Married at First Sight Recap: Emily Reaches a Breaking Point With Image-Obsessed Husband

Emily and Brennan's marriage is hanging on by a thread.

The fifteenth episode of Married at First Sight sees the eternally optimistic Emily finally admit how difficult it is to be married to a man who is obsessing over how he is depicted on the show. Worried about becoming a reality-TV villain, Brennan refuses to be honest about his feelings toward Emily or discuss any of their issues openly — even saying Emily "broke his trust" by telling their therapist they're struggling; apparently, they hadn't agreed to bring it up ahead of time.

“It’s just hard when you’re dealing with someone who does not want to be portrayed at all bad on camera,” Emily tells a friend in the latest episode, saying she doesn't know how to move forward with their relationship. Her friend, channeling the frustrations of the entire viewing audience, responds: “Well, then, maybe he should be less of a dick."

Despite his intense efforts, Brennan's plan is backfiring. Not only is his marriage falling apart, but viewers are not buying his carefully crafted TV persona. Countless social media users are praying for the couple to just call it quits, so let's hope that Brennan wasn't serious when he insisted that divorce is not an option at the beginning of the season.

Here's what happened on the “Honeyspoonin’” episode of Married at First Sight, which aired on January 31:

Emily and Brennan
Someone please put these two out of their misery. As Emily tries to navigate the minefield of Brennan's public-perception woes, Brennan is still demanding that they focus on only being friends. He says they need to be careful not to “blur the lines between a friendship and a relationship," seemingly ignoring the fact that they're married. When Emily says he doesn't even treat her like a friend, Brennan cuts her off, asking if she's sure she wants to talk about that. I guess it wasn't on Brennan's list of approved conversation topics for filming that day.

The show's host implores them during a meeting to work on developing a romantic relationship: "This is not Friends at First Sight," he says. "That’s a cop-out." But even Emily is losing hope for the future of their marriage, telling Clare that Brennan refuses to let her be herself. Emily says Brennan was okay with her at first, until her behavior stopped fitting the "image that he is trying to have portrayed on camera."

Chloe and Michael
The season's newest newlyweds spend the episode on their honeymoon. Instead of going to Cancún like the other couples, Chloe and Michael are sent to the Cheyenne Mountain Resort in Colorado Springs — a bit of a downgrade, but that's what you get for getting married halfway through the season. They go rock climbing at the Royal Gorge Bridge, get massages and survive their first hurdle: Chloe panicking at the prospect of returning home and moving in with a stranger, telling Michael, "I don’t know if I can do this."

Michael handles the situation like a pro, supporting her feelings and encouraging her to put her own well-being first. By the end of their talk, Chloe is crying over how kind her husband is instead of how freaked out she was. Chloe says they're both ready to give the marriage 100 percent as they prepare to return to Denver in the next episode.

Becca and Austin
Becca and Austin return from a family visit in Pennsylvania, having made no progress on their stalling physical intimacy since they left. Austin says he wasn't exactly in the mood while hanging out with his family and suffocating on cat hair. But that's beside the point for Becca, who says she's getting worn down by the constant rejection and is "running out of ideas for us to connect" beyond a friendship level. The show's therapist asks them to think about what they need to advance the relationship, but that's clear for Becca: SEX. And Austin is just not willing to give it.

To watch everything go to shit on an upcoming couples' retreat, tune in to the next episode of Married at First Sight, on Wednesday, February 7.