Spectator

If Stacia is so insistent on buying a $700 Nespresso machine why doesn’t she already have one? I’m fully supportive of her getting one if that’s what she wants - she can afford it, so Nate really shouldn’t complain - I just don’t understand why, now that she’s married, the Nespresso is a “must have” item for her but when she was single and able to buy whatever she wanted whenever she wanted it, without consult, she was satisfied with a basic Keurig. Seems a little sus - yet another producer inspired argument??? Nahh, that never happens. Lol.

Neil Bowles from Season 3 had eyes kind of like that too… Which got me thinking about Neil and Sam. Going back to the same point made above about how this show used to just let these relationships gel or disintegrate naturally without deliberately injecting conflict, Neil and Sam were another great example of a more natural relationship progression from the early seasons of this show. For those who didn’t catch that season - their relationship transformation was compelling - Initially, Neil was giving the marriage the old college try but Sam was not into it, regularly finding ways to put him down. Then as the show progressed, it seemed just as Sam started to see the good in Neil, Neil had had enough of her insults and started shutting down. In the end, she said yes on decision day and he said no, causing her to run off in tears…there was no producer interference, just genuine feelings. Despite the events on decision day, they’re still friends to this day and Sam credits Neil and the show for inspiring her to change her ways a bit and now she’s happily married with at least one child. Anyway, back to the original point, I always thought Neil might have had something going on with his eyes.

Did anyone else think that the empty oatmeal canisters in Nate’s kitchen cabinets had, at least at some point, been a place where he might have stored cash or other valuable items. The guy used to sell what were presumably illegal knock off handbags so I wouldn’t be surprised if, again at least at some point, he ran a heavy cash business out of his apartment, whatever that business might have been, and stashed cash and other items in various disguised places. Oatmeal canisters is kind of old school, but it was a pretty common “poor man’s safe” back in the day.

Tell me about it. And no laundry between 4 and 9pm, ever? And he was complaining about the amount of electricity her coffee maker uses? And he unplugs his tv every day? Holy cow. I’m betting some of that is producer-enhanced but jeez…I definitely couldn’t live with someone like that. Either MAFS is deliberately casting people with very extreme quirks (Binh’s cheapness, Mitch’s anti-plastic rules, even Miguel’s D&D stuff) or production has asked the cast to amp up their quirks for the sake of good tv (although I definitely believe that Mitch is presenting his true self in this show). I miss the days when MAFS actually cast people because they were fairly normal, well matched pairs. Now it’s all about conflict and controversy. Even the after party promos reveal the show’s true intention with their references to “juicy details” and “drama”…it’s so unnecessary. I really enjoyed watching Season 1 when Doug slowly broke down Jamie’s walls through patience and kindness and the viewers were given glimpses into that transformation each week. Now it’s all about creating a “real-life” soap opera for the viewers. If I wanted to watch Days of Our Lives, I’d just watch Days of Our Lives.

Ugh. These men! They are so focused on themselves and satisfying their mid-life crises. You could pretty much insert any of these guys into this conversation: GUY (to the camera): “This new relationship is so good for me. I’m very committed to _______ (insert name of future wife)” OLD WIFE (to the camera, with a side-eye to her husband): “This relationship is good from US. WE’RE very committed.” GUY (to the camera, wide-eyed): “What? Oh. Umm. Oh yeah, right. This relationship is good for us. We’re very committed. Right. OLD WIFE sits there is silence, staring blankly at the camera, pretending that she doesn’t recognize that her husband is super jazzed to bang his new side piece and doesn’t care whatsoever about her or her feelings. GUY can’t believe his good fortune that his wife is supportive of said bang and hopes he didn’t just say anything that might screw up his house of cards. I can’t stand these men. And the one that doesn’t work and has his harem of women fully supporting him (and presumably paying for a ring for a new girl so he can lock in yet another sugar momma sex partner) is just way too much.

Ok…from what I’ve seen so far, we have: 1. One couple that disagrees on having kids (Morgan and Binh) 2. One couple that are at opposite ends of the financial spectrum -she’s super successful and has money and he recently filed bankruptcy (and claims to have miraculously cleared it up in 6 months?) (Stacia and Nate) 3. One couple where the guy has a history of running at the first warning sign with a girl who sends out boatloads of warning signs straight out of the gate -she is a walking example of “a lot” with her endless blather, mood swings, etc. (Miguel and Lindy) 4. One couple where the guy professes his love at first sight with a girl who has a track record of rejecting guys who openly and clearly express their affection for her (in case you guys didn’t hear, Alexis has been proposed to three times! Lol) (Alexis and Justin) 5. One couple where the guy insults women who do so much as brush their hair or put on some makeup with a woman who discusses her bougie side in her vows. (Mitch and Kysten) Perfrct matches. Per usual.

Wait, so according to Morgan’s family or friend or whoever that was, Morgan doesn’t want kids, but Binh absolutely wants kids. Great, just great. Way to go experts. Way to botch a primary deal breaker yet again. Jeez, and wanting or not wanting kids is an easy one - it isn’t subjective like say “I don’t want someone who is too controlling”, as an example. It’s a black and white issue. It should be a simple matching filter. Ughhh, this show.

When Emily took Kobe outside, proceeded to insult him, then got annoyed that he got upset instead of offering her reassurance, I wanted to throw my shoe in her face. Man oh man oh man. She only cares about herself. Her family made her the center of everything her whole life, catering to her every whim, so now everything in her world is about her and it doesn’t even dawn on her that her words and actions can actually affect other people. She didn’t care one bit that Kobe was upset, she just cared that he wasn’t catering to her and her needs. Wow. She’s unbelievably self absorbed. Poor Kobe.

That video broke my heart. Bini and his first wife seemed so connected and so happy and yet it still all fell apart. I hope he gets his happy ending at some point. He seems to be a kind soul and without a doubt is such a caring father. I wish he and Ari the best.

If Emily screws this up I’m willing to bet she’ll regret it for the rest of her life. There aren’t a lot of good guys out there who would put up with her offensive, controlling nature. Chances are she’ll end up alone. Or with a guy serving 25 to life.

The yacht scenes felt like a casting reel for the real housewives of wherever. Between the Gucci jacket and the under boob wrap shirtI thing I was cracking up. It’s funny how people choose to present themselves when given 10 minutes of “fame” on a cable TV show.

Krysten’s mom’s hot pink strapless ultra-fitted dress brought me back a bunch of years to my friends wedding. On her wedding day her step-mother-in-law (her husband’s dad remarried, and his new young wife was still trying to establish herself in his social circle) wore a light beige floor length, fully beaded, sparkly fitted gown with cleavage for miles. It was something you would see at the Oscars. My friend’s wedding, and her dress in particular, was simple (and tasteful) so her step mother in law definitely outstaged her by several levels. It was ridiculous and so so selfish. The step mother in law was the talk of the wedding (although probably not in the way she had hoped/planned!). Rule of thumb for guests dressing for a wedding….lean away from white and lean toward understated. The day is not about you. Ugh. Some people.

I’m clearly in the minority here but I think Megan’s conversation with Stacia and Nate was very well intentioned and I feel bad that she’s getting such a rough reception by the viewers (and maybe a rough edit, I don’t know - unlike her other defender, I don’t know her personally). She is young, so she probably didn’t have the experience to recognize that she came off a wee bit possessive, but if I were in Stacia’s shoes, I think I would have embraced Megan for a lot of reasons: 1. I would have been psyched that my new husband had female friends. Women don’t tend to befriend guys who use and abuse other women, so I’d view Megan’s love and admiration for my new husband as a huge positive…akin to a letter of reference. 2. It was clear that Megan was excited that her buddy was married and, to me at least, she seemed very open and welcoming towards Stacia. Some argue that she was a bit much, but I think her approach was a whole lot better than the alternative - remember Henry’s female friends from Season 11? They were wickedly possessive and protective and quite judgmental of his bride. They wanted Henry for themselves. Megan, on the other hand, was welcoming and just seemed really excited to have another friend. Should she have backed off a little regarding all the group activities, instead leaving space for Nate and Stacia to have plenty of one on one time in their marriage? Sure, but if I were Stacia I would have been happy that my new husband had a supportive friend who was excited to hang out with me too. Friends of either sex can deliberately exclude their friends spouses, but Megan was the exact opposite. Personally, I loved megan’s enthusiasm. Considering the weird situation that is MAFS, where the participants know that some family/friends may not be all that supportive of the process, I would be relieved to know that his friends were already considering me to be part of their pack. I am sorry to Megan (and to her friend posting here) that she is being dragged through the MAFS mud. This show can be rough.

I’m trying to remember the logic the experts used when matching Mitch and Krysten. That match makes no sense to me. Krysten is a bit of a handful but I think she could be happy with a wide variety of guys. Mitch, on the other hand, has a very clear, easily identifiable type and Krysten isn’t it. Why do that? I can’t see a reason for this match at all. There are plenty of women in CA who live very natural, “unprimped” lives, just like Mitch, with similar priorities regarding the environment, materialism (or lack there of), etc.. He would actually be pretty easy guy to match, yet they matched him with a girl who is so not his type, she actually talked about her bougie side in her vows????? Way to go experts.

I noticed those awful cakes too. Something must have gone wrong there…the worst of the worst of the worst bakery could do better. I’m thinking the cake order might have gotten screwed up or something and the production team scrambled to make those cakes themselves (probably laughing hysterically about their seaweed colored cake and their other disastrously lopsided, sloppy cakes). Even the icing wasn’t smooth - that’s a baking basic. There’s zero chance someone with professional baking experience made those cakes. Zip. Zilch. Nada.

Good for Danielle! Weirdly, I totally see her point - three wives is way better for her than two since she was clearly the odd woman out in the Bert/Garrick/Danielle trio. I really wish she’d just leave this turd and find a guy who cherishes her and only her, but if she’s determined to stay, this plan definitely gives her a lot more of the power back.

I think I’d rather get marriage advise from Johnny Depp and Amber Heard

So when Ryan cheekily texted Alyssa that coming to Boston sounded like a terrible idea, he probably never knew how prophetic that comment actually was! Even the producer was like “what just happened??” At least we got to see Alyssa pull an “Alyssa” again: where she irrationally complains to someone about how she was wronged then storms off without ever actually having an actual two-sided conversation about it. Yay! Great to see you again Alyssa!

I actually find it funny, and kind of perfect, that Alyssa got so much airtime tonight. I’m quite sure she was convinced that she was going to resurrect her reputation on this episode and all she did was reinforce how big of an insufferable bitch she is with absolutely laughable expectations of her partners (not that you can call someone a partner after one date, but in Alyssa-land, you can. And she is forever complaining that someone is disrespecting her…I see a drinking game in there somewhere…) I bet Ryan is thinking Brett never looked so good after his trip to crazy town.

What do you mean, bro? The prom king is, like, the man, bro. On a similar note, if Kara truly doesn’t remember that her ex discovered evidence of her cheating and that that was the catalyst for their breakup, then it shows just how self absorbed she really is. Her behavior seems to have sent her ex into an irrecoverable tailspin (that appears to have trapped him in some odd adolescent state). And she just trotted along with her life, completely unphased? No wonder she’s never learned how to have a balanced relationship. She clearly has no self awareness or self reflection whatsoever. Yikes.

Oh goodness…Ari trying to convince herself that she’s “the real prize” and not the green card was funny and super sad at the same time. Reality bites.

I wasn’t a fan of the new wig either. She reminded me of the transgender hostess in the movie Shallow Hal. I very much prefer the longer hair on her.

I’m taking a poll…which statement resulted in you doing a larger wtf double take when first mentioned on the show: 1. Sriracha is an internet star OR 2. Lindsay graces all those around her with “the magic of Lindsay” Both of those statements had me rolling on the floor with laughter. This show is just overflowing with self important fools these days.

Based on the previews, it looks like the “magic of Lindsay” brings Mark to tears, and despite others in the room urging her to apologize, she self righteously stays silent. And defiantly smirks. She’s such a gem. I think it’s quite clear that the experts need to dig a little deeper when they screen participants. There were a lot of very troubled people cast this season. Lindsay is full on abusive with a mean streak a mile wide. And she goes for the jugular when she is on the defensive (she’s on the defensive a lot) then somehow she views it as an accomplishment when she’s cut someone deep to the core. She actually seems proud when she causes pain. How did the expert or production or anyone not see this troubling character flaw.

Once again, I am loving the producers for replaying the clips of Alyssa from the season while she was desperately trying to reframe her storyline and rewrite history at the reunion. Alyssa seemed to forget that her full a-holery was all caught on tape. She should have known by now that the producers would be chomping at the bit to roll that tape at the reunion to contradict her every word if she tried to spin a new story and position herself in a more positive, less crazy light. Example— Alyssa: “I had no interest in staying at the apartment to enjoy the experience or to do things with the other girls, I wanted to stay there so I wouldn’t have to travel so far for filming” (paraphrased). Production: “cue the tape”…Production then immediately airs the clip where Alyssa says she wants to stay in the apartment so she can hang out with the other girls and participate in the MAFS activities…practically word for word what she just denied at the reunion. Loved it. Did she forget what she’d said? Did she really expect us to believe that now she only wanted to live in the apartment to shorten her travel time for filming???? I guess she watched the show and thought she looked silly about splitting the apartment and thought she could make up a new story to explain it, after the fact. What a fool. She’s so clueless, it hurts.