AJH

I think Vanessa and Tres have largely handled the experiment and one another remarkably well. At times I think Vanessa shows her age on the show, but I don't mean to pass too much judgement with that comment. If I remember correctly, she's only 25, and by today's standards (at least where I live in the Northeast) this is still somewhat young to get married. And I give her a lot of credit for knowing what she wants. I also feel her job as a corporate events planner is very telling. Vanessa suffers when she feels she's not in control. And when are we more vulnerable than when we're falling in love?

I find it distressing that Ashley signed on for this in the first place. She's a seemingly smart girl who knows herself well enough to say she takes time to warm to someone, that she moves slowly. So why join an intense 6-week marriage experiment? I get that she has needs that must be met and can even respect that she won't jump into bed with a guy after 2 dates, but the whole premise of this show seems the exact opposite of how she needs her relationships to evolve. Ashley was a cold, guarded person throughout the process; there's no other way to interpret her behavior toward David. She never seemed willing to make even many small steps to allow him to, you know, actually know her. So they played kickball? That doesn't make a marriage. Nor does a jog or fun on the ropes course. Ashley barely communicated. She was an unfair "participant" from the get go. We can't fault her for not being attracted to David, but I can - and do - fault her unwillingness to keep looking at him, to keep considering him after first sight.