sometimesjennifer

I was really concerned for Taylor after their guests left. He looked like he was seething under his calm demeanor and his "sure" "absolutely" "uh huh" non-responses to her attempts to start a conversation. (My first boyfriend had a similar demeanor and although he never got violent with me directly, he sure enjoyed punching walls.) I wouldn't be surprised if Brandon stormed out after the cameras left or at the very least slammed the guest room door and didn't speak the rest of the night.

When she was having girl talk in the bedroom, she started that whole convo smiling slyly, saying he "brought the FY-AH 🔥" (a callback to her drunken bridesmaid's tirade) and then immediately launched into her complaints about his prowess. This girl is all over the place, and seems pretty full of shit.

And apparently there is a Medieval Times in Baltimore, so she could head over there right after the boxed wine party and cheer on the red and yellow knight without missing a beat!

I grow more and more confused by Katie's situation every episode. At first she described him as a guy she was dating casually for whom she started catching feelings, but he wasn't interested in a relationship so she bailed. Then she started calling him her ex, which indicates that they were actually in a relationship. She claimed he reached out to her when he found out she was doing the show and begged her not to do it (I still don't understand how he found out) because he had feelings for her. Then she said he told her he was in love with her. Now she is saying she might have "thrown something away with someone she loved" for someone who might not fall in love with her. I feel like that is a dramatically different view of the situation than how she described it at the beginning of the season.

Every time I looked at her, I thought she was wearing a crown from Medieval Times.

I always watch on the DVR and start later, but even so last night I felt like I had been watching it for approximately 1000 years so I pushed pause, assuming it was gonna say 7 mins left or something. To my astonishment I still had 1 hour and 15 left. Even though I could fast forward through the commercials, I yelped, "OH, FOR FUCK'S SAKE" so loudly that it startled my cat.

The only part I enjoyed about the forced interaction between the wives this week was when Katie was being all pissy about Derek to the others and they were just going on and on about how awesome Derek is and how lucky she is and how she deserves a wonderful guy like him, so she had to kind of pump the breaks and pretend she agreed. She clearly wanted a bitch sesh with commiserating ladies, but most of them WISH they had a guy as nice as Derek so she was not getting the kind of feedback she was seeking! Otherwise, I am not getting much out of the couple's constant interaction, except maybe Zach and Austin repeatedly ripping on what a toolbag Zach is. I wouldn't mind more of that. 😝

He did say he's more attracted to soccer/volleyball type women. Translation: thicc women. Mindy is athletic but not like that. She's very thin and is probably very strong but doesn't have that toned and muscular appearance. Regardless, he's a gigantic tool. I also liked that he made it clear that he knows she works a lot harder than he does, and he said it in an admiring way. It didn't seem to me that she was complaining about him not emptying the dishwasher, per se. When he said it was full, she seemed surprised that he meant he ran it and it was full of clean dishes. Then she told him emptying it is her least favorite (I don't blame her, I hate it too) but it came across to me as just letting him know that fact about her. I don't think she expected him to offer to do that and clean up the dinner mess - she even suggested they do it together, but he insisted. They seem to be working out well and really digging in to marriage in a genuine way, as opposed to stirring up petty drama like the other couples. When someone said Tyson is Brandon's "partner" rather than Taylor, I almost choked. 🤣 I don't care if she's playing for the cameras - I'm loving it! Omg when she snapped at her mother that maybe she wasn't really in love with the men she married, I truly gasped. I couldn't believe how nasty she was being.

*pulling up a chair to @Ilovepie 's table* Hi, can I join you? We're very much on the same page on this. I brought a pie and two forks. 😜

I agree that most people could not repeat verbatim what they said, but I think at the very least, faced with her extremely intense insistence that she believes he said that, most people would be able to reply with something along the lines of, "I understand how you might have misinterpreted what I said, but I definitely didn't say that. I said something like ________. I apologize if what I said offended you. That was not my intention." I fully believe he could have said something like, "Most men expect to have sex by the end of their honeymoon and I don't find that to be unreasonable. It would be hard to become invested in a relationship without having sex, don't you agree?" and she lost her shit and interpreted that as an ultimatum. Rather than taking the opportunity to engage in a constructive dialog with her about it, he shut down. Unless he uses his words and tells her some approximation of what he did say, she will forever believe she heard what she heard. Him just mumbling "I said something about expectations" and crying clearly isn't getting the job done. 😭

I misread this at first and thought you were saying his nickname is "Pull out Dallas Bobby" and I thought, "But he got Danielle pregnant right away!! Derek should definitely not follow his lead!!" 😂

You're so right. That's probably why he was crying, too. He finally got his dream job and he's terrified that something dumb he said on this stupid show could ruin it for him.

I really do agree with you about everything you said here - HOWEVER, if that's true about what Michael said, why can't he just say it? Why is he being so weirdly secretive about what words he really said to her? She said she can accept that perhaps he misspoke and gave him the chance to explain what he really meant in that moment - and he flat out refused. If someone misinterprets me, I'm gonna set the record straight IMMEDIATELY, not just keep denying I said it. I have a friend whose girlfriend (now wife, under duress) "forgot" to take her pill three times and they magically have three kids. My dumbass friend seemed shocked when I told him she totally did it on purpose. I am glad Derek was appalled at the idea of "accidental" pregnancy. I hope that means he'll be wrapping it up if they continue to have sex.

Not remotely, and I'm getting really tired of him continually denying what he said but then not flat out saying what he did say. He refuses to say, "I never said that. I said _____." Meka even gave him the opportunity to clear it up and admit he did indeed say that but then tell her what he meant to say if he truly didn't mean that. She seemed open to hearing whatever it was he thinks he said to her. Instead he literally claimed he said "something about expectations." I find Meka exhausting but the way she was desperate for him to admit what he said makes me tend to believe her. She (and Cal) also seemed shocked that he suddenly started blubbering. Even then he wouldn't just say plainly what was upsetting him. Just something about it being a lot of pressure.

They were both coming across as imbeciles during that conversation: Cal acting like he doesn't understand what chemistry is, and Zach asking if his advice is to be patient. DUH! How else will attraction/chemistry "grow" if you don't have patience and give it a chance? He keeps demanding that other people tell him how to magically, suddenly become attracted to Mindy and is shocked when no one has the answer. Greg is on par, if not even more of a catch. I like Bobby but I'd take Greg over him in a heartbeat (and no, it's not because of his double ovens). He was also super full of it asking Derek if he's ever been in love. WTF??? His little lable is Mr. Never Been in Love! It was discussed at length during casting! Did Cal go get high with Brandon before he did his sessions with these guys? He's an idiot but this week he was in rare form. Speaking of Brandon, did we really only get ONE scene with him and Taylor? After that big blowup last episode? Come on. I wanted a serious scolding session about the way he treated production. He barely got a slap on the wrist. Pathetic.

I was discussing the show with my mom (curse her for getting me into it) and she said it seemed like Brandon was making a scene just to get more air time, which seems counterintuitive to his complaints but maybe he decided he'd get more attention and stand out among the big crowd of five couples as the villain? He's going about it in an awful way, but we're all talking about him the most, so...

I still have the episode so I went back and watched. She calls the following "house etiquette" she would like him to follow: - Clean up after yourself and just be a decent human being so that we don't feel like we have to clean up after the other. - Most of the bed belongs to her so he can have his little corner. - It is frustrating to her when someone's always on their phone. Put it down during serious conversations. (He then made some kind of pointed comment about this also applying to Apple watches and she defended herself saying she's just checking the time.) - "I don't have any pets so you don't have to worry about that." (That was the entire statement so I'm not sure what etiquette that is covering.) - Don't wake her up if he gets up earlier than her. This includes tip-toeing and keeping the lights off. She claims it's not that hard to get dressed in the dark.

I want to take a second to defend the Instagram thing with Taylor. She may be stuck up and fake and all the things some of you see, but I think being on Instagram and enjoying the attention she receives is relatively harmless. As far as we've seen, she's not constantly posting or live streaming, she's not chatting with people and ignoring Brandon. She just thinks it's fun. My husband used to make fun of me for using it and I finally explained to him that when I post, it's really more for me than anyone else. These days, I don't keep photo albums or even hang up many pictures. If I'm in a bad mood or having a shitty day, I can skim through my posts and think about the fun, silly times I've had recently and it snaps me back into reality and positivity. I don't have any idea why Taylor likes it, but as far as vices go, I don't think it's so bad. No matter how shallow or vapid Taylor may be, I don't think she deserved the way Brandon treated her. He signed up to be on a tv show, same as she did. He can't judge her for that, and he can't behave as tho he had no idea what was expected of him. That's really unfair and it's gross to watch. The camera was in his face through the whole casting process. If it was triggering him and his panic attacks, he should have spoken up then.

Omg I miss him so much!! He should lead a seminar for the men during casting to give them advice on how to be successful in the process. And I agree - at first he just seemed like an average, nice guy but within a few episodes he became downright dreamy to me. He's the full package, for sure. His patience makes some of these fools this season look like preschoolers. I Google him and Deonna sometimes and it fills my heart to see them seemingly still going strong and happy ❤

That scene struck me as very odd for some reason. Not the fact that he gave her the shot - that was awesome and kudos to him for not batting an eye about it. What was weird was that she acted like she "needs" help doing it and pretty much just told him he had to do it. I know she's on the younger side of the participants but hasn't she been on her own for a while? Can she really not give herself the shot? Also, shouldn't she have asked him if he's comfortable doing it first? Again, he didn't seem to have any issues and jumped right in, so obviously they are perfectly matched in that regard, but I probably would have fainted. I had to look away during that whole scene. It just felt odd that she would need the help and assume he'd be fine with it without any real discussion or instruction. Maybe all of that happened off camera, who knows. Whatever the case, I was super impressed with him in that scene.

I believe each couple is given a camera that they are instructed to use to film each other for more off the cuff, cutsie moments. Most of the couples have used them almost exclusively for sweet little moments being silly in bed. It's not like she pulled out a secret camera and hid in the bathroom to film him showering. I agree with you - I didn't mean to say that they shouldn't cast anyone with any issues. There wouldn't be anyone on the show of that were the case! But in order to really go through this process they need to lay out their cards and the experts need to try to give them advice on how to be a good partner once they're aware of their issues. I'd actually be way more invested in Brandon's story if he had disclosed a true mental health issue with the experts and wanted help finding a partner who could help him develop a strong relationship while living with it.

I think either the experts or Brandon are exposing themselves as mega assholes for subjecting Taylor to his behavior in this way, depending on whether the panic attacks are legit. Let's assume he genuinely has some kind of panic disorder. That means that a) he disclosed it to the experts and they cast him anyway without advising him to be up front with Taylor about it so she can be prepared to deal with the fallout when it manifests or b) he didn't tell them about it when asked about any medical issues. Now let's say he's just a spoiled brat who blames "panic attacks" (generic, non-clinical phrase that gets thrown around) any time he gets pissy so that he can shut down. He straight up said, "Any time that I have something going on, I typically just like to retreat." That means a) the experts discovered this during interviews and cast him anyway without any regard for Taylor or more likely b) he didn't tell them this when asked about his conflict resolution style and then just unleashed it on her, then "apologized 1000 times" and told her to get over it. That last part right there is why I think he's just a brat. He refused to speak to her all morning to address his issue with being filmed while sleeping and then put her on blast in front of the other couples. Then when they were alone he lectured her about how she should have magically realized he was panicking and that she needed to get over it. None of that speaks to someone who has a genuine medical issue that he wants to explain to the person he's going to spend the rest of his life with (a la Katie and her diabetes). They are married. They are on a reality show together. She was lying next to him in their bed and filming him with a camera they were given with the express intent to film each other. What part of that reads as stalker? 😂

Yea, that whole dinner where some of the couples were kind of demanding to know everyone's consummation status was super uncomfortable and not in a fun to watch way. I believe the couples should be 100% honest about their situation with the experts, especially if they are having issues regarding sex, but there's no reason they should feel pressured to either disclose to the others or keep up with the others. It really felt like Brandon quickly set up the romantic tableaux for Taylor after hearing about Derek's sexual success, and although she claimed to be impressed and excited by it, I thought she was trying to prove they were at the "correct" stage in their relationship after hearing about the others. It makes everything feel way less organic if the couples are treating it like a competition. Meka seems utterly miserable. I don't care who's to blame for their current status, but they need to let that woman leave. For whatever reason she's coming across as legitimately traumatized. Let her go and provide her some after care. I can't imagine it's going to get any better for her.

They didn't show anything prior to that about him not wanting to have a one sided convo, which would totally have made more sense. I also think you are exactly right - I don't disagree with the sentiment of not wanting to be talked at while doing my pre-bed routine (I don't care to try to carry a conversation while I am using my electric toothbrush because I can't really hear or respond) as well as not wanting to get into bed with someone who is grimy, but the WAY he talked to her was so needlessly rude and nasty. So, unless they only showed us the tail end of a longer, more polite conversation in which he attempted to ask her to not talk to him while he couldn't engage with her and expressed his hesitance at cuddling with someone in her unwashed state and she refused to listen so he felt the need to be more forceful with her, he was just being a dick. Motivations mean a lot but the manner of expressing your desires goes a lot further in getting your point across.

I was really proud of her for confronting him so soon AND on camera, because in the past people like Amber and Kate let their husbands get away with that stuff for wayyyyyyyyyyyyyy too long and then more than halfway through the season dropped the bombshell that their husbands were actually giant creeps off camera. I disagree with some of you that she blathered on about it too much - Michael just kept staring at her with no reaction in those dead eyes, which I think made her even more upset and caused her to keep talking about it. She wasn't about to drop it, and I don't blame her one bit. But as far as I recall, she was very even and measured, not yelling. She was clearly rattled by the whole thing but she kept her composure, which I don't think I could have done if I were in her shoes. I also considered that maybe he said something in jest but if that were the case I would think he would start laughing out of embarrassment and apologizing right away, saying "Ugh, I know, I had a few drinks and was messing around and it came out so wrong" or something? She said that she asked him about it on the plane to try to confirm and clarify what he said and he admitted he said it but then denied it when she confronted him on camera. It seems like she was trying to give him a chance to adjust his statement or say he was joking but he still didn't. Also, Pastor Cal made such a big deal about it, saying how amazing and incredible and "unprecedented" it was, but just last season Amber's mom did the same thing for Matt whose family wasn't there. It wasn't that crazy of a moment and it certainly wasn't anything we hadn't seen before. It's just manufactured drama. If these are REAL, LEGALLY BINDING MARRIAGES like they tell us every week, why would the wedding dj suggest things that clearly cannot happen? I was really grossed out by this as well, and kind of hoped she would tell him that was unnecessary, but then she got all misty and said that she was impressed that he had only known her a day but knew how much that meant to her. 🤮