Crazy Bird Lady

This! I, too, have wondered how Keith didn't get further in medicine and was still living with Grandma. My guess: he probably spent years wasting his life and/or trying to make sense of his dad and why he didn't really have one. That situation is toxic, and getting that Dialysis Tech job was probably a major achievement for him, regardless of the salary and the hours. Keith does have goals, however, and with a woman like Krystine by his side (if she stays) he could achieve reasonable ones. Wanting to be a Dr. probably isn't reasonable, especially since he wants kids... Doctors end up in debt up to their ears before they even have an M.D.!! ...But there are paths in pretty much every big city that make it possible for hard-working students to get nursing degrees, and even advanced nursing degrees, while working a full-time job. It just isn't easy.

Dr. Pepper is their "sexologist," so I wasn't really surprised when she asked "how" Puke and Kate had sex. Or maybe, she wanted to know how Luke could get a boner if he wasn't attracted to Kate. Dr. P actually had a point. Kate has repeatedly described Puke hugging and "cuddling" with her in bed, bare-chested, which (presumably) involved (arousing) skin-to-skin contact --and she said that was the source of her confusion about whether (or not) Puke was attracted to her. How could Puke have had sex with Kate, several times, if he wasn't aroused? Arousal is sexual attraction, and I can't imagine Kate bringing along sex toys for the occasion! Puke tries to play the victim --as if Kate somehow coerced him into having sex with her against his wishes -but he must have been aroused!

Pastor Cal was full of it, insisting they still had a good chance of working. There's no way if they'd said "yes," they'd still be together at the Reunion!! And unfortunately my opinion of Keith went down several points on the 0-10 scale when he was excitedly telling Krystine why he wanted to stay married to her. Everything he said was all about himself!! It was, "I'm excited for the future with Krystine because she makes me a better person, and I think in time she will help me to become my best self..." Not a single word about her beautiful smile, her beautiful body, or even about how much he'd enjoyed being with her!! I was disappointed in him, and rather surprised that Krystine (who sure looked like she'd noticed the same thing) chose to stay with him anyway.

@Ohwell --I thought about that, too. But imho if Kate has actually found a niche in something new --good for her! I still can't see any way that it could possibly compensate for the cruel way that Puke broke her down and stomped on her heart! And I hope she is "already" in a new relationship with a man. Luke was months ago for Kate, after all, and hopefully the new guy actually cares about her and sees how beautiful she is.

I noticed that too! Just how did Kate "profit" from her husband telling her that making love with him (or kissing, not clear on that, but either way)-- makes him feel repulsed and dead inside?!!

I'm ready to throw something at the TV, if Puke and Kate stay together!

It will be quite a while before anything important is said.

Kanona29 said: And Dr. Pepper said pretty much the same thing Kate's friends did. I agree completely that Kate, in the beginning, seemed like a normal, and very hopeful, young woman. However for a therapist or counselor to build someone's self-esteem back up is, unfortunately, way more difficult than it is for some sick asshole like Puke to tear it down.

We all do!! Unfortunately, ILOVEPIE Jeanne222 wasn't wrong about Kate being "a Debbie Downer". And Debbie Downers are almost always depressed, usually suicidal. (So there's that.)

I can only hope that Luke says "yes," on D-Day, and Kate says "no". I don't expect this to happen:

Exactly!! That photo truly captured the Puke Smirk. The smirk tells you he's pretending to be kidding around --but actually he is totally getting off on mind-fucking someone!! (I wonder if Kate actually noticed it when she watched the wedding video --or was she still blinded by those rose-colored glasses she wears?)

Been there, done that. Didn't want the T-shirt. It took a happy marriage and (a dozen years later) a year of therapy to finally let that pain go completely. It may not be part of the legal definition, but manipulative, gaslighting posers are as toxic as any abusive spouse.

A wise question from Kate's friend: "Is he [Puke] really worth your time and energy and respect, if he's not willing to give you those same things?"

So far, it's just repeating the marriage scenes and last week's preview. Yawn. Enough of this boring filler footage!

I predicted that by the time this season was over, Kate would be seen as some sort of horrible person by many people who post comments here. MAFS plays games with us, first making one person look like they're evil, then making the other person look worse. It's what they do.

A lot has been said about Production edits, but I don't think anyone has pointed this out yet: When A.J. told Stephanie (on camera) about his horrible motorcycle accident, I remember seeing his hyper-excited face describing it... and then nothing else. Did they tell the camera-person to stop filming? ...Did Production edit out the gruesome details, as well as anything A.J. may have told Stephanie about brain damage and/or lasting effects that he wanted her to understand? ...And could that have something to do with Stephanie's seemingly endless patience with A.J.'s emotional outbursts?? [By the way... unlike in folklore, in real life people who sustain brain damage due to some sort of injury after birth cannot pass those complications down genetically.]

There are a whole lot of "grey areas" here... Perhaps even Shades of Grey.

Perhaps the problem is in how you define "initiates". At the risk of being banned for sexual crudeness: if she touches his boner and verifies that he has one, is that "initiating sex"?? ...Or does "initiating sex" imply that a person actually begins doing something that, if continued long enough, will lead to orgasm?? There are so many things here that are really vague.

I've considered that possibility, too. I have noticed that most times when A.J. lost his temper, there was alcohol involved. I personally know two people with brain damage who have "emotional lability" [-that's a condition of excessive emotional reactions and frequent mood changes-]. One is my sister-in-law, who has MS. The other woman can cuss worse than any sailor ever did, and offend anyone in sight for hours at a time, then pull out her "handicapped" certification and get away with it. I don't know how much is really because she has can't control herself, and how much is simply because she can get away with it --but I do know that she takes advantage when she really wants something and thinks she can use manipulation to get what she wants. (I've seen her do it, and then crow with delight over her success.) Of course, the woman I described is (imho) a particularly hideous example. And I haven't seen A.J. do anything even close to that extreme -not even whacking Puke on the butt. But TBI's, as PDLinda said, can cause erratic behavior, and that might well explain A.J.'s behavior (most of the time) when he throws a tantrum. [I do think, though, that picking on Puke was because A.J. really can't stand the obnoxious jerk.]

I do too (and I mean no disrespect). But I do think it's a problem, if a person is developing the habit of "self-medicating" by turning to alcohol when life gets difficult. And that could be what's going on with Kate. I mean, it's really not the same thing as having a 'double' after a long, stressful, frustrating day. Kate has been living with the source of her stress, frustration, and emotional pain --so pretty much every day is a "bad day". I don't take Puke at his word. And it's still far from clear what happened. But Kate did pretty much admit she had a lot of wine on one particular night of their honeymoon. Dammit, if Kate was "blackout drunk" that night, Puke should never have had sex with her in that state (--and it could certainly explain his secrecy)!

OH --and either way, Luke wanted Kate to keep the whole thing secret!

...So IF Kate really drank 4 glasses of wine in a row one night on their honeymoon, one of these things should be true: 1) She was not a "regular drinker" and with 4 glasses, she was drunk enough to be too intoxicated to consent to sex. OR: 2) She was a "regular drinker" and with 4 glasses, she may have been very 'relaxed,' but she was not too intoxicated to remember what happened the morning after. Does that sum it up?

Actually, many people who don't drink regularly (and their bodies aren't big to begin with) would be quite intoxicated after 4 glasses of wine. Kate, being rather small, probably was.

That's possible --and I'm not sure-- but my own best guess on that one is that Jessica is probably preggers with Jon's baby --which would really look bad for the show!