FYI's reality series "Married at First Sight" Season 3 ended with the three participating couples in three different situations: David and Ashley unquestionably divorcing, Neil and Sam with a split decision and Tres and Vanessa deciding to stay together. Six months after the couples made their decisions, sociologist Pepper Schwartz visited the three couples for a reunion episode and discovered that things are not going well for the remaining actual couple.
Schwartz sat down with the participants individually and as a couple to discuss their decisions in the final episode and the lessons they learned after watching themselves on television. Of course, most logical people know that seeing cringe-worthy moments is the norm when watching a drama about people agreeing to get married to a stranger but it appears it is even more cringe-worthy for the people who actually participated in them.
The biggest shock, however, came from Vanessa who revealed that in spite of her and Tres' decision to remain married, things are no longer going well for the couple.
"Me and Tres, we are not together anymore .. .We stopped being physically intimate. I felt bad about myself for a while because I felt like, 'What's wrong with me?'" Vanessa revealed to Schwartz.
The couple apparently had a huge argument and the cracks began to show from there. Vanessa also revealed that Tres told her he was not romantically attracted to her.
"Things weren't perfect at all, but I thought it was at least based on that we liked each other," she said.
As for Tres, he explained that he got burnt out because he felt like he consistently needed to prove himself to Vanessa.
The couple talked things over with Schwartz and, while they still would not be getting that happy ending together, they did reconcile and admitted that their time together was good.
As for the two other couples, well, three of the individuals learned their lesson but one seemed to be fossilized in her ways.
Neil revealed in the final episode that he wanted a divorce, to Sam's disappointment, but the divorce papers have not been filed six months later. The two were able to watch their interaction and Sam finally realized that she did not treat Neil well in their relationship and it seems she had been apologizing to Neil for her attitude towards him since she realized this.
"I don't think there are words to express how sorry I am of how I treated you," Sam told Neil during their couple's interview.
Sam is still hopeful that they can fix things in their marriage but she has accepted that she was also at fault for why Neil lacked the emotional connection he needed to remain committed in their relationship.
"Neil and I tried to work things out after the show ended [...] I have no idea what will happen for us. Who knows, a few years from now, maybe we'll be together or maybe we'll be close friends," Sam revealed.
As for the remaining couple, Ashley definitely wants nothing to do with David and David still doesn't know why he asked out Ashley's friend even when he was married.
"I still can't fully grasp what happened, but maybe I was looking for some validation from one of her friends [...] It's tough getting kicked in the teeth every day, but my intention was not to cheat on my wife," he justified.
Even with Schwartz's not-so-subtle suggestions, Ashley doesn't seem to think that she had any fault in the relationship. Then there's David who chose the "seeking validation" excuse instead of understanding why his action was inappropriate. Let us just say these two may not have learned their lesson and, if they did, they should both follow Vanessa's advice and maybe not participate in reality shows anymore.
"You just have to be very aware of what you want in a partner," Vanessa said.
