‘Married at First Sight’: Fans React To Katie and Derek’s Huge Fight About Flirting and Sex
Katie Conrad and Derek Sherman have had a tumultuous relationship ever since their honeymoon ended on Lifetime’s Married at First Sight Season 10. Katie’s jealousy about Derek’s romantic history, her worries about his never having been in love before, and her insecurities about how his dreams for the future could interfere with their marriage all led to ongoing conflicts between them.
On the Apr. 1 episode of Married at First Sight, “Fight or Flight,” Derek and Katie had yet another major argument on a couple’s retreat for the four remaining Married at First Sight couples (without Mindy Shiben and Zach Justice, who had already called it quits). As they prepared to make their final choice abut their marriages on Decision Day, Katie and Derek were at odds yet again—this time about Derek’s alleged flirting with their castmate, Taylor Dunklin.
Katie and Derek argued bitterly over his alleged flirting and their sex life
Taylor and her husband, Brandon Reid, might not have hit it off, but she certainly seemed to be a big fan of Derek. As the Married at First Sight couples sat down in their weekend vacation home for drinks and dinner, Taylor and Derek started to joke and pal around with each other.
“Derek and I are always on the same page,” Taylor giggled as she and Derek made jokes. She added, “Katie, your husband is f***ing hilarious!”
But Katie wasn’t laughing. Although she pretended to joke around herself, with half-sarcastic comments like “I’m leaving” and “Cut it the f*** out right now, this is ruining my marriage,” she sat across from Derek miserably and didn’t look happy with her husband at all.
Taylor finally told Katie she “lucked out” in being matched with Derek. That’s when Katie lost it. After announcing that she was going to “f***ing throw up,” she stormed away from the table, leaving Derek and her castmates looking baffled.
As her fellow Married at First Sight wives comforted her, Katie revealed that she didn’t feel her husband initiated anything between them—from sex to emotional intimacy. When Derek followed her into the bedroom to talk things out, Katie admitted that seeing him with other women was hard for her.
“The way you talk to me and treat me is not any different from the other girls here,” the Married at First Sight star told her husband. “So do I feel special as your wife? No. Not at all. You don’t make any initiative, like, physically.”
Derek reminded Katie that she had been on her period, but Katie insisted that shouldn’t have mattered. “Married people have sex on their period, Derek, so that’s really not an excuse,” she shot back.
“I’ve seen you at this point initiate conversation with girls, and you don’t act like a loser or a weirdo with everyone else,” Katie said eventually as the argument escalated. Derek replied that he was just being himself, to which Katie responded angrily, “I’m so f***ing done!”
Many fans thought Katie was sabotaging her relationship
Many Married at First Sight viewers found Katie’s behavior towards Derek baffling. Some even thought she might be purposely sabotaging her relationship, whether because she wasn’t all that into him or because she felt insecure about his feelings towards her.
One Twitter user wrote during the episode, “You said it yourself, Katie. It’s been SEVEN WEEKS! And, you’ve been awful to him. It’s all about you in your mind. Why are you sabotaging a lifetime of happiness for instant gratification that you want and want it now? Real or not.”
Another Married at First Sight viewer thought Katie’s back-and-forth demands on her husband were contradictory. “Katie is a child yet she’s upset with Derek for having dreams and calls it ‘not being realistic,’” the fan pointed out on Twitter, adding: “Go back to your ex Katie because you’re clearly purposely sabotaging your marriage.”
Other fans thought Katie’s behavior stemmed from insecurity and jealousy. “Ugh. Katie. Just…stop,” one Twitter user wrote. “I cannot stand women like her. Make it plain, kiddo. You’re really intimidated by Taylor because she’s pretty and that makes you feel super jealous and insecure. That’s not anyone else’s fault but yours.”
Other ‘Married at First Sight’ viewers thought the couple’s fight about sex was strange, to say the least
Meanwhile, other fans couldn’t get past Derek and Katie’s strange fight about sex during her period, which seemed completely out of left field. Some thought Katie’s sex-related complaints were just an excuse to be upset with Derek, while others thought too much focus was being placed on sex above other aspects of their relationship.
“Derek please don’t marry Katie,” one Twitter user wrote. “If you say yes on decision day, the next day she’s going to throw away all of your dreams, pester you for a baby, and call her ex to have period sex. Say no and go be with Taylor.”
Another critic wrote during the episode, “All [Katie] cares about is him initiating sex and now she even wants it while on her period. She is cray cray!! Run Derek!”
Yet another Married at First Sight fan didn’t understand Katie’s complaints about Derek not making moves on her during her period. “Sooooo lemme get this [straight],” the viewer wrote on Twitter. “Katie is mad at Derek for being respectful and NOT making advances on her because she was on her period??”
