking the blame was a big step in the right direction, and then Taylor rejoined the conversation.


Taylor said she liked the sweet, caring and nice Brandon but didn't want to be in the relationship if her husband continued to treat people poorly, and then Brandon said, "I'm sorry."

Pastor Cal told Brandon that he'd have to fight his expressions of anger in order to make his marriage work, and Brandon apologized to Taylor again and took all of the responsibility upon himself.

Taylor hoped to get past this argument and not be defeated, and he agreed. Pastor Cal said good behavior can distance the past, although the past cannot be forgotten.

Brandon then took Taylor's hand and vowed to respect her and be a better husband and version of himself.

"Don't screw this up. This can be great," Pastor Cal told Brandon.

Mindy confides in a friend

After Mindy moved into the new apartment, she said Zach hadn't been in much contact with her and she felt like she was the only person in the marriage. However, if Zach chose to show up, Mindy said she'd want to try to make things work.


Mindy opened up to a friend about how Zach had said he's not attracted to her but wanted to work on the marriage, and Mindy's friend insisted Zach was "full of sh-t."

"You don't deserve that. You deserve someone f-cking better," Mindy's pal said.

"You are a beautiful, wonderful person. You are hilarious and kind... You deserve someone that recognizes that and appreciates you for who you are... This guy is trash... His character seems like garbage."

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But Mindy wanted to give Zach a second chance because she had committed herself to him.

Katie liked the "beachy vibe" of Derek's single-family home, but she noted his room was small and she hoped he was outgrowing the whole roommate thing.


Katie found a gun and a bunch of twenties in Derek's nightstand and wondered whom she had just married, but the gun was apparently fake and the couple laughed about it.

Michael's place was pretty put together, according to Meka, but she joked about how it wasn't neat. She also discovered he didn't use his cabinets and always left a spatula on a pan on the stove, which Meka viewed as strange.

Derek noticed Katie had a lot of photos throughout her place, and he liked how family oriented she seemed.

On Day 9 of marriage, Taylor was trying to stay positive about moving in with Brandon, but she wasn't going to believe Brandon was ready to make a change for the better until he proved it in his actions.

"I feel like I've sacrificed so much [for this marriage] and if it doesn't work out, I'll be devastated and sad," Taylor admitted.

Brandon was a bit nervous to move in with Taylor considering they weren't in the best place, but he anticipated building on the foundation the couple had already built on their honeymoon in Panama.

Pastor Cal visits Meka and Michael

That night, Pastor Cal met up with Meka and Michael to see how things were going.

Meka said she had put too much pressure on herself to feel romance and a connection right away and that was overwhelming. She felt more comfortable in feeling she and Michael were allowed to be friends first.

Michael agreed living up to high expectations right away was a burden for them both and they had agreed to take their time in getting to know each other better. Because of that, they felt closer to each other.

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Michael revealed to Pastor Cal he had been promoted to principal of a school and was now making double his initial salary, and Meka shared she was totally okay with not being the breadwinner given her husband now made significantly more money.

Meka also shared Michael wanted to wait two years to have children and they had yet to discuss how many children they'd like to have. Meka said she didn't want more than three children, and Michael suggested they have two kids and adopt one since he had been adopted.


Michael's mother gave him up at nine months old to his aunt, and he said he was fine with talking about his past.

Michael continues to deny he gave Meka an ultimatum

Michael then revealed the reason why he was so direct about wanting to be intimate with his wife sooner rather than later was because he craves affection and a close connection since he had been missing that from his mother at a young age.

Michael said it wasn't about sex, the act itself, for him, but Meka called him out for having contradicted himself again.

Meka accused Michael of previously saying things that didn't coincide with his current explanation to Pastor Cal, and Meka admitted she didn't trust her husband and wasn't sure when he was telling the truth.

Michael continued to deny ever telling Meka that they needed to sleep together on their honeymoon or else he probably wouldn't want to be in the relationship.

Michael said he had expressed a general thought or expectation about having sex on the honeymoon but he had never given his wife an ultimatum saying she needed to do one thing or else another thing might happen.


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"That's not what he said. He literally, 'We need to have sex on our honeymoon or I'm not going to want to be in this marriage,'" Meka claimed. "I want him to be honest. This is the root of the issue... because he can't even admit that he said at."

Michael continued to argue he had used the word "expectation," and Pastor Cal appeared tired and defeated.

Pastor Cal told Meka to "lean on the positive" and attempt to move forward, and then Michael started to cry because he said he had really wanted their marriage to work.

"Why are you crying?" Meka asked.

"I just feel like I'm failing. That's all. For me in general, it's a lot of pressure that I put on myself and we put on ourselves to be everything for everybody," Michael explained.


"We're in a very unique, unorthodox situation, and it's hard because I'm trying very hard to make this work. I didn't come here to fail. I didn't."

Meka felt sympathy for Michael in that moment because he was clearly going through something in his head at the time, and she just wanted him to feel comfortable being open and sharing his feelings.

Meka noted they had issues they were "trying to work through" but she didn't view their marriage as failing.

Pastor Cal meets with Mindy and Zach

On Day 10 of marriage, Pastor Cal met with Mindy and Zach in attempt to figure out why they hadn't moved in together.

Mindy said Zach is an intelligent man and she saw so much potential in their relationship at first but Zach was clearly not attracted to her and giving her anything to work with.

Pastor Cal said attraction can grow and be built, and he assured Mindy that Zach's lack of attraction towards her does not indicate she's not an attractive person.


Pastor Cal was hoping Zach would find the good in Mindy because she's a beautiful person, especially since Zach had allegedly insisted he finds attraction through intelligence and in drive.

"It seems most of the issues are due to Zach's attitude... I need him to be completely open and honest without the fear of hurting Mindy's feelings," Pastor Cal told the cameras.

Pastor Cal tries to get Zach to explain what's going on

Pastor Cal therefore sat down with Zach, who called Mindy "intuitive" and "really cool," but he confessed he was struggling with attraction. While Mindy's attributes checked many of his boxes, he said they were missing that intangible chemistry that simply can't be manufactured.

Zach lacked a drive to discover, interact, explore and make things work. Zach said he didn't feel chemistry and their similarities or bond through friendship didn't really help the situation.

"Do you have a preconceived notion of what you want, and she's not it?" Pastor Cal asked.

"No," Zach replied, adding that Mindy was fit, intellectual, funny and social.


Zach said he and Mindy were a great match on paper but he just felt like there was something missing and he genuinely didn't know what to do.

Pastor Cal basically asked Zach if he had given up and didn't have much of a desire to keep going and proceed in the marriage, and Zach said Mindy's an amazing person with great qualities.

Zach was open-minded his attraction towards Mindy could evolve but they had no foundation in chemistry to work from. Zach wished he had an emotional intensity that just wasn't there with Mindy; however, he said he wanted to stay in the marriage.

Pastor Cal wasn't sure he believed Zach, suggesting maybe he was just confused or on the show for the wrong reasons.

Pastor Cal advised Zach to be patient, look beyond the superficial and find value in Mindy.

When Mindy and Zach reunited, Mindy admitted the process had been a struggle for her and Zach saying he's not attracted to her really brought her down emotionally.

Zach says why he allegedly won't move in with Mindy

Zach rattled off a list of qualities he liked about Mindy and said he had nothing negative to say about her, other than an attraction was missing. Mindy had no intention of giving up, but Zach refused to move in with her.

Pastor Cal pointed out the couple's new apartment had two bedrooms, but then Zach countered with, "It's not Roommates at First Sight."

Pastor Cal totally agreed, arguing that Zach had signed up to marry at first sight -- and married people live together.

Zach said one of his arguments for living apart from Mindy was that he genuinely wanted to miss her and feel a desire or sensation to reach out to her and text her and find out what she's doing.

Pastor Cal explained absence can make the heart grow fonder but it can also make a heart wander.

Mindy wanted to move in together and explore what could be there between Zach and herself, but Zach said he didn't know what to expect going forward but attraction can evolve and he genuinely wanted their marriage to work -- without trying to force it.

Pastor Cal visits Austin and Jessica

Afterward, Pastor Cal sat down with Austin and Jessica, who seemed to be doing great.

Jessica revealed Austin's salary was much lower than hers but he wasn't going to be making that kind of money forever and had started a new career in networking engineering.

The couple had agreed on contributing to a joint bank account for household expenses and bills as well as welcoming children in two to three years.

Jessica admitted to cameras it bothered her slightly that Austin made significantly less money, but she believed he was motivated in his career and that was more important to her.

Jessica and Austin claimed they were both happy in the sex department and had no complaints.

Pastor Cal visits Katie and Derek

Katie and Derek's relationship was also strong, and their families had apparently become the best of friends. The pair were attracted to each other, got along and had great conversations.


Katie said if she and Derek didn't accidentally have a child in two years then they'd begin trying in three years from that point.

However, Katie confessed her relationship with Derek felt very "surface level" and he seemed to consider her more like a roommate than a wife. Derek gushed about how much he really liked Katie, but at the same time, he didn't think love would develop for a few months to a year.

Katie was concerned Derek might never fall in love with her, especially since he had never been in love before. And she said if their romance was not going to progress, she probably wouldn't want to stay in the marriage.

Pastor Cal told Derek that people don't "fall in love," that they "grow in love" -- and love needs to be nurtured and watered. Pastor Cal didn't want Derek sitting around waiting for a certain feeling that might never come.

Katie then shared her ex had told her that he loved her, which made it difficult for her to decide to go through with getting married at first sight. Hearing this news "frustrated" Derek.

"If that [man] came back into your life right now, then what?" Pastor Cal asked Katie. "Would that be a problem?"


"It's hard to say," Katie replied.

"Are you still attracted to that person?" Pastor Cal probed.

"Yeah," Katie confessed.

Although Katie insisted she had emotionally cut ties from her ex-boyfriend, she noted it was hard and a "conscious decision" she had to make every day.

While discussing her ex, Katie started to cry and admitted it was hard to talk about. Katie said she was glad she chose not to get back together with her ex because he didn't treat her well, but at the same time, she didn't have a lot of time to process things and heal from that past relationship.

Katie then went on to say her lingering emotions over that past relationship made it more difficult to obtain a deeper connection with Derek.


"I came into this with a blank slate. I don't think I should be feeling like I have a competitor in a marriage. I don't think that's healthy for any marriage," Derek told the cameras. "This is a concern." 

Meanwhile, Meka and Michael were getting into a better place emotionally because Michael had been vulnerable and open with her.

The episode concluded with Derek saying he could see himself falling in love with Katie, whom he believed was "still on the fence" about their marriage.

Katie attempted to be transparent with her husband, saying she didn't have much time to get over her ex expressing his love to her right before the wedding. Derek just didn't want lingering feelings to affect their marriage, and Katie promised she had "no communication" with her ex.

Derek told Katie that he trusted her and would continue to trust her, adding, "I'm not him. I'm different."

"You are a better man and I'm happy I'm with you," Katie assured her husband.


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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski