Married at First Sight Recap: Yet Another Denver Couple Discusses Divorce

Less than halfway through the season, yet another marriage is hanging on by a thread.

During the tenth episode of Married at First Sight, the three remaining couples met for a potluck with Lauren and Orion, who broke the news of their recent divorce to the group. After watching the divorcees bicker about whether Orion gave up on their marriage too quickly (he said he really tried during those thirteen days), the other couples revealed that none of their pairings are going too well, either. The discussion brought Lauren, Emily and Becca to tears.

While Clare left the potluck feeling reassured that she and Cameron weren't the only ones struggling, Cameron said he felt "inspired" by Orion's willingness to put himself first.

Four days later, Clare and Cameron took off their wedding rings and discussed divorce with the reality show's psychologist. The psychologist convinced them to put off their split for now, but the newlyweds are still very much on the brink after only 23 days together. With just three of the original five couples left standing, the show might have to take some desperate measures to fill the rest of the season. By the looks of the season preview, they're even going to offer Michael another chance to get married after he was left at the altar in the first two episodes.

Here's what happened on the “Breaking Up the Party” episode of Married at First Sight, which aired on December 20:

Clare and Cameron
Orion's eagerness to abandon his wedding vows rubbed off on Cameron during the potluck. After they returned home, Cameron told Clare that he was afraid of continuing to get attached to her if they don't have a future together. Just the day before, Cameron was satisfied with Clare saying they had a "more than 0.1 percent chance of making it," but now Cameron wanted better odds for the "pain to be worth it." “It’s become apparent that our long-term viability is probably not there," he said.

Cameron has a point. While he insists he is attracted to Clare, she has repeatedly said there is zero romantic or sexual connection between them. On top of that, they hold fundamentally different beliefs on religion, family and how they would raise their hypothetical children. The psychologist advised them to stop talking about the future and just try to enjoy each other's company for now, but they promptly ignored that advice, jumping back into discussing their long-term plans. Cameron said he thinks their relationship is unhealthy: “I want to love you, but I don’t want us to hurt each other.” For now, the couple decided to continue the marriage and move Cameron to the spare bed. But the season preview showed another meeting with Orion in Cameron's future, so we'll see how long that lasts.

Becca and Austin
The producers got me this time. While last week's episode preview showed Becca and Austin distraught over some issue that could "tear us apart," it turns out they were just crying over the failure of the other couples. The golden couple is still doing fine. In fact, after a steamy game of cribbage and lots of "pegging" jokes, they even agreed to advance from just kissing to exploring other non-intercourse sex acts. Austin still isn't ready to give it up just yet, saying he wants an emotional connection "more special than just banging." It's possible that this will eventually become a dealbreaker for Becca, who was shown in the season preview crying about "constant rejection." But I've learned my lesson about making assumptions from clips of Becca crying.

Emily and Brennan
The red flags continue flying. This episode started with Brennan forgiving Emily for her friends not liking him, and ended with him arguing with their psychologist. He told the shrink he doesn't feel any attraction towards Emily but refused to say why, calling the question disrespectful to Emily — even though she keeps asking him herself. When the psychologist tried to ask Emily about the faces she made while listening to Brennan talk, Brennan repeatedly cut her off and tried to answer the question on Emily's behalf, saying, "This is my wife." The psychologist eventually recommended Brennan try out individual therapy, which he took as an insult. Even when Emily later encouraged the idea in private, he snapped, “It’s never going to happen.” He then questioned why a psychologist (of all people) is "harping on emotions" because she asked him to disclose his feelings for Emily when "there are no feelings there yet." Ouch.

The drama will pause next week for the holidays (and for my sanity). Tune in to the next episode of Married at First Sight, on Wednesday, January 3.