Married at First Sight star Virginia Coombs says she and Erik Lake still aren't past Erik's views on guy friends and it's a constant conversation they keep revisiting on a case-by-case basis.
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Virginia, a 26-year-old social butterfly and partygoer, and Erik, a 34-year-old conservative divorced pilot, were matched by Married at First Sight experts Pastor Calvin Roberson, Dr. Viviana Coles and Dr. Pepper Schwartz to wed on Season 12 of the Lifetime reality series.
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Virginia and two of her Married at First Sight co-stars, Haley Harris and Clara Berghaus, appeared on Wednesday night's episode of Married at First Sight: Unfiltered, which is hosted by Season 1 participant Jamie Otis.
"You and Erik had a tiff about you having guy friends. How did you get past this and do you have any advice for Haley on how to get past her issues with [Jacob Harder]?" Jamie asked Virginia.
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"I mean, me and Erik aren't necessarily past the tiff of the guy-friend thing. It's still a constant conversation," Virginia revealed.
"I just think the biggest thing is just finding those similar things you do have in common so you can, at least on a basic level, have a friendship and enjoy each other on a daily basis."
Virginia added, "It's going to be Step 1 in moving forward in their relationship."
Virginia then also watched back a Season 12 clip of Erik talking to one of Virginia's close guy friends, Cole, at a party the couple hosted in their new apartment in Atlanta.
Erik explains to Cole in the clip he's eight years older than Virginia and so they were in "different sections" of their lives.
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"I'm just hoping that she knows what she signed up for [with this marriage] and that she can handle that," Erik explains.
"Every conversation we've had, she's been 100 percent all in about it. Hopefully you're feeling more comfortable," Cole says in reply.
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Erik then tells Cole that he seemed like a genuine and down-to-earth person, just like Virginia.
"Cole is literally one of my best friends in the world," Virginia gushed. "And I think Erik is definitely starting to feel comfortable with my guy friends and sees it's very platonic, not thinking anything crazy."
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Virginia added, "The whole night was just amazing, and seeing how well Cole and Erik bonded, it just makes me so happy."
Erik, however, clearly put a lot of weight on the age difference in his relationship.
"I feel at times that can maybe be a crutch, 'Oh, we're just different because of the age,' but overall, it's really not concerning at this point," Virginia shared.
Like Virginia and Erik, Jamie pointed out Haley and Jacob also have a large age gap between them given Jacob is 10 years older than his wife.
"I wouldn't say that the age difference isn't causing an issue," Haley revealed.
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"I have always, my entire life, had friends that are older than me. But while Jake is 10 years older, I think he can sometimes act a little bit older than his age. My friends are older but, like, his friends are older too. So we're both reaching a little bit."
Jamie then asked Clara for her take on Erik sharing his concerns about Virginia with her friends.
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"The guy-friend, girl-friend thing has been a big weight on Erik's shoulders, so I really think it's amazing that he went out of his way to meet her guy friends," Clara explained.
"I think it shows that he very, very much is committed to my girl, Virginia."
But Virginia let it be known the topic of girls having guy friends wasn't exactly put to rest in her marriage.
"I don't think it was necessarily put to rest," Virginia said, even though Erik had met her closest guy friends.
"With Erik, it's a very case-by-case basis. It's just going to keep being a slow process, I think. But I'm glad with the progress we've made so far."
The guy-friend conversation was a point of contention in Erik and Virginia's relationship because she often slept at her friends' houses after nights of partying and thought her friendships with men were totally sincere and innocent.
Meanwhile, Erik didn't think a guy could truly be a woman's friend unless he's gay or dating one of her friends. Erik insisted single guys probably always have the idea of hooking up in the back of their minds.
Erik, however, eventually came around to Virginia's way of thinking, probably once the couple fell in love.
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"I do believe guys and girls can be friends," Erik explained on a recent episode of Unfiltered.
"I know I said things that maybe went against that, and you know, I do regret some of the things and how I said them because it comes across a little different than what I actually feel."
Erik added that he'd never try to take Virginia's best guy friends away from her.
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