Married At First Sight: The First Year

[ShaNaeNae]

Am I blind or is there not a thread for the Doug and Jamie wedding special? 

[Kiss my mutt]

Yeah, I couldn't find one either!

[Bella]

I'll create one. Someone else usually does it and this totally slipped my mind, but I want to read your snark!

[Bella]

 

Jamie enlists Mikie Russo to help pull off her dream wedding to Doug in St. Thomas, where the couple originally began to fall in love. But as arrangements for an intimate beach ceremony get underway, Jamie's troubled past with her mother threatens to overshadow the big day.

 

Jamie? With mother issues? I'm shocked - absolutely shocked!

[girlplease]

I feel like Jamie just needs to cut ties with her mom. It is so painful to watch.

[Jellybeans]

I agree about cutting ties with mom but she wants her mom in her life. it is not as easy as one thinks.

I really believe these two are genuine. Loved their simple, beachside wedding.

Jamie? With mother issues? I'm shocked - absolutely shocked!

I have mother issues too. * hangs head in shame*

[Bella]

I agree about cutting ties with mom but she wants her mom in her life. it is not as easy as one thinks.

I have mother issues too. * hangs head in shame*

 

Some really good people have mother issues. The big difference is that they're not on television.

 

This is where the "experts" lose me, btw. Why did they put someone as vulnerable as Jamie in this situation? It makes me uncomfortable.

[girlplease]

Aw, there's no shame in mom issues - we all have them, to some degree. You're absolutely right that it's not easy, but just once I wish we'd see Jamie dealing with her mom in a healthier way - either not inviting her to the wedding, or not engaging when her mom remembers their "idyllic" home life, or, as Bella says...not putting the whole mess on TV!

 

It's such an open wound and I hope she eventually finds some peace with it. It's also why I can't totally hate on her as a fake famewhore - her feelings about her mom are pretty painfully real.

[Pfj99]

Did anyone else catch This comment during Doug's vows: "for some reason we both took a leap of faith and responded to a random phone call about a love experiment."

To me this sounds as if both were recruited to some extent, rather than volunteering. What do you think?

[absolutelyido]

In this article, Doug says “I had searched through different reality shows to see what was out there, and when I got a phone call from one that was talking about a love experiment, I knew I had to try out the idea."  It sounds like he may have applied for a different reality show (or shows), and the MAFS casting team got his name from one of those applications and called him.

 

http://tri.gmnews.com/weekinreview/82560

[Jellybeans]

I dont care for the term "famewhore". Here's why.

I was working when a very well know DJ come in (remember I am deaf) came in and we got to talking. We hit off, but not in a romantic sense. He was married, and I was dating my to-be husband. I asked him what on earth he could talk about on the radio "besides play music". At that time I was a genuinely funny person. I am quite humorless now, due to daughter's death.

Long story short- He asked me to appear on his radio program for about 5 minutes. So I did. I ended up staying on his program for about 25 minutes. Appeared again a few months later for 1.5 hours.

What was interesting is so many women called me a famewhore. And because we were joking about Valentine's Day in August, a lot of men came in to "check me out". I decided to take a week off and hide.

I enjoyed bantering with the DJ (did not realize people reallly listened to the radio) but I hated finding out so many heard me.

He asked me back again but I heard the term "famewhore" one time too many....and refused to go back.

Some people are good at being on TV or the radio and really, why should that be a fault? Not everyone can handle it. It is a skill, trait and pays damn well!

Edited March 28, 2015 by Jellybeans

[SnarkKitty]

It might rankle you, because you didn't seek it. I put the ones who not only seek it, but act like it's their birthright and will do damned near anything to get and keep it, with no discernible talent except selling their personal business to the masses, in the famewhore category. It's pretty much all there in the title.

 

Learning that Doug was actively seeking reality romance explains so much about him. Looks like that Bachelor gig put another "yes' check in the compatibility column.

[bambam86]

I went to school with jamie, she's a total fake and a wanna be fame who're lol, she tried to put together our high school reunion and 7 people showed up, nobody else wanted to be around her pretentious ass

[bambam86]

I went to high school and graduated with jamie, I can tell you right now, she's a complete fake, she's just pressuring him to have a baby so she can try and get another tv show, that's all she cares about. Nobody in our home town can stand her

[qtpye]

I went to high school and graduated with jamie, I can tell you right now, she's a complete fake, she's just pressuring him to have a baby so she can try and get another tv show, that's all she cares about. Nobody in our home town can stand her

 

 

Hi bambam86,

 

Thanks for the insight.  I have to ask...is her family life as messed up as she portrays or is that also exaggerated?  It does seem like she has had a very hard life.  Do you think she really likes Doug or is that also fake?  I know you are not a mind reader, but it would be interesting to hear from someone who knew her before.

[Jellybeans]

I do not know anyone that is the same person in high school and years after nursing school. People change all the time.

Some people change overnight.

And there is nothing wrong in wanting to be "famous" but personally, I think the word famewhore is demeaning.

[Waterlilly]

Hmmmmm, you make me curious bambam and not about Jamie...

[Liberty]

Does anyone know if Jamie got the host job she applied for at the online show? 

[Marlene]

Hi, I only found out about this show thanks to an article in the Daily Mail about the Australian version? So I had a lot of catch up to do and I did enjoy the first series.

 

I loved Doug and Jamie and thought Cortney and jason were okay. So I ws busy downloading season 2 when I discovered there were more episodes of the 2 couples. 

I am sure it does not help me watching so much of this show but I am so annoyed. Annoyed by Cortney who talks the big talk but is in reality very childish but this iis D and J's topic.

 

Now I do see Jamie's fakeness. I do not find her as pretty as season 1 and how horrible she can be by trying to push her opinion and what she wants over what Doug wants.

This woman has serious problems. I am watching episode 6 and Jamie is constantly talking about Me, Myself and I. or me me me.. She wants to be loved by everyone that is why she then tries to please Dough in the sex games but it felt so forced and fake and apparently she also post video's on youtube how she is going to please her man. This is done to be liked by others. Look at how good I am for my man.

 

The problem with Jamie is she is not realistic  and I fear she is going to fall. She wants everything to be perfect and that is not going to happen. You can try but that is going to put such a strain on somebody. I liked Jamie the most during the first few episodes where she felt more real and vulnerable.

 

Doug sometimes go's too far. I do not want to know if you have a hard-on thank you very much and I think it is rude well if a Dutch person (country of freedom and everything go's says it is rude it is rude.)

 

Sometimes I even feel sorry for Doug being with Jamie but they are both grownups but I seriously hope Jamie gets help. Jamie perfect is boring and not appealing.

[Marlene]

I also do not notice them Jellybeans. Did you notice Jamie has one too? Perfect together ;)

[Marlene]

Wow. why did she have to be so nasty during dinner. I understand there are problems but she came because she asked and then she humiliated her. I understand mum is not really looking forward talking or being with Jamie because of all the anger.

 

Jamie could not make fun so nobody could. Am I the only one who thought it so interesting when Jamie blamed her mum for being fake and pretending all was so good in live, happy happy she was accusing her mum of things she herself does?   Happens a lot. You get annoyed by character traits you have yourself.

[ShaNaeNae]

I hated Jamie during this wedding special. I'm not a fan to begin with, but if bad can look worse bad, she can do it.

 

I get she craves that mother (and daddy?) figure. I understand she's got a lot of anger. My mom and I have had (and still have) our issues. She messed up. But she owns the fact she messed up. The woman can't win. If she's nice and polite talking to the other guests, she's being fake. If she doesn't come or is quiet, she's not being supportive. 

 

I don't find Jamie real to begin with. Like Marlene said above, she posses those same traits she accuses her mom of. 

[sleekandchic]

Tonight I saw a brief preview for season 2 of MAFS: The First Year, starring Jamie and Doug, and Jason and Cortney.

Looks like it will begin October 13, 2015.

http://when-will.net/tv-series/1350-will-there-be-married-at-first-sight-the-first-year-season-2-release-date-confirmed-to-be-updated.html

In the preview, Jamie is verklempt and weepy, explaining to Dougie that she still has feelings for her ex. Oy!

Jason scolds Cortney because he doesnt have the experience of extended family that she has. While Jason gets increasingly upset, Cortney curiously smirks.

To me, this stuff doesnt ring true at all. I think, obviously, the Season 2 morons were supposed to do this edition of MAFS: The First Year, but when those couples imploded, production decided to keep going with the Season 1 idiots.

Something ain't right with Jamie/Doug and Cortney/Jason. I hope all it is, is pretending strife for the cameras for drama and ratings.

Edited September 19, 2015 by sleekandchic

[Primetimer]

And celebrate what you DON'T see!

Read the story

[Tara Ariano]

In the second season premiere, Jamie and Doug create a pre-baby bucket list and celebrate Jamie's birthday. Also: Cortney teaches Jason to do movie makeup and Jason's best friend, Neph, finds love in Las Vegas.

[Primetimer]

And more not-quite-burning questions about the Season 2 premiere.

Read the story

[pinkelephant3]

Jamie is one of the most irritating and grating people ever.

[sleekandchic]

Tara, your recap made me laugh. I think we are alone in the vast wilderness of MAFS: The First Year.

If it werent for this unexpected second season, I think Doug and Jamie, and Cortney and Jason, would be divorcing. Neph and Jasmine would be nobodies, nowhere, nohow.

The second season of this show was supposed to be about the MAFS Season 2 losers...The Ryans, Jessica, Jacqueline, etc. They imploded. PTB should have canceled season 2 of the First Year, but obviously could not disengage.

Most frightening thing I saw tonight was a commercial for FYI's newest entry. Khloe's Kocktails. Yeah. I gotta catch my breath.

http://variety.com/2015/tv/news/khloe-kardashian-kocktails-with-khloe-fyi-talkshow-1201544378/

Edited October 14, 2015 by sleekandchic

[absolutelyido]

I have zero interest in Neph and his Las Vegas girlfriend.

 

I thought all of Jamie's former boyfriend's emotionally abused her? At least that's why she said she had trouble trusting Doug. Now she has feelings for one of her ex's? Sorry, not buying it. Although, Doug making a joke about everything and not wanting to talk seriously about their relationship rings true to me.

[sleekandchic]

Doug is basically a nice guy, I think?, but he's also the quintessential, textbook, perpetual adolescent. Peter Pan. NYC is overstuffed- packed with them. I love when he mops his brow, cause, to me, his flop sweat is about much more than overactive sweat glands.

He should have relocated to a beach life somewhere for baseball, booze and broads on a rotating basis. Trouble is, he loves his mom and dad, and cant make that kind of break from them. But he really does not want a conventional, married with children life. Jmo.

[crazychicken]

First off thank you for the hilarious recap the snark is so much better than the show.

 

I do not hold out much hope for Jamie & Doug she is always so fake. All the sneak peeks and media have been about how bad their marriage is and yet she still wants a baby, she changed her name to show her commitment etc yet still expects Doug to bow down and take all the crap she dishes. Every time  Jamie appears I just want to shout shut up we all know that the minute the cameras stop rolling you are out of there faster than Speedy Gonzales you are fooling nobody.

 

From Jamie's blog about joining the second season

 

During the conversations with FYI and our production company, Kinetic Content, I was brutally honest (as I usually am). I just flat out told them that Doug and I aren’t having dinner parties or decorating – we are barely speaking. Doug and I were both mature enough to lay it all out there and say ‘listen, we need help.’ If we were going to film another show we couldn’t pretend to be happy with each other. We couldn’t paste a smile on and invite friends over to join us for dinner when we weren’t even eating dinner together.

 

http://jamieotis.com/2015/10/married-at-first-sight-the-first-year/

 

I did chuckle at Kinetic allowing them to be real and show the struggles of their marriage instead of good TV of fake happy Jamie. We all know that fake happy is boring, fights are much better snark fodder

[sleekandchic]

Whoa, Jamie's blog shows how fakety-faux-fakety the Jamie/Doug marriage really is.

Oh those MAFS experts! Are they watching? Listening, learning? Their earnest insistence that their "instruments" are exemplary, true indicators, is debunked constantly by the matched couples.

If MAFS wants to continue on, my advice: ditch the bloviator-experts, get a wheel of fortune wheelie thing. Round and round it goes, where it stops, nobody knows. :)

Edited October 14, 2015 by sleekandchic

[cardigirl]

Okay, well, I was glad to see Doctor Schwartz again, because I like her. And I did enjoy seeing the two couples again. I was so disappointed in the second season of Married at First Sight, because I found the first season to be so charming. I'm in the minority on here, I know, but I kind of like the show exploring what it takes to make a lasting relationship.

To me the experts have never said anything that I would disagree with about building lasting relationships. So I find the show interesting in that respect.

I'm in for watching it.

Edited October 14, 2015 by cardigirl

[Gigi43]

The most interesting thing to me about this episode is that the only "Expert" used is the only one from Season 2 MAFS that came out of that not hated by a lot of the viewers. She's the only one I'm okay watching. The others should have been muzzled during that last reunion.

I'm having trouble buying this Neph thing. That worked out so nicely for a show about people getting into a relationship with someone they don't know that they've gotten a Friend that's "happening" to be doing something like that. If this is legit that's scary for this girl coming to NY with Cortney as the closest thing to a friend. Out of Jamie, Monet and Cortney she seems by far the most likely to be catty and fake nice but then really talk a lot of shit behind your back. Jamie and Monet, I think lean towards just not bothering more than they actually have to with someone they don't like. Cortney will pry into your life for gossip and use it.

I think Jason and Doug could be happy together; they're both goofy and seemingly cool with just doing their things and Jason would love Doug's seemingly nice family being close. Plus, they're both married to bores.

Edited October 14, 2015 by Gigi43

[seasick]

Yes so this was supposed to be season 2 couples.  After the disaster from that season I wasn't keen on watching, esp. after seeing a few dumb, gratuitous teasers for this.  . And, like all of us I was disgusted by how fake Season 2 was, from the recruiting to the pretense that any of these couples were actually living together, and how the 'experts' defended this scam. (etc etc).

 

But for starters,  I do like Jamie,  despite the reality-show chase that puts her sincerity into question.   There's no doubt now that the her horrific upbringing is true.  I am blown away at how she rose above it all, stayed on a positive course, became a nurse and carries herself with grace.   She wanted a better life and she worked for it.  (no I am not Jamie nor do I know her IRL.)  I think what she has accomplished and who she has become is extremely admirable, if not miraculous considering the mess she came from.

 

So far, I like the Jamie/Doug story, esp. after reading that portion of her blog that someone posted (thanks for that)..  Jamie has demonstrated that she is willing to show the good, bad and ugly of her life and so I think their story line will be generally sincere.  What troubles me a little is how Jamie is pushing to have kids when their marriage is struggling.  She has flat out said she's gun-shy about being  "stuck" with a baby on your hip and a husband who isn't who you thought he would be.  So.... I hope TPTB keep it really real.  We all know they apparently want to be fiction writers, not reality show producers.

 

I've had the side-eye on the Jason/Courtney story for awhile. I don't know what their real relationship is, but their story doesn't make sense to me.  First of all,  never a sight or sound from her parents or her family.  They either didn't show for Jason's graduation,or refused to be on camera.   My sense is they didn't come at all.  From what I've seen you would think they would embrace their relationship wholeheartedly  but they seem strangely detached and out of the picture.  We'll see if they come up at all in this show.  If not..that's a red flag to me as to what this relationship really is.

 

 Renewing their vows in Las Vegas??    I thought for sure. that once the parents accepted it was a real marriage that they would have had a reception or vow renewal with her family.   Their daughter got married--they like him-- okay,   lets have a real wedding here with friends and family.  I get that TPTB wanted to put a little young, wild, punch in their storyline   (IRL none of them could afford to go to Vegas)  so it bugged me nevertheless.  Things don't add up much there.  Maybe it's just that their life is simple and good and there is no drama so the show wants to create some, but whatever-- it doesn't ring true.  The editing is choppy.. I know she's away for work (?) but it's almost like the edits we got when the Season 2 couples were pretending to be together.  We seem to be getting a very purposefully slim and superficial view of their lives.  

 

I didn't know this forum was separate from the original.  It is still MAFS so wouldn't think to look for a different forum.   The show bugs me but I do enjoy the comments on it so I hope people find it.

 

 

.  .

[seasick]

Somebody help me out here..  I just glanced thru some of the Jason/Courtney thread and one said that it showed Jason meeting Courtney's family during the reunion show.  Did I miss something? I never saw that .  I just commented (as I see others had in that thread) how Courtney's family is never seen or mentioned

[SaucyMommy]

First off - Hi Everyone I've missed seeing your "faces". I am so torn about this season.  I kept telling myself after season 2 blew up I was not watching this, but there I was at my tv flipping to FYI to see what was going on with these couples.  I do agree that if the show was not still going on, I do not believe either of these couples would still be together. I found Jamie so phony last year about how in love she is, and now suddenly six months later she's in a dark place in her marriage. It made me wonder what her expectations are in marriage. Most people aren't having babies when they are still getting to know one another.  I do think that Doug's inability to have a serious conversation is annoying, but I also wonder how often she's telling him in a constructive way what she actually needs vs expecting him to read her mind. I don't know how a marriage can really plateau that quickly, and things are moving forward - they just AREN'T moving at the pace she wants. She comes off very selfish and very naggy.  I didn't buy her last year, I thought she was falling in love with the idea of Doug but not falling in love with Doug.  

 

I think Courtney got so much crap last season for being a debbie downer that she's suddenly had a change of heart and suddenly, magically loves herself and has the best marriage ever. And Jason, please stop saying you are weird. There is actually nothing weird about you. AT ALL. If you have to say you are weird, generally you are not weird. 

 

Neph and Jasmine - next.

[Tara Ariano]

If this is legit that's scary for this girl coming to NY with Cortney as the closest thing to a friend. Out of Jamie, Monet and Cortney she seems by far the most likely to be catty and fake nice but then really talk a lot of shit behind your back.

 

OH MAN do I agree with this! She was even doing it in the premiere!

[seasick]

Didn't she say that they (jasmine and friend ) were hookers? I haven't read blogs or social media so I have no info other than the show. Maybe it's better that way. I still have some naivete about the couples.. I do think these two had sincere hopes and motivation. (but still, ..something about Cortney/Jason doesn't add up for me.anymore--more than Doug and Jamie.

 

I know many said they wouldn't watch beyond S2 but I know I will end up watching.unless I REALLY cannot take it.  It may have snark value.    I hope some of the S2 people will come back to the forum. It was very fun..sometimes the worse the show the better the forum.  I like the extra info I get from others.  I was sad when the season ended and enjoyed getting to 'know' everyone.  

Edited October 14, 2015 by seasick

[qtpye]

How many people who watched this show went in thinking "I wonder how Neph's love life is going"? Show of hands.

 

I will say that no matter what I think of Jaimie...I have always admired how she rose to success coming from such a horrible background.  I should point out I define success as being a nurse and taking care of her siblings ( I think she legally adopted some of them at one point), not being a reality show star.

 

I really hope she is not thinking of bringing a baby into a troubled marriage...that is never good news.

Edited October 15, 2015 by qtpye

[ShaNaeNae]

I don't know if I can make it through the whole season with Jamie. She gets on my nerves more than anyone on reality TV does. I had to stop those little 7 minutes bits of show they were showing during Seven Year Switch because her constant mugging and overdoing the excitement were fakety fake.  I think in the beginning was in love with the show and attention from being a couple but never loved Doug. It's always all about her. She's seriously pissed because she has to call him 3 times and he doesn't come when called like a dog? How dare he have dreams and a bucket list. His dream should be about pleasing her and his bucket list should be going to Connecticut to buy a crib. Her little comments to Dougs parents about they "were" in love were uncalled for. And during all this, she still wants a baby!

 

I used to like Courtney a lot.  Not so much anymore. And I don't think she's going to take too well to another female joining her and the guys.

 

Neph, I could not care less.  Just know that if you live in New York and she lives in Texas, she's not coming "down" to see you.

Edited October 21, 2015 by ShaNaeNae

[suzeecat]

I really don't appreciate them spending so much time with Neph and his girlfriend. I guess they are attempting to fill in time that normally would have been taken by the third couple (Monet/Vaughn). But still, I get a genuine vibe that this season was slapped together very quickly due to the fact that the Season 2 couples disintegrated before our eyes and there was a gap in the programming.

Did anyone see the trailer for a new season of Arranged? Is this new filming of the same couples, or is it all new Arranged couples? If it's the same couples, I don't think I'll be interested because none of them were likeable in the least.

Edited October 15, 2015 by suzeecat

[JapMo]

Watching Jason and Courtney on this new season, I feel their marriage is pretty strong.  The biggest plus for them, IMO, is that they both seem pretty crazy about each other.  I agree with everyone about Neph...less is more where he is concerned.  Regarding Courtney, I think her 5 minute conversation into the camera at the beginning of the show was to explain her odd behavior towards the end of the first First Year season where she was so bitchy and unhappy.  She may suffer from depression, who knows.   

 

I read Jamie's blog that was posted above and found it very interesting.  Unlike some on this site, I feel Jamie is more genuine this go round (but of course it's only the first episode).  The blog was an eye-opener with her admitting they were not getting along at all.  I do think Jamie has grown to love Doug, but I don't think it's the fireworks and body tingling type of love that Jason and Courtney have.  She realized he was a good guy and he loved her, and I think she began to loosen up and give him a chance and grew to love him, but when she's walking down the street and sees couples in advanced stages of PDA, she probably wonders why she doesn't have that.  It's a common thing with marriages that are long term.....but at least we HAD that.  I don't think she has ever had that with Doug, and at age 29 she still wants it.  AND she really really really wants a baby.  Now here's where I fault Doug.  If anyone remembers the very first show where Doug was in the backyard with his brother and talking about why he signed up for the "experiment"...he definitely said at that time he wants to be a father and thinks he could be a very good one.  I got the impression then that he was anxious to have kids.  Now if he told Jamie that, then I can see her being severely disappointed that he's now pulling back.  Those items on his bucket list?  His mother was right...they are LAME.  He came up with them, IMO, to stall Jamie.  At age 29, I can see Jamie getting nervous about her biological clock.  She has got to be devastated that he's retreating like that.  In the first season when they hooked up, I thought Jamie was a bitch and Doug was the saint.  In First Year I, I began to think Doug was only in love with her looks and the fact she didn't want him, and now that he had her he wasn't that interested anymore.  Now after one episode of First Year II, I'm thinking Doug is a lot more immature than I thought.  Not because he doesn't want a baby, but because he's not manning up to that and being honest to her. 

[Tara Ariano]

I wrote this about how good Jamie is at being fake back in the second episode of her MAFS season. Seems like her skills are slipping.

[crazychicken]

Tara you nailed it from the start, I love your recaps

 

 

In the first season when they hooked up, I thought Jamie was a bitch and Doug was the saint.  In First Year I, I began to think Doug was only in love with her looks and the fact she didn't want him, and now that he had her he wasn't that interested anymore.  Now after one episode of First Year II, I'm thinking Doug is a lot more immature than I thought.  Not because he doesn't want a baby, but because he's not manning up to that and being honest to her.

 

I think that Doug is also starting to get sick of her faking for the camera, he just seemed feed up in the preview at the end when talking to his dad. It has always been about Jamie, what she wants, what she needs with no consideration for his needs. In the clips about their married life and during the show it seems to be that Jamie goes on about what she does for Doug and what she puts up with it. Even when his parents come to dinner it was about admonishing Doug, she started off defending the baby bucket list until his parents called it stupid then she was smug about how right she was and he should just knock her up now. Just my hunch but as soon as she gets knocked up Doug is not seeing any bedroom action until she wants another baby, not that he seems to get a heck of a lot anyway. If she is not comfortable being naked in front of Doug after 12 months then I see a very long dry spell coming if they remain together. She will have to go lingerie shopping every day as Doug gets more feed up with her behavior as that seems to be her go to move, she will buy lingerie put up with Doug's sweaty body for 10 minutes and then expect him to pant at her feet and put up with more admonishment as she was a 'good wife'. From the preview clips they seem to have a more mother child relationship, she is always talking to him like he is a naughty boy that she needs to correct and the way she says 'Douglas' just like his mother makes me cringe that is a boner killer right there. Intimacy is an important part of a relationship, it bonds you and gives you a closeness so I can see why there seems to be a distance emotionally with them if they are not connecting.

 

It is telling to me that she was more excited to see her MIL than her husband, she wants the close family so is willing to stick with Doug for that and the fame yet doesn't want to deal with Doug when the cameras are gone. If their marriage is that hard during the first 18 months then I say good luck in a few years when all the quirks that she thought was cute annoy the heck out of her. I think that is part of what grates me about Jamie she was all over the media on how to make marriage work and keep the spark alive etc and I just went bitch please get back to me after you have been married longer than 5 seconds then in a total backflip this year it is all about how they were barely speaking, if their marriage was that bad why did they not seek help instead of waiting for the cameras to reappear to get expert help, out of all the experts Dr Pepper seems the most genuine but she would still have limited time to help on camera, they would have been better dealing with it is private and then decide once and for all if they would work knowing that they gave it the best chance they could.

 

 

The blog was an eye-opener with her admitting they were not getting along at all.  I do think Jamie has grown to love Doug, but I don't think it's the fireworks and body tingling type of love that Jason and Courtney have.  She realized he was a good guy and he loved her, and I think she began to loosen up and give him a chance and grew to love him, but when she's walking down the street and sees couples in advanced stages of PDA, she probably wonders why she doesn't have that.  It's a common thing with marriages that are long term.....but at least we HAD that.  I don't think she has ever had that with Doug, and at age 29 she still wants it.

I think you nailed it Jamie knows he is a good guy underneath all the immaturity, and during the first season the public loved him and told her how lucky she was to be matched with Doug, so she talked herself into loving him. It was weird to me that the first time she told him she loved him was at the 6 month reunion on camera after getting all the public feedback. What she seems to be realizing that just because he is a good guy doesn't mean he is the right guy for her, if they accept that they will never have that chemistry then they could probably have a satisfying marriage but Jamie seems to be missing that spark now and it is only going to get worse the longer the relationship especially if they bring children into the mix as those little angels put a strain on even great relationships during the first few year in my experience.

 

Having said all that I can see the finale being fake happy Jamie being totally in love with Doug again and kissing the experts feet about how they gave her a man that was willing to be a floor mat so she could be famous, Jamie is not giving up her chance at camera time. I see a split announced once they stop filming and then Jamie doing all the media rounds trashing Doug's immaturity.

 

This show has just shown me how important dating and getting to know a partner is, even with all the scientific matching you can not account for human chemistry,

[JapMo]

Sorry, gang...I haven't posted in so long I forgot how to do the quote thing...so I just cut and pasted:

 

"I think you nailed it Jamie knows he is a good guy underneath all the immaturity, and during the first season the public loved him and told her how lucky she was to be matched with Doug, so she talked herself into loving him...... what she seems to be realizing is that just because he's a good guy doesn't mean he is the right guy for her, if they accept that they will never have that chemistry then they could probably have a satisfying marriage but Jamie seems to be missing that spark now and it is only going to get worse the longer the relationship especially if they bring children into the mix as those little angels put a strain on even great relationships during the first few year in my experience."

 

That is sooo true.  I think to a certain extent she did talk herself in to it.  I kind of feel sorry for her, because there's nothing worse than having these feelings and not being able to tell someone.  I mean think about Monet's reaction.  Pretty much be happy with what you have because it's a cold world out there.  Everybody telling her Doug's a great guy and really loves her and she really hit the jackpot.  And all the while she's smiling and pretending that she feels the same, when inside she's screaming 'But I don't feel THAT way about him'.  I know of what I speak.  I had a boyfriend that to this day my family still loves.  EVERYONE loved him and told me how lucky I was.  And he was perfect...except he didn't do it for me, you know?  And we stayed together probably 2 years longer than if I had been honest and broke up with him in the first place.  He was heartbroken....he had planned his whole life with me.  Twenty years later I went to his sister's funeral and we went outside and talked, and he told me I was right to do what I did.  He said I had been giving him signals for a long time but he was so scared of being alone that he ignored them.  He actually wound up apologizing to me.  We both married great people and still run into each other occasionally.  But the biggest thing I remember from that time is that I couldn't tell anyone how I really felt because they would think I was a bad person for having those feelings.  That...and the sick feeling I had in my stomach every time he was nice to me or someone said what a great couple we were.  I realize it was guilt...I felt so guilty for not having the feelings for him that I should have.  Whew...when I think back now on that I remember how unhappy I was.  Maybe that's why Jamie is so bitchy to Doug at times.  She's just unhappy.

[ClareWalks]

Jason and Cortney are boring me to tears. Which probably means they'll have a long and successful marriage. I could not give less of a shit about Neph, except to say that his girlfriend is a moron for moving to NYC to be with him, moving in with him when he lives with his whole family, and Neph is a moron for thinking he can just  "see how it goes" with this girl who uprooted her whole life and will be cohabiting with him. This is no longer casual, idiot.

 

Jamie is a bit of a harpy but I get where she's coming from. Doug is basically a man-child, and needs to be more clear about a timeline for having kids. All he keeps saying is "I don't want kids yet." Pregnancy is 9 months, pal, so you gotta add that time to whatever time you think you need to get ready. Whether or not to have kids, and approximately how many kids, is a dealbreaker for most people. If Doug won't give Jamie children, she will need to move on. I get that she wants to figure out the deal, and I'd be frustrated with Doug too. That being said, Jamie's approach is horrible. Stop dancing around it, stop talking about having babies in a joking way "but seriously," and sit the man down and tell him "look, my timeline is to be pregnant before I'm 30, and to have X number of children if we can manage it. What is your timeline? BE SPECIFIC."

[Sienna]

I think Jaime labors under a rom com inspired delusion that if you're a chick, and willing to settle for someone who's less than drop dead hot, you're rewarded with a stable, secure, "family man" sort of guy.

 

While Doug does (at least on the surface) seem to fit the sweet/loyal part of that stereotype, I don't think he ever matched up on the rest. When the show started, he was living at home, only recently re-employed after a slump, and he seems in no hurry to settle down and raise kids.

 

I'm not knocking Doug for that, but I suspect it's not what Jaime thought she was signing up for, even if Doug never led her to believe otherwise. And I totally agree that she's not happy, and it's bringing out the harpy in her.

[Gigi43]

Doug likes to make jokes and do "cute" things, I think his list was what he thought would be a camera friendly "fun" deflection from having to say he doesn't want a kid with the relationship in the state it's in and Jamie's motives. Jamie bringing up her want to be needed was a red flag her motive isn't a desire to be a mom, she's come off in the past like getting married and having a family would make her feel better about her past, which hasn't happened given the stuff with her mom at the wedding. The baby is her next step in her quest. Perhaps she also sees it as a way to make sure she holds on to Doug, because even though she may not like him, she's fixated on the idea of a husband and he's there and I really think he doesn't have it in him to be the one to leave especially if there's a kid involved. 

[Tara Ariano]

Here's a question I didn't raise in my post but still burns: do we have any evidence at all that Jason has met Cortney's family yet? Obviously we haven't seen it because her parents refuse to be on the show, but have they even talked about them coming to New York or Jason going to North Carolina? I feel like we would have heard about it if either of those things had happened!