Married at First Sight star Katie Conrad says she was anxious about the future of her marriage to Derek Sherman one month into the extreme experiment but held on to hope they could work out.
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"I'm feeling like our relationship -- our marriage -- is a lot of ups and downs, so I'm nervous. But at this point, I'm feeling hopeful," Katie said on the March 18 broadcast of Married at First Sight: Unfiltered.
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Married at First Sight expert Pastor Calvin Roberson and MAFS Season 10 groom Zach Justice joined Katie on the Unfiltered episode hosted by Jamie Otis.
"Derek, he's trying," Pastor Cal noted. "He's really trying."
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Derek, for instance, made a framed collage of photos for Katie featuring her family as a one-month anniversary gift. Derek insisted Katie's family had become his own, and his sweet gesture brought Katie to tears.
But as shown in last week's Season 10 episode of Married at First Sight, Katie and Derek fought about his "unrealistic" dreams and Derek having his head "up in the clouds."
Katie wants a husband who can provide stability in life and prioritize his wife and kids above all else, so she scolded Derek for being so focused on pursuing dreams such as composing a Christmas song, building giant connecting tree houses, and backpacking across different continents.
"I think the fact that he's a dreamer, you're going to get a lot of emotionality from him," Pastor Cal reasoned.
"You're going to get a lot of emotional creativity from him. And I think that's pretty special."
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Jamie observed on Unfiltered, "Derek is a fighter, and he is fighting to win your heart."
"You don't find that in every man," Pastor Cal insisted.
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As far as the ups and downs of Katie and Derek's relationship go, one of the highlights was when Derek surprised Katie with a bubble bath, wine and chocolate-covered strawberries on their anniversary night.
"He did a really, really great job. We were, like, living our best life that night. It was really good," Katie shared.
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Katie, however, previously said on Married at First Sight she wanted Derek to have "more game."
One night, Katie confided in her girlfriends that she had made the first move on Derek in the bedroom and her husband tended to overshare his bathroom habits.
"I think he's working on ways to step up his game," Katie revealed on Unfiltered. "So I'm really happy that he's taking it seriously and making an effort."
Unlike Katie and Derek's relationship on the show, Zach's marriage to Mindy Shiben has essentially been failing on Season 10, not due to a lack of effort on Mindy's part.
Jamie therefore asked Zach whether a blossoming romance like what Katie and Derek had during filming ever inspired him to try harder as a husband.
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"Yeah, 100 percent, and it's not only just hearing the stories of the other couples. A lot of it is just knowing the things that can be done to do that. These are the little gestures that can go a long way," Zach explained.
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On last week's episode of Married at First Sight, Katie and Derek chose to stay together and work through their problems on "Recommitment Day."
Dr. Viviana Coles advised Katie to "fake it until you make it" and at least pretend to support Derek's wild dreams because spouses should be each other's No. 1 fan. And Pastor Cal asked Derek to embrace the great things he already had in his life and prove to Katie that she's his first priority.
Viviana told Katie she should want a fun relationship and she and Derek could have an excellent balance in their marriage given Katie is more of a grounded individual.
When the pair reunited, Katie apologized for shutting down on Derek and explained she was just worried a life with her wouldn't be enough for him.
"I'll always be chasing an adventure, but to me, the greatest adventure is what we're doing," Derek told his wife. "And that adventure doesn't end."
Katie promised to be more encouraging going forward and added, "I won't make fun of your Christmas song. I'll do the cowbell."
Married at First Sight, which currently airs on Wednesday nights at 8PM ET/PT on Lifetime, also stars Taylor Dunklin and Brandon Reid, Austin Hurd and Jessica Studer, and Meka Jones and Michael Watson.
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