Married at First Sight star Olivia Cornu has revealed she's been a fan of the show for a long time and thought to herself that if anybody can marry a stranger and make a marriage work, she could do it!
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Olivia, a 30-year-old nurse practitioner from Bossier City, LA, and Brett, a 35-year-old with a career in information technology from Gretna, LA, were matched by Married at First Sight experts Dr. Pepper Schwartz, Dr. Viviana Coles and Pastor Calvin Roberson to wed on Season 11 of the Lifetime reality series.
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But on a recent episode of the show's eleventh season, Olivia and Brett decided to end their marriage before "Decision Day," mainly because Brett decided it wasn't worth the trouble to keep trying to make things work.
During the October 14 broadcast of Married at First Sight: Unfiltered, Olivia watched back the clip of her final conversation with Brett in which they agreed to part ways.
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"I don't want to wait five or six years to have kids. I want to have kids in the next year or two," Brett said in the footage. "I know that's not a priority for you right now, which is completely fine."
Olivia replied, "I never said I never wanted to have kids. Do you think that between now and 'Decision Day' anything could be done to go in the other direction?" Olivia said.
"No," Brett replied. "No thanks."
On Unfiltered, Olivia admitted, "That was hard to watch," and then host Jamie Otis -- who starred on Season 1 of Married at First Sight -- asked what it was like for Olivia to have that tough conversation with Brett.
"Conversations with Brett are really hard," Olivia said.
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"They always seem very one-sided, but you're married at the end of the day and so you want to make sure that you've exhausted all your options before you just say, 'Okay, I'm done.'"
Olivia continued, "I asked to make sure, like, 'Is there anything that we can do?' And he was just like, 'We're different and that's that.'"
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Olivia got a little emotional as she recalled how badly the experiment ended for her.
"I think just the process [is upsetting me] because I've been a fan of the show for a long time," Olivia explained.
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"I always sat back and watched and just been like, 'I can do this! If anybody can do it, I can do this!' So it's not so much being heartbroken about mine and Brett's marriage not working out; it's just you set yourself up and you want something successful and happy."
The nurse practitioner added, "So I think I'm just more upset about the situation."
Jamie pointed out the silver lining is that Olivia must have learned new things about herself, and Olivia responded, "Oh absolutely."
Olivia's Married at First Sight co-stars Karen Landry and Henry Rodriguez joined her on Unfiltered, and Karen offered her perspective on whether Brett gave up on his marriage too soon.
"I can't define what's too early or too soon for anyone, but I don't appreciate the way that he handles situations. He didn't seem like it even phased him in that moment," Karen said.
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"And I think for me, that's the part that is hurtful."
Jamie noted, "100 percent," and then asked Henry for his thoughts on Brett and Olivia called it quits prematurely in the experiment.
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"To be honest, if you really don't think it's going to go anywhere, I actually think, in my opinion, it's okay to do because whatever," Henry shared.
"I mean, why waste anybody's time? I feel for Olivia, but honestly, he's not worth it."
Jamie concluded the Unfiltered segment by saying, "Why go on Married at First Sight if you don't really want to get married?"
After Olivia visited her parents one day during the coronavirus pandemic, she returned to an empty apartment in which Brett had left with all of his belongings and even the food in their pantry.
"I was very caught off-guard when I saw everything was gone, and so it was just kind of a slap in the face," Olivia shared on Unfiltered.
She added, "There was no clarity and he just says it was miscommunication, but I felt like it was a little intentional."
Brett claimed he had to move out of the apartment after about six weeks of quarantining with Olivia because his cat was not getting along with one of Olivia's cats.
"You know, I feel like this is just a prime example of how Brett never took responsibility for his actions and that it was always something else and never a reflection on his behavior or his attitude in the whole situation," Olivia explained.
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"The whole cat thing -- it's just a cop-out. Come on, let's be real."
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While Olivia and Brett tried to work on their problems after having helpful counseling sessions with the show's experts, their relationship became stagnant and they stopped getting to know each other on a deeper level or working on initiating physical and emotional intimacy.
It didn't help when New Orleans was on lockdown amid the spread of COVID-19 and Olivia and Brett were forced to quarantine with each other long after "Decision Day" was postponed.
Olivia also continued working as a nurse practitioner, which seemed to worry Brett given his wife was constantly being exposed to the virus.
On Day 73 of marriage, which was the couple's 40th day in lockdown, Brett essentially gave up on his relationship.
"It could be a few months before we finish, I don't know," Brett said of the experiment as he packed his bags to leave Olivia, "but I can't keep putting my life on hold anymore, so I'm moving back into my house."
When Olivia returned home to an empty house, she called Brett on the phone to get some answers. Brett explained he didn't see the point in trying to make things work when they clearly had "fundamental problems" and simply "want different things out of life."
Olivia said communicating with Brett was like "pulling teeth," and Brett told Pastor Cal he had a desire to be intimate with Olivia "early on" but those feelings just faded or "fell out" about five weeks into the process.
Although Olivia wasn't quite ready to give up on her marriage, it was clear Brett had thrown in the towel.
"I am disappointed. I went into this as someone who really thought I was taking a huge risk and a chance on love, and I think the person at the end of the aisle didn't have those same expectations," Olivia vented to the cameras in a recent episode.
The latest Married at First Sight episode showed Amani calling Brett's behavior "very petty" while helping Olivia move out of her apartment. (MAFS star Miles Williams even called Brett "an assh-le" on a previous episode of Unfiltered).
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Olivia said she was "ready for closure" and texted Brett every now and then. Olivia said Brett once asked her to hang out but told her it would be okay for her to begin dating other people.
"I 100 percent believe in love and marriage. Unfortunately, Brett wasn't meant for me. But I am hopeful. I am hopeful for the future and that love is there waiting for me," Olivia said.
The remaining four couples in the experiment then attended a retreat together while Olivia and Brett stayed behind and attempted to move on with their individual lives.
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