‘Married at First Sight’ Recap: Brennan Clashes With Emily’s Friends: ‘Who Are You? Why Are You Here?’
Emily’s friends do not approve, and they’re not afraid to say it. In the Dec. 13 episode of Lifetime’s Married at First Sight, the Denver newlywed’s besties took her husband Brennan to task after spotting what they perceived to be some major red flags in their relationship. Are Emily’s friends right to be concerned, or are they stepping over the line in their effort to protect her?
[Warning: This article contains spoilers for the Dec. 13 episode of Married at First Sight Season 17.]
Brennan agrees to move in with Emily on ‘Married at First Sight’
Brennan and Emily had a flirty honeymoon, but toward the end of the trip, his mood shifted. In last week’s episode of Married at First Sight, he was giving her the cold shoulder, and she was baffled. Then, Brennan dropped a bomb on Emily when he said he didn’t want to move into their shared apartment right away. When she point blank asked him if he felt a romantic connection to her, he danced around the issue, saying he couldn’t answer that question because it “wouldn’t be nice.” Yikes. She’s asking for honesty, and he’s refusing to be candid about his feelings for her, which is actually not very nice. He’s basically admitted there’s something about her he doesn’t find attractive, and she’s left to imagine what it is – not fun.
Now, it’s Day 15 of their marriage. Emily and Brennan have had a chat with Pastor Cal Roberson, and he’s agreed that if there’s any hope of making their marriage work, he needs to move in with his wife. The pair get settled in their apartment, but Brennan is immediately turned off by the literal cartloads of items she hauls into their space.
“Now I understand where your money goes,” he cracks, referencing his wife’s admittedly lackadaisical approach to her finances
Brennan has a heated conversation with Emily’s friends
To celebrate moving into their new apartment, Emily and Brennan throw a housewarming party. While they’re hoping it will be a fun event where they can get to know each other’s friends, it doesn’t play out that way.
Emily’s friends Kiara and Alex pull him aside and proceed to give him the third degree. They want to know if he’s all in when it comes to getting married at first sight. And they want to make sure that he’s there to support Emily. They’ve already spotted some warning signs, such as when he didn’t help her move her stuff into the apartment.
“You gotta understand, if this was real life, I should 100% help her move,” he replies.
Wrong answer, Brennan. “This is real life,” Alex replies.
The conversation goes downhill from there. Alex and Kiara continue to press Brennan, and he gets defensive, especially when Kiara says that he’s clearly miserable filming the show. He wonders if Emily has told them something that’s made them “come in hot,” which they deny.
“You’re married to one of my best friends,” Alex says. “In my mind, it’s like ‘Who are you? Why are you here?’ And you can’t give that to me.”
Emily has her husband’s back – but is that a good thing?
Alex and Kiara have some fair questions for Brennan, especially given his odd, standoffish behavior over the past few days. But he can’t get past the feeling that they’re attacking him.
“I’m literally sitting in front of you taking hits,” he says. “For what? Why?”
When Emily and Brennan debrief after the party, he admits that his conversation with her friends didn’t go well. He says he was defending himself, not being defensive. “I wasn’t going to let them attack me and come at my character without defending myself,” he says.
Emily might share some of her friends’ concerns about Brennan’s guardedness and lack of effort in the marriage. But she decides to stand by him in this moment.
“I think it’s because they care,” she says. “But if that came off in a bad way, I apologize.”
Brennan – who previously declared that divorce wasn’t an option for him – is touched by his wife’s reaction. “Emily was very supportive. I give her a lot of credit for how she’s acted … I appreciated her having my back.”
This episode of Married at First Sight ends on a positive note for Emily and Brennan. But is Emily too quick to try to soothe Brennan’s bruised ego? While her friends’ delivery could have been better, they had some legitimate concerns about Emily’s marriage, and he didn’t handle their criticism well. His aggressive way of responding to conflict could be an issue moving forward.
New episodes of Married at First Sight Season 17 air Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on Lifetime.
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