Married at First Sight stars Miles Williams and Bennett Kirschner believe Brett Lindsey should have validated Olivia's feelings when she feared he wasn't being sincere, with Miles adding it was "frustrating" Brett got defensive instead.
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Olivia, a 30-year-old nurse 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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On Wednesday night's episode of Married at First Sight: Unfiltered, Miles, Bennett and Pepper watched back a Season 11 clip in which Olivia expressed concern to Pastor Cal that Brett acted like two different people on and off-camera.
"I want to make sure he's in this for our marriage," Olivia said in the clip, suggesting her husband wasn't being sincere.
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"I feel like she's misconstruing my sort of concern over her protecting us as a couple and being conscious of how we're portraying ourselves to the world with me being artificial. The fact we're even having this conversation right now shows that I'm being very sincere about all this," Brett replied.
Pastor Cal asked Olivia if she believed her husband in that moment, and Olivia replied, "No."
On Unfiltered, host Jamie Otis, who starred on Season 1 of Married at First Sight, asked Miles and Bennett to share their thoughts on the fact Olivia wasn't buying what her husband was selling.
"I mean, I think that she has some very real feelings," Miles said of Olivia.
"And it's hard not to be aware of cameras. I think Brett has a legitimate point in that, but I think that he should have at least validated her feelings and work towards a solution."
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Miles added, "But it sounds like he got really defensive. It didn't seem like a productive conversation and that's frustrating to see."
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Jamie said she agreed with Miles and then asked Bennett to give an opinion on the matter.
"Brett is making a very valid point that the cameras have an outsize role in any room," Bennett noted.
"But I think Miles was right to say that he needed to recognize and validate Olivia's feelings instead of focusing exclusively on justifying his own."
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Miles also pointed out that Olivia was able to be her true self in the same situation.
"It's hard too because Olivia was experiencing the same thing. Olivia's experiencing the cameras," Miles explained.
"Even though she may have a different relationship with them, it's not like he's the only person that's dealing with it. And so I think that he could have found a better way to at least empathize with Olivia's experience."
Jamie then asked Pepper how she believes Brett could have tried to be more genuine while cameras were rolling.
"I think first of all, he has to say his feelings and acknowledge her feelings. A lot can be done if you acknowledge your partner's feelings," Pepper shared.
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"And I think that if [Brett] were doing that in private and also support her in public, she might feel he was more genuine."
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Olivia thought Brett acted vulnerable with her off-camera and tended to open up more, but when the pair were documented, Olivia noticed Brett would often use sarcasm and dodge serious conversations.
"It's ridiculous," Pastor Cal said of Brett's defense mechanism on a September episode of Unfiltered.
"When people use sarcasm, it's a diversion to keep you from seeing who they really are. Sarcasm is fake intelligence, it's ridiculous and it is incredibly frustrating."
Olivia added at the time, "I just feel like he doesn't really know exactly what he wants... And it makes me question, like, why did he do [the show]?"
This isn't the first time Miles has expressed disappointment in Brett's behavior.
Last month, Miles called Brett an "assh-le" multiple times for the way Brett acted during Trivia Night with Olivia's friends when Brett seemed disinterested in the game and getting to know everyone.
"Brett kind of came across as an assh-le. Just being real. He came across as an assh-le," Miles admitted.
"He seemed like he was being a jerk... It's unfortunate that Olivia had to experience that when she was looking forward to time with her friends and her husband."
While Olivia and Brett tried to work on their problems after having a helpful counseling session with Pastor Cal, their relationship ultimately became stagnant and they stopped getting to know each other or working on initiating physical or emotional intimacy.
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In the latest episode of Married at First Sight's eleventh season, the pair gave up on their marriage after 10 weeks. ("Decision Day" was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic and the couples needing to be in lockdown in New Orleans).
"It could be a few months before we finish, I don't know," Brett said of the experiment as he packed his bags, "but I can't keep putting my life on hold anymore, so I'm moving back into my house."
Olivia called Brett on the phone and he told his wife he didn't see the point in going through the trouble of trying to make things work when they both knew they have "fundamental problems" and simply "want different things out of life."
Olivia felt Brett never took responsibility for things and that communicating with him 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.
When Olivia and Brett sat down to decide whether to continue their marriage or go their separate ways, Olivia -- who wasn't ready to give up on her marriage -- asked Brett if anything could be done to avoid divorce as the outcome.
"No, I'm [good]. No thanks," Brett replied.
With that being said, Brett and Olivia came to an agreement that their marriage had officially come to an end and their relationship was over.
"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.
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