Married at First Sight star Dave Flaherty admits Amber Martorana's initial resistance to meeting and getting to know his friends didn't go over well with him.
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On last week's episode of Married at First Sight's seventh season set in Dallas, Dave mentioned he was excited to have his new wife to meet his friends after they hosted a somewhat awkward dinner party for two of Amber's pals.
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"All of my buddies' wives, they're just such good people," Dave said.
"That sounds great -- being involved with the wives, but I just have my own friends already, so I don't feel like I need other friends," Amber explained.
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During a Tuesday night appearance on Married at First Sight: Unfiltered, Dave discussed this conversation with host Jamie Otis, MAFS expert -- Dr. Jessica Griffin -- and fellow MAFS star Bobby Dodd.
Jamie asked Dave whether he was concerned when Amber clearly had reservations about meeting some of his friends.
"Yeah, I didn't like that answer, the, 'I already have friends; I don't need new friends' answer. I definitely didn't like that answer," Dave admitted.
"Yeah, it was kind of concerning, because I thought, 'Hey, let's be a part of each other's lives and each other's friends' lives."
Dave, however, came to realize Amber's response stemmed from deeper issues.
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"There seemed to be more insecurities going into that, like she was worried about being judged, and I didn't understand it. I think it was just a defensive thing, like, 'I already have friends,' because I don't think she actually feels like that, like, 'I don't need any more friends.' But yeah, it wasn't a good conversation," Dave explained.
Jamie then asked how Dave navigated through that conversation and ultimately got through it.
"I think I'm very patient, you know, I try to be very patient with some of these things, some of the instances that come up and I don't get the response that I'm hoping for," Dave said.
"I think a lot of times, her reaction initially isn't great and she softens on it. I think I honestly just try to be patient with everything, because we barely know each other."
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Bobby then chimed in and supported his friend by admitting it's important to him that his wife, Danielle Bergman, gets along with his friends as well.
"Yeah, I mean, you want that, best case scenario. You don't want a situation where your spouse doesn't like your friends or doesn't like doing things with them, or vice versa," Bobby reasoned.
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When asked whether Married at First Sight participants feel extra pressure to get along with their spouse's friends and family, Dr. Jessica replied, "Absolutely."
"The pressure on them is pretty high -- I think higher than couples who don't marry a stranger, and we know that the more support you have from friends and family, I think the greater the success of your marriage going forward, because it helps to add resilience to your relationship," Jessica continued.
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"For Dave in particular, I think this was concerning even more so because his friends are like his family, and that's something we knew from the outset. And so, for her to make those statements, I cringed a little bit, because I know how important [Dave]'s friends are to [him]."
Amber did end up meeting a couple of Dave's guy friends and their wives, however, and the gathering appeared to go very well with Amber finding herself comfortable and fitting in.
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