Original subtitles

Wow.

He's gorgeous!

You look beautiful.

MORENA: The way he looked at me...

Wow.

NARRATOR: 20 singles from across Australia...

JAMIE: I'm full of fricken love right now.

..embarked on a pursuit of true love...

TONY: So perfect and so beautiful.

That's my wife. (LAUGHS)

MORENA: I think I've hit the jackpot today.

He's just divine.

(BLEEP)

PAUL: It is totally my fault.

Despite Carina and Paul's unusual start...

You know when a guy tells you everything you want to hear?

..the pair's connection was undeniable...

CARINA: You're like a 500 out of a ten.

Bang. Right up there.

..as they quickly became one of the experiment's strongest couples.

Really, we're blossoming.

PAUL: It's been amazing.

(TINKLING ON GLASS)

But at the most recent dinner party...

I did something that I absolutely regret.

..Paul made a shock revelation.

I threw a punch in our... in our bedroom door.

It's despicable behaviour and it should be called out.

JOHN: This is very serious. Very, very, very serious.

Tonight...

JAMIE: I'm just, like, obsessed with him now.

I've never felt like this before.

..marital bliss deepens for most of our couples.

It just feels so natural and good.

We're just two idiots that get along really well, to be honest.

Exactly what we said when we were matching them.

(LAUGHTER)

And then...

Well, there was something that happened.

..Clint exposed.

What happened?

I come home and I instantly know something's not right.

The unexpected turn of events that no-one saw coming.

I had to kind of divert my gaze.

(DRAMATIC MUSIC)

We're gonna get straight to the matter at hand.

Paul's moment of truth...

I... I've never done this in the past, ever.

I'm sorry. Please.

I need to jump in here.

..as he is held to account by the experts.

I cannot sit here and listen to this justification.

This is toxic, inappropriate and unacceptable behaviour.

Is this the end of the road for Carina and Paul?

I want you to tell us

why we should not kick you out of the experiment right now.

(DRAMATIC MUSIC)

(BRIGHT MUSIC PLAYS)

TEEJAY: Want a cup of tea, love? BETH: Yeah.

It's the morning of the fourth commitment ceremony.

Let's have a geeze. Yeah. That's good.

And we are now past the halfway point of the experiment.

JAMIE: They're just in their rebellious teen years.

DAVE: Yeah. (LAUGHS)

I used to be their world.

I don't know why my fish look traumatised.

LAUREN: Cheers to surviving another 'bogan-ic' dinner party.

Cheers to that. Whoo.

After an intense dinner party,

Jacqui and Ryan are waking up closer than ever.

(RYAN LAUGHS)

I'm still pretty proud of us for the last week we've had.

Yeah.

Ryan and I are really good. We're really happy.

(LAUGHS)

It feels like we're back in the honeymoon phase.

(RYAN LAUGHS) Yeah. Gee.

I felt so supported by Ryan at the dinner party last night.

You really hurt me. You did.

(WOMAN INTERRUPTS) No, no, just let her talk.

Let her talk. You'll let my wife talk.

You'll let my wife talk now, alright?

JACQUI: Ryan definitely had my back the whole time.

And that means the world.

I'm glad you got to say what you needed to say to Rhi,

so, moving past it.

I feel like we have an intellectual connection,

emotional connection, spiritual connection

and, in fact, like, the thing that's made me feel most close to Ryan

over the past week was... (RYAN LAUGHS)

..I saw something about data centres been built in Sydney

and I was, like, "Ryan, do you know what a data centre is?"

And he actually did and I was, like, "That's great." Like...

So I actually had a conversation with him about data centres,

so that was good.

I like the cuddles too. Mmm.

Same. (KISSES)

Despite Jacqui and Ryan's positivity,

most of the group are still processing Paul's shock confession.

(TINKLING ON GLASS)

Carina and I, we had our first big fight and I...

I threw a punch in our... in our bedroom door.

JOHN: This is very serious. MEL: Yeah.

Very, very, very serious.

NARRATOR: This morning, the couples are still coming to terms

with Paul's actions.

There's no reason for anyone to be hitting doors,

especially in front of a woman.

JAMIE: Yeah. I don't know what he's thinking.

Paul's one of my mates

but he let me down by doing that and those actions.

I don't stand for it.

Like, that's uncalled-for in any situation.

TEEJAY: Pretty big thing. Like, that's a huge outburst of emotion.

Punching the wall is not OK. BETH: Yeah.

You could see it, though. Yeah.

You could see it in his face, how disappointed he was in himself...

Yeah. ..and that he really regretted it.

JEFF: You could see the remorse and the regret

but, like, just so disappointing.

Yeah.

Paul obviously apologised to the group last night,

which is great that he did that

and he let the group know what happened,

but he didn't need to apologise to the group,

he needed to apologise to Carina, which he had done

and she looks like she's forgiven him.

But at the end of the day, what he did is not good enough.

You know, if you step out of line,

you need to answer for those actions.

Commitment ceremony is the time for that.

The experts, I think they're gonna probably

go in on him pretty hard, which is justified, really...

Yeah. ..so...

I hope they do.

(TENSE MUSIC)

PAUL: How'd you sleep? CARINA: Good.

Yeah? Tired.

Yeah.

I would say this has probably been the hardest week so far

with our relationship.

It's been a bit of a challenge.

I'd probably say it a million times again if I had to

but what I did is so unacceptable.

It's so, you know...

It's just...

This is something I'm gonna regret for the rest of my life.

CARINA: I'm glad Paul owned up to it

and everyone could see that he was, you know...he was emotional

and very, very sorry.

There's gonna be a lot of questions coming your way.

Tonight's going to be quite challenging.

Yeah.

I can feel the anxiety kicking in.

I know, the experts, they're gonna come at me for it

and I don't blame them for it.

Ay-ay-ay.

Oh!

NARRATOR: This morning, Awhina is waking up alone.

There's definitely a lot of turmoil in mine and Adrian's relationship

at the moment.

Adrian and I haven't really reconnected

since friends and family.

We've been sleeping separately.

Adrian's feeling a lot of hurt. I feel a lot of hurt.

I just wanted his family and friends to like me,

but they were really hostile.

You are focusing a lot on the negatives because...

CLEO: He hasn't even shown up, so let's just stop it there.

When the families met, they butted heads.

You deserve more than this.

ELITA: Actually, I...I don't need to listen to this shit.

Goodbye. Pointless conversation. It is.

And while Adrian told his version of events...

ADRIAN: We had the family day and that was just a disaster, bro.

Her sister comes in, straight on the defence, like, yelling at me

and I'm, like, "Whoa, relax."

..he tried to stop Awhina telling her side to the group.

Have you not already done that?

MEL: Adrian has one set of rules for himself

and a different set for Awhina.

I'm just so sick of Adrian controlling the narrative.

Last night was the first time I kind of was, like,

"Well, I'm not going to let you control this narrative

"and tell me I can't address the group"

and that's not gonna happen tonight at the commitment ceremony either.

I need the help from the experts.

NARRATOR: But Adrian is still adamant the topic is off limits.

ADRIAN: Sitting on the couch with the experts,

I'm not gonna touch on, you know, the family day at all.

It's a touchy subject, you know.

Family's the most important thing.

Those things should be kept private

and, yeah, you just don't talk about my family.

It's that simple.

I hope Awhina's on the same page.

AWHINA: I'm going to talk about it.

I'm gonna really break it down for the experts.

I still have genuine feelings for Adrian,

so hopefully it can help Adrian and I come closer.

We can connect and both see eye to eye.

The countdown is on to the fourth commitment ceremony.

I don't really know what we're gonna talk about with the experts

because I feel like we're going really well.

Good. (LAUGHS)

And as the couples get ready to decide whether to stay...

You've got a nice dress on too.

You always have nice dresses. JACQUI: Thank you.

..or leave...

TEEJAY: Look at you, little hot tamale. Ole!

..there's been a disappearing act.

One bride has gone missing.

(TENSE MUSIC)

TONY: I really don't know what happened. I really don't know.

I haven't seen Morena since last night's dinner party.

We found out the plot of why Tony doesn't want a 57.

WOMAN: Why? What was it?

He would like to have a baby.

Cheers. TONY: I want to see my eyes.

There's no harm in that.

Morena, do you know how beautiful you are and how pretty you are?

But your personality gives me the shits, man.

I feel...sad.

I'm not happy about, you know, what I said, what I've done

and it just wasn't right.

When she isn't pushing me over the edge, you know...

We're not in a good place.

I thought I was gonna leave with a handshake

and, you know, be friends, but right now, it's faded away.

I am a little bit disappointed, you know.

I mean, at least say goodbye.

(DRAMATIC MUSIC)

TONY: Hello, my friends. DAVE: Hey, guys.

ALESSANDRA: Hi. MEL: Hello, gents.

Hey. How are you?

Greetings, gentlemen. Come and sit down, get yourselves comfortable.

(DRAMATIC MUSIC)

(DRAMATIC MUSIC)

Hello, ladies. Hi.

WOMAN: Hi.

JEFF: How are you? RHI: Good. How are you?

DAVE: Where's... That couch is big enough for you.

Has she gone already? I don't know.

Oh... What did you do now, eh?

Well, greetings, everyone. MAN: Howdy.

WOMAN: Hi.

Uh, before we kick off, we probably need to point out

that there appears to be a bride that's missing.

There's no Morena.

Tony... Yes, sir.

..do you know much about it?

I have no idea. I don't know where she is.

She didn't show up. So I can't give you an answer.

So I'm kind of a little bit disappointed.

You know, even if it was not meant to be,

at least a hug and a kiss and say goodbye.

That would've been nice.

Why don't we get you up on the couch, Tony?

We can unpack it now.

(APPLAUSE)

Hello, everybody. Grab a seat.

Hi, Tony.

Well, it's kind of weird not having Morena here.

I feel a little bit sad.

MEL: Yeah.

Well, how was your dinner party last night with her?

We went around the room and we questioned each other

on how everything was going

and it came to my...like, my turn to talk and I kind of...

I mean, I've just been trying so hard

through this whole experiment...

and I just...it was just too much.

It was... (DOOR OPENS)

(DRAMATIC MUSIC)

Did you really think I wasn't gonna come?

Did you really think I was gonna give him the last word?

(DRAMATIC MUSIC)

I kind of... I mean, I've just been trying so hard

through this whole experiment...

(DRAMATIC MUSIC)

..and I just... It was just too much.

It was... (DOOR OPENS)

(DRAMATIC MUSIC)

Did you really think I wasn't gonna come?

Did you really think I was gonna give him the last word?

No, don't stand up.

Sit down and come and talk to me.

Don't stand up.

(TENSE MUSIC)

Hello, everybody. JOHN: Hello, Morena.

Nice to see you. Good to see you.

ALESSANDRA: Welcome. Have a seat.

Welcome back, Morena.

(SOLEMN MUSIC)

Alright.

Unexpected, but we are very delighted that you're here.

We are. Thank you.

Would you like to finish what you were talking about, Tony,

and then we'll go to you... Thank you.

..Morena.

Well, at the dinner party, I kind of said to Morena

she's a beautiful lady, but just the personality's not there for me.

Every time I did something,

it was always a challenge for me, you know.

Like, if I did something nice or if I said something, you know,

if I made a cheeky comment or I was trying to be funny

or something like that, it upset her.

And I've been quiet this whole way through

and yesterday was probably one of the first times I've spoken out.

I mean, she's a very strong woman,

maybe too much of a personality for me.

I mean, he doesn't like my personality?

(TENSE MUSIC)

Like, you don't even know who you're with.

You've got no idea who I am.

He's... He's... He's put a lid on me.

In such a short time, I've allowed somebody to shut me down.

And he doesn't get the right to tell the person who does talk

to stop talking,

the person that does dance, stop dancing

and he's gone...

I've never stopped you from doing anything...

No, I'm talking. ..so didn't get upset...

I'm talking. It's my turn to talk. OK, go ahead, Morena. Talk.

(DRAMATIC MUSIC)

You've mocked the whole experiment.

You've wasted everybody's time.

Everybody's time, but especially mine.

Just be honest. You don't have a problem with my personality.

You have a problem with my age.

Family and friends - discovery.

(TENSE MUSIC)

He said "I really want to have a baby."

When did this light bulb go off?

Ah.

Holy shit, Tony!

Clearly I can't reproduce.

How do you think that makes a woman feel?

I didn't know that you wanted to have kids at 53.

I thought I spoke to you about it.

Not once. MEL: No.

This is new information for us. I'm sorry.

Come on, give me a break!

Is that just another excuse?

I came into this experiment and I tried.

My whole heart, I tried.

But you hurt me.

When you watch our wedding, you'll see.

What will I see?

That it was a real... That there was something real there.

Something real.

You'll see... You'll see the aura.

You'll feel it through the screen when you see it.

The smile... He didn't laugh at anything, he smiled.

And do you know what, I was beaming

'cause I came into this experiment beaming.

So you felt like there was a connection?

Oh, my god. There was a penetration.

Oooh. MAN: Whoa.

Hey! (LAUGHTER)

There wasn't a connection.

It was like... It was like, "Phooom!"

Here, here... It was huge. It was huge.

So, the connection, the chemistry that you felt...

There was something... Oh, yeah.

..it disappeared...

As soon as he found out my age.

It's, like, "How old are you?"

"57."

He... He had my hand and he just dropped it.

He turned green.

You want to deny it, go right ahead.

His demeanour changed.

His... Everything.

Anyway... This is just going nowhere.

We're going in circles. MEL: You are.

I've gotta say, it's really sad to see where the two of you have landed.

And I didn't want it to go this way. I know.

I know neither of you wanted it to go this way.

JOHN: We had some hope for this relationship

and we could see it,

especially when you were having fun, laughing

and really enjoying each other's company.

You had moments. There was, yeah.

There was some good times.

Well, on that note, what we need to know

is whether you're gonna stay or leave.

So, let's go to you first, Tony.

(DRAMATIC MUSIC)

I've pretty much made my point and I'm clear, so I'm... I'm...

leave.

We've had a roller-coaster ride of an experiment,

but unfortunately we didn't have a connection.

And, Morena, stay or leave? What do you want to do?

(DRAMATIC MUSIC)

You're a 53-year-old man.

Behave like one.

Good riddance.

Oh. OK.

That's how I feel.

TEEJAY: Oh, that's... BETH: Wow.

It is sad that you got to this point.

When we match our couples, we want them to get over the line.

But it's been an absolute pleasure having you in the experiment.

You two have brought a different perspective to the experiment,

with experience and maturity and a level of fun.

We really wish you all the very best for the future.

Thanks for everything.

MEL: Thank you both. (APPLAUSE)

(SOLEMN MUSIC)

You're leaving?

WOMAN: Are you not coming back, Morena?

JOHN: Thank you, Morena. MEL: Bye, Morena.

ALESSANDRA: Bye.

(SIGHS)

I'm feeling disappointed.

I didn't want it to end this way.

You know, I don't like leaving people upset.

I really do feel for Morena and I hope she does find somebody.

There's always someone out there, so good luck to her.

(SIGHS)

NARRATOR: Next...

Now I'm really thinking future

and I felt my feelings just went... (IMITATES EXPLOSION)

They did. MEL: Wow.

..romantic bonds deepen.

Rhi's mum, she's got me on the text messages already.

She just said thanks for taking care of her baby girl.

Then...

JOHN: Now, Awhina, I've got to jump in.

..the experts apply the pressure...

This is the third time I'm gonna have to ask this question.

And it's a pretty straightforward one.

..as they call out bad behaviour.

Like, the lack of empathy there just boggles my mind.

MEL: Sorry, I've just got to jump in here.

Veronica, I'm watching you as I'm listening to Eliot's story

and are you aware of the way you're responding non-verbally?

(DRAMATIC MUSIC)

And...

I want you to tell us why

the three experts should not kick you out of the experiment right now.

(DRAMATIC MUSIC) (CRYING)

(DRAMATIC MUSIC)

MEL: Our next couple up on the couch...

Jamie and Dave.

(APPLAUSE) (BRIGHT MUSIC PLAYS)

MEL: G'day. DAVE: Hey, guys.

ALESSANDRA: Hello. How you going?

Very well, thanks.

So you've had time with family and friends this week.

Tell us about that.

Big week. It's been good. Yeah. It's been a good week.

Yeah.

Like, my sister, mum, auntie and dad,

I think they were genuinely surprised, like,

how much we've worked through, talked about.

And even my sister was, like, "OK, like, this is, like, serious."

Now I'm really thinking future

and I felt my feelings just went... (IMITATES EXPLOSION)

They did. Wow.

Massively. OK.

I'm just, like, obsessed with him now, like, in a, like...

Stop it! (LAUGHS)

..in a really weird... (LAUGHS)

I just... I don't know. I've never felt like this before.

Dave, for you, listening to Jamie talk in such a positive way,

do you feel like you're meeting her at the same level on that?

Yeah, I feel like...

It makes me all feel warm and fuzzy and excited

thinking about the future.

(LAUGHS)

Now, like, I've taken everything into consideration,

like, my dog and where can I put my bike when she's there

or what's... You know what I mean? Like, all these things...

It's very clear that this relationship has become real.

You're now starting to look to the future.

Yeah.

It's beautiful.

Are either of you foreseeing any challenges...

JAMIE: (FAINTLY) For me, it's...

JAMIE: (FAINTLY) I think it's just navigating through that...

MEL: It's beautiful.

So, with that, we're gonna go to the decision, you two.

(LAUGHS) Jamie, we'll go with you first.

Oh... (LAUGHS)

Stay!

And to you, Dave.

Yeah, I'm staying.

Oh, yes, you are. (APPLAUSE)

Wonderful.

Keep looking after each other. Really good job, both of you.

Thank you so much. Thanks, guys.

DAVE: Thanks, guys. (APPLAUSE)

(LAUGHS)

JOHN: Our next couple up...

(TENSE MUSIC)

Jacqui and Ryan.

(BRIGHT MUSIC PLAYS) (APPLAUSE)

Hello, you two. Well, where do we begin?

Where do we begin? Well, it's been a really positive week for us.

Yeah. I'm quite proud of us.

Explain this.

Commitment ceremony last week was quite an emotional one for me.

Ryan had my back that night and was really supportive.

Doing my best. New side...

It was a new side and compassionate side of him that I haven't seen yet.

And to have him show up for me this week

was just such a game-changer.

And then we've basically just been having fun and...

And we may or may not have progressed our relationship

intimately as well.

EXPERTS: Oh!

(LAUGHS) (APPLAUSE)

Oh! Do tell! (LAUGHTER)

Yeah, it kind of just happened and it was...it was good.

It was refreshing. (LAUGHS)

No, yeah, I think it was a big moment for us. It was.

Yeah, just the cuddling afterwards and then it happened a second time.

(LAUGHTER)

(LAUGHS) Jeez.

I'm sorry, I'm sorry, but it's... No, no, I'm happy about it.

(LAUGHTER) JOHN: No, this is good.

I mean... Yes.

..we've not seen you in this state before.

MEL: It's wonderful. (LAUGHS)

JOHN: You know, you're starting to really connect. It's fantastic.

We'll go to the decision.

Let's go with you first, Ryan.

Alright.

I want to continue along this really nice direction we've taken,

so I've written to stay.

Nice. (BOTH LAUGH)

Little smiley face. (LAUGHS)

Jacqui, what have you got for us? Stay or leave?

Yeah, I said stay as well. Good.

Look at that nice handwriting. It's way better than mine.

So, what you're doing, you keep doing it.

MEL: Good on you, guys. Thank you.

(APPLAUSE)

MEL: Our next couple up on the couch...

Rhi and Jeff.

(APPLAUSE) (BRIGHT MUSIC PLAYS)

Welcome back to the couch, you two. COUPLE: Thank you.

(RHI LAUGHS) How's everything going?

Everything's... (BOTH LAUGH)

Everything's going really... really well.

We had friends and family week, which was amazing.

I knew how much my family would love Jeff straight away.

Yep.

Like, I can honestly take him anywhere and everyone loves him.

Rhi's mum's already... She's got me on the text messages already,

so we've now been texting each other.

Yeah, she asked for Jeff's number and I gave it to her.

(LAUGHS) And then she messaged him.

She was, like... What did she say?

Oh, she just said that she was like...

It was really nice to meet me and, you know, she walked away

knowing that Rhi is in good hands

and thanks for taking care of her baby girl.

Lovely. So...

Yeah. ..that was really nice.

That's really nice.

That's really lovely. Yeah.

And reassuring for all of you. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah.

Spending basically every minute of the day with Rhi and it's...

Yeah, it's been awesome, so... Yeah.

The bond is so palpable... COUPLE: Yeah.

..between the two of you. Thank you.

We can all feel it here, which is wonderful.

Thank you. Thanks, Mel.

Thank you so much. (GIGGLES)

I think we're gonna go to the decision, guys.

Sure.

Why don't we start with you, Jeff?

I am gonna stay.

Straightforward. Love it. Yeah.

(LAUGHS) No surprise there.

No, it's been an amazing ride so far and, yeah, each day gets better

and I'm looking forward to the next few days, weeks and months.

Oooh. Months. (LAUGHS)

Or years. Yeah.

Yeah. Thank you. And to you, Rhi.

Yeah, I'm having an amazing time

and I'm loving getting to know Jeff more and more each week.

We just get stronger and stronger

and I'm really happy to be where we are today, so...

stay. Yes!

Yeah. Brilliant.

Yeah. Thank you so much.

Thank you, guys. (APPLAUSE)

Wonderful.

Our next couple up on the couch...

(TENSE MUSIC)

..Awhina and Adrian.

Damn.

(APPLAUSE)

Hi, guys. Hello, you guys.

Hello.

(TENSE MUSIC)

Obviously we have a lot to unpack.

We saw you guys last night at the dinner party.

But I would love to talk first about

how the meet-the-family experience went.

(DRAMATIC MUSIC)

ALESSANDRA: Obviously we have a lot to unpack.

We saw you guys last night at the dinner party.

But I would love to talk first about

how the meet-the-family experience went.

(TENSE MUSIC)

I mean, for me, I'm not gonna go in too much of the details,

but it just didn't go well.

Didn't go the way I expected.

Yeah.

It would be great to know from you what actually happened

because we haven't seen any of it.

I'm not gonna go into the details of it. It's my family and her family.

I think it's a little bit disrespectful

to sit there, go back and forth now.

Like, this is one of the cases

where we're never gonna see eye to eye on this.

It's either you accept that and move on or you just go back and forth.

I'm not asking you to see eye to eye on what happened...

Yeah, no, I know that.

Just tell us what happened, because it was filmed.

We will see it.

It's not like you're protecting anybody from seeing what happened.

Yeah, of course.

For us...

I think at the time my sisters were being intimidated

and I felt her sister was being a bit aggressive.

So, was family members protecting each of you,

going after each other or challenging one another?

Yeah, I mean, it felt that way to both of us.

So, neither one of you felt supported by the other

in the entire exchange with your family?

No. No. No.

No. Awhina?

No.

Yeah, in hindsight,

we could've definitely done much more to prevent that.

In a real, fully developed relationship,

you guys would be the family.

This would be the official priority.

Yeah, but the way it's been in the last two weeks,

like, it hasn't been healthy and we're both aware of that.

But remember the good times, because the last two weeks

it's all been all about the bad times,

all about what we're not doing for each other.

Yeah, so, like, we need to get back to that,

where we look across the room

and just smile and happy to see each other.

DAVE: I'm not buying that.

Mate, look how hurt she is.

Look how hurt she is, mate.

She's hiding stuff deep down and I can see it in her face.

(DRAMATIC MUSIC)

We both are. We're both upset. It hasn't been the best.

Now, again, mate, instead of saying that, give us a solution, bro.

Give us a solution.

Let her tell her how she really feels, then.

What? Let her say how she really feels.

I've never stopped that. I can't control when she speaks.

What are you talking about?

She looks at you for permission to speak, mate.

Mate, it looks... That's... That's bullshit, bro.

(DRAMATIC MUSIC)

Ask her. Ask her.

That's bullshit.

I let her speak however she wants. Alright, guys.

Awhina, that's a very, very... well, serious statement,

which is, do you feel you need permission to speak

when you're with Adrian?

Um...

(TENSE MUSIC)

It's not I feel like I need permission.

It's that sometimes I feel like

it'll cause a rift between us

if I go into too much detail about certain things.

And I don't want to hurt Adrian's feelings.

You know, I care about him.

Alright.

So, here's a question.

Why do you, Awhina, like Adrian?

(TENSE MUSIC)

So, for me, this morning, when I woke up...

I woke up feeling still hurt and sad

but I also woke up feeling hurt and sad for Adrian.

Does that make sense?

So even though I felt like I don't like Adrian's behaviour right now...

but I obviously still care for Adrian

because I'm worried about how he's feeling in this moment.

So, Awhina, if I just go back to the very important question...

why do you, Awhina, like him?

Uh!

Adrian, have you ever told me you like me?

No, no, no, let's just...

No, but, like, it's the way he reacted just then.

Now, Awhina, I've got to... I've gotta jump in

and I've gotta say something.

OK, I'm gonna...

This is the third time I'm gonna have to ask this question

and it's a pretty straightforward one.

Why do you like Adrian?

Now, what you're doing is you're not answering the question,

which makes me think you don't like him.

So, what is it?

So, in the last ten days,

there hasn't been a lot of moments that I've liked with Adrian.

That's the honest truth.

No, I know. But that's because...

So I'll ask you a fourth time now. ..it will be confusing everyone.

Awhina, why do you like Adrian?

Let me start. Why don't I start it? No, I want to do it!

Any words that come to mind that describes why you like him...

Yeah.

..and you've got half the experiment

to pull out some things that you like about him.

(DRAMATIC MUSIC)

(SIGHS)

I like in the moments when he doesn't recognise I'm watching,

he looks at me sometimes in a way that has true sincerity.

See, I'm not as bad as all you think.

I do like that you love and respect your family so much

and that's why it hurt me so much

that friends and family went the way you did.

(EXHALES)

We got there.

Adrian, why do you like Awhina?

Honestly, I like that she's loving, she's caring, she's empathetic.

You know, she thinks about other people.

That's good.

I thought you needed to hear that

because it's very important for you to remember

that you care for one another.

And it's something to jump on and embrace

rather than staying in this back-and-forth.

Well, look, right now, we're gonna go to the decision.

And we're gonna start with you first, Adrian.

I thought, "How would this couch session go?"

and I thought it'd probably go somewhat alright, so I said stay.

What about you, Awhina?

I will be very honest.

Today was a really tough decision for me.

It really was.

But I wrote stay.

There you are.

I don't feel like we really gave each other

the opportunity in the past week

to do the work that we said we were going to do.

We haven't really had an opportunity to show up for each other

because of the events at friends and family.

So I do feel like we owed it to one another to try again.

Uh, you've been through a lot this week.

Um, you know, the family and friends nearly blew you up.

But what I do notice

is that once you started to see each other in a different light,

a more positive light, you actually start to really come together.

There are clearly feelings... (LAUGHS)

..and obviously you care for one another...

so I think that's really what you need to focus on.

We really don't want to see this cycle again.

Do you think you can break the cycle?

Do you think you can do it differently?

100%. No question.

It's good to have you for another week.

Go back to the group.

(APPLAUSE)

(DRAMATIC MUSIC)

NARRATOR: Next... ALESSANDRA: What happened?

..Clint's shock secret revealed.

I come home and I instantly know something's not right.

And later...

I cannot sit here and listen to this justification.

This is not normal behaviour.

This is toxic, inappropriate and unacceptable behaviour.

Our next couple up on the couch...

Eliot and Veronica.

CONTESTANTS: Eh! (APPLAUSE)

MEL: Hello. ALESSANDRA: Hey, guys.

JOHN: Greetings, you two. Hi.

Well, where do we start?

'Cause last time you were sitting in front of us, we made some progress.

But we certainly saw the two of you

in a difficult space at the dinner party.

Yeah. We're... We're in the trenches at the moment.

Things have been hard? Yeah, definitely.

What's your take on this, Veronica?

Yeah.

It's been really hard, this whole week.

We obviously had the tasks that we had to do and...

the...

the confessions letter was very difficult for me

because I felt that Eliot hadn't shared a part of himself,

any part, through the letter.

I didn't feel that I'd gained any additional understanding of him...

which was disappointing for me.

Eliot, do you feel like you showed enough of yourself

in this letter task?

Yeah.

Like, for me, this wasn't a task that I was, you know, in my element.

I wasn't super comfortable. No.

And so, I...

I really put myself out there with the letter that I wrote.

I kind of put all my, you know, fears...

and all my anxiety aside

and I wrote about, like,

probably the most traumatic memory that I have.

Mmm.

So, when I was young, probably about eight years old,

my younger sister, she fell into a coma.

It was, like, an absolutely harrowing experience.

Um...

I was in the doctor's office with her and my mum

when we had the news delivered

and it was, like... like the whole room just erupted.

Like, we were all just, like, crying our eyes out.

(SOLEMN MUSIC)

And it was just, like, so traumatising.

Like, where I got to was how that informs me today

was, you know, I never want to feel like

I've lost control of my emotions.

And...

to be honest, the way that...

the reaction that I got from Veronica...

verbatim, her words were, "Cute."

That hurt a lot.

Like, that was like a knife in my chest.

Like, I felt like I'd just put myself out on a limb.

I felt like, yeah, extremely vulnerable,

like, and for her to say that, it was just, like, I had,

you know, been kind of stabbed in the chest.

It just felt extremely...

Like, I wasn't being heard.

Like, I was just telling a brick wall.

MEL: Sorry, I've just got to jump in here.

Veronica, I'm watching you as I'm listening to Eliot's story

are you aware of the way you're responding non-verbally?

I am, yeah.

Eliot's sharing some stuff that must be pretty hard to talk about

and you're sitting here diminishing his experience.

And that's not really what this task's about.

(TENSE MUSIC)

You know, it's about listening and understanding

and accepting the other person where they're at

and, Veronica...

it actually feels like you're being quite judgemental here.

Maybe I am, yeah.

I don't feel that I know anything more about Eliot.

You know, I'm really trying.

I didn't gain an understanding

of how that event affected him in any capacity.

He said "I felt like the world was ending,"

but what does that mean to you?

ALESSANDRA: You don't think "I think that the world was ending"

is him opening up and being vulnerable for you?

Yeah, like, for someone to, like, open themselves up like that,

especially when they've said, like,

it's not an easy thing for them to do, just, like...

Like, the lack of empathy there just boggles my mind.

That... That hurt a lot.

I don't understand you, Eliot. So... So...

I'm trying to understand you.

I'm disappointed because I don't feel like I've learnt anything new

about you.

Like, give me a little bit of something. Something.

Like, your favourite colour.

Like, something that I can come away from

that gives me a little bit of a semblance of who you are,

because I'm really struggling to understand.

JOHN: Veronica, I've got to jump in because I'm listening to you there

and you're saying you haven't learnt anything about him,

when he told you about his sister at age eight,

he and the family are absolutely imploding.

That's a lot of self-disclosure.

RHI: (SOFTLY) Yep.

How are you not understanding that?

In a relationship, you must be able to work together.

You've got to empathise.

That's gotta be a big, key part of it.

And there's not enough empathy.

There's just not.

It is something which is going to require you

to start really getting in the shoes of one another.

Empathy is gonna actually set you free here as a couple.

Have you heard the feedback we've given you tonight, Veronica?

Yes. I have. Does that make sense?

Yeah, of course it does.

After reading or hearing his letter,

your reaction, how has that made him feel?

Terrible.

Why?

Because that's what...

That was the most difficult story that he had for me about his life.

And why was your reaction terrible for him?

'Cause he felt like I wasn't acknowledging his story.

Minimising it or diminishing it.

Right.

If you're gonna actually move forward here, you've got to empathise

and understand he's going at a different pace.

Yeah, OK.

And I apologise for offending you. Thank you.

And I'm grateful that you met me where you could.

So I'm learning.

Like, I realise now my mistake

and I need to empathise with him and I accept that.

I made a mistake. Yeah.

On that note, let's go to the decision.

And we're gonna go with you first, Eliot.

Yeah, it's definitely been a journey.

Like, I have learnt a lot

and I think we've still got a bit more to learn as well,

There you go. Stay. ..so I've written stay.

Well, what have you got for us, Veronica? Stay or leave?

We're not well, you and I.

We're gonna have to, like, go back into the trenches and figure it out.

But I'm, like, here to do that, so I wrote stay.

Great.

(APPLAUSE) (WOMAN CHEERS AND LAUGHS)

You've got a big week ahead of you.

Empathy is the key here.

Understanding.

On that note, go back to the group

and we look forward to seeing a very different couple next week.

Off you go.

(APPLAUSE)

ELIOT: Tonight felt good.

I feel like the experts gave some really good advice.

Last week has been, like, extremely negative,

like, in cinders on the ground,

but I wouldn't have written stay unless I thought there was,

you know, a shot for us to turn things around.

I'm honestly hopeful.

ALESSANDRA: Our next couple up on the couch...

Lauren and Clint.

(APPLAUSE)

Hello, hello. JOHN: Greetings.

MEL: Hello. Welcome to the couch.

LAUREN: Thank you. How have you guys been?

How was this week for you both?

After you. (LAUGHS)

Well, we've lived together for a week.

We've had two dinner parties, two commitment ceremonies

and three tasks, so it's been a lot.

How did you find the tasks?

They were good.

We did what we were comfortable with, plus a bit more,

so we've been getting to know each other and getting along really well.

Good.

I wonder, Lauren, do you feel so far a romantic connection with Clint?

Um...

Not yet.

We're, you know, building a friendship at this point.

OK.

Why not?

Well, there was something that happened...

Yeah. ..that, like, related to our...

that...that affected us both.

I come home and I instantly know something's not right.

I had to kind of divert my gaze away.

I pretty much, like, kind of just shut down.

What happened?

(TENSE MUSIC)

LAUREN: Well, there was something that happened.

CLINT: Yeah.

I come home and I instantly know something's not right.

I had to kind of divert my gaze away.

I pretty much like kind of just shut down.

ALESSANDRA: What happened?

(DRAMATIC MUSIC)

Clint was doing the dishes.

(LAUGHTER)

(TENSE MUSIC)

What usually is a spark for me in a relationship

is, like, with an alpha male personality type,

but with Clint, that alpha-ism,

I just don't feel like it's, you know, super...there.

JAMIE: It's OK, Clint. Come to my apartment after.

I need the night off. No... (LAUGHTER)

Yeah.

ALESSANDRA: Clint, do you consider yourself a masculine alpha male?

Well, I guess it's defining that. I need to google 'alpha male'.

Lauren, let's try and get a little definition from you

in terms of what it means for you to have an alpha male.

What does it look like?

I think an alpha is a leader in the relationship,

someone that would organise everything

and, like, take control of everything

and, like, you know, is very dominating.

As a man, it's just something that you are or you're not.

BETH: Wow.

But in our house, like, Clint does the washing,

and, like, I come home and my laundry is folded,

whereas I feel like in what I would consider my ideal relationship,

it would be the other way around.

OK.

Is it natural, Clint, for you to be

in a leadership role in a relationship?

Absolutely, in a relationship, for sure.

I've definitely been doing that in business and in, you know, sport.

It comes quite natural for me.

Like, if we were in a relationship,

I'd want to be the protector, the provider

and looking after the family,

whereas the wife could look after the children

and do that sort of thing. Mm-hm.

But, yeah, I can take the initiative and do that. I like doing that.

I think the message is pretty clear that she needs for you to do that.

Yeah. Proactively.

Yeah. Question, Lauren.

Do you feel that Clint can step into that role

that you want him to?

That leadership role.

Um...

Yes.

ADRIAN: Oooh.

See, it's tricky because you're coming in later in the experiment.

It is very early days.

You haven't had really much of a chance to figure out

whether or not you see the possibility here

and it can grow, the spark, that so far has been missing.

Yep.

So you kind of need to sniff each other out.

Alright. We're gonna get to the decision now.

And we're gonna start with you, Lauren.

OK.

Well... (LAUGHS)

Stay. She's gonna stay!

And Clint.

Yeah, no, I'm gonna go straight to it. It's no mucking around.

Stay. (APPLAUSE)

We want this to be a romantic connection for you.

We want that possibility for you both, so seek it out.

We sometimes have to put in the time, the work, the curiosity.

Have a great week and you can go back to the group.

Thank you. Thank you very much.

(APPLAUSE)

MAN: Well done, guys. CLINT: Thank you.

LAUREN: I think that Clint has traits of an alpha male,

so I'm willing and committed to give it another week.

But I need, like, a very alpha male,

so hopefully he doesn't do any more dishes.

ALESSANDRA: Our next couple up on the couch...

(TENSE MUSIC)

..Beth and Teejay.

(BRIGHT MUSIC PLAYS) (APPLAUSE)

TEEJAY: G'day, guys. Hello, hello.

BETH: Hi. How are you?

We're very well. How are you?

Yeah, we're just two idiots that get along really well, to be honest.

Pretty much. Yeah.

MEL: Exactly what we said when we were matching them.

(LAUGHTER)

Yeah, yeah.

ALESSANDRA: Beth, this is your first relationship.

How has it been?

It's amazing.

I've never had a relationship, so this is so new to me.

But I don't know, it's really taken me by surprise

at how comfortable I feel around him.

How have you found moving in with someone and doing the living?

We're actually living very well together.

He cooks, like, amazing food

which is great 'cause I can't cook at all.

MEL: Winning. So I've got a little chef.

I love it. Little?

Big chef. Big chef.

(LAUGHTER)

Big chef, babe. Don't want to kill your ego.

ALESSANDRA: And I guess that begs the question,

of course, have you guys been intimate with one another yet?

Yeah, we slept together, yeah. Yeah.

Yeah, we did. (APPLAUSE)

No, but it was good. I think we both needed it.

Yeah. (LAUGHS) (LAUGHTER)

It really sounds like you guys are right now kind of coasting...

Yeah. ..which is good.

Yeah. I think we can go to the decision.

We're gonna start with you, Beth.

Easy decision.

Stay.

MEL: Lovely.

ALESSANDRA: Teejay?

We get along well, so 'satay' for me too.

Fantastic.

You guys, thank you so much. Thank you.

Keep doing what you're doing and have a great week.

Perfect. Thanks, guys. Thank you.

(LAUGHS)

JOHN: Alright.

Our last couple up on the couch...

Carina and Paul.

(APPLAUSE)

We're gonna get straight to the matter at hand.

We heard something last night at the dinner party, something very serious.

Paul, you spoke of an incident that had happened

between you and Carina.

And when we heard it, we were shocked.

Explain.

(DRAMATIC MUSIC)

Paul, you spoke of an incident that had happened between you and Carina.

Explain.

So...

I was in the car with Carina in the presence of other people.

There was music playing in the car as well.

She made a comment about the music and...

thought it was funny to say that she had slept with this person.

(TENSE MUSIC)

I felt disrespected and extremely embarrassed.

Anyway, we went back to the apartment.

She tried to apologise and I felt trapped

and I completely lost control...

and I...

(EXHALES)

I...

punched a hole in the bedroom door.

(GRIM MUSIC)

(EXHALES)

ALESSANDRA: Did you hurt your hand?

A little bit.

Look, it's... My hand is the last of my worries at the moment.

Like, I don't... It's not about me right now. Like, it's...

I'm not concerned about the well-being of your hand.

(SIGHS)

I am concerned about how hard you hit that door.

(EXHALES)

Carina, did you expect him to judge you?

About...? For your sexual past?

Well, no.

I wasn't... I think it was... Yeah.

So, I wasn't judging her about her past. It's how it was said.

It really sounds to me like judgement underneath all of that rage.

No, Alessandra, I promise you, it's not...

Obviously it's not her past.

The reason why I felt so disrespected is it's because of...

It's because of how she said it, the way she voiced it.

Obviously, Carina could see that I was extremely annoyed at that

and she tried to apologise

but I didn't feel any sincerity in the apologies

because there was a... It was a, "I'm sorry.

"But you've done in the past. You told me you've done this."

"I'm sorry, but..."

So I couldn't take the apology seriously

and I obviously got frustrated because of that.

Does not matter. Does not matter what she said.

Does not matter how many times... Of course.

..you walked outside, how many times she tried to get you to calm down

and you weren't having it - it does not matter.

I totally agree with you, Alessandra.

It does not matter how disrespected you felt.

You do not punch walls. You do not punch doors.

Of course. Period. Full stop.

That intimidates.

MEL: Carina, how did it feel for you watching his play out?

Bit disheartening...

and...and uncomfortable.

Yeah, of course.

I don't condone that behaviour.

But we are still learning about one another

and we're learning about the boundaries

and what should be said and what shouldn't be said.

I think it's just that he felt a little bit uncomfortable

and embarrassed, maybe.

BETH: This is real tough to watch.

Seeing how he reacts when I bring up my past

with people that I've been with

has shown me that he does have strong feelings towards me.

It just shows that, like, it is a real relationship.

Like, we are passionate.

Like, I'm European.

You know, they are passionate

and that's kind of a little bit like what relationships are.

MEL: I'm sorry. ALESSANDRA: Please.

MEL: I need to jump in here.

I cannot sit here and listen to this justification from you.

This is not normal behaviour, sweetheart.

This is not how you show love. This is deeply troubling.

ALESSANDRA: And, Carina, as a Latina, I know passion.

This is not passion.

(DRAMATIC MUSIC)

I'm not scared of Paul.

He hasn't given me any reason to be, except for that moment

and what happened, that situation,

so, yeah, I don't know what to say.

Like, I don't condone what happened but I'm...

And there's no buts, but, yeah, I'm just...I'm sad.

Like, I'm sad that this has happened

and I feel uncomfortable, like, facing you guys...

MEL: Yeah, of course. ..if I'm completely honest.

Of course. Like, yeah.

Yeah. Uncomfortable is probably the word.

(SOFTLY) It's OK.

Even, like...even yesterday,

I was so anxious walking into the dinner party.

"How's everybody gonna react?"

Like... Mmm.

(SIGHS)

But he, like, has owned up to his actions and what he did.

And so, I don't know, it's, like... Yeah. I don't know.

Like, I can see it, that he's sad and...

Yeah.

I just didn't want it to get to this point.

Yeah.

I didn't want it to get to this point.

DAVE: Hey? I've never seen her look like that.

And I'm not good with this kind of stuff.

(HALF-LAUGHS)

Like, I normally, like, put things under the rug and, yeah...

JOHN: Just to be clear... (PAUL EXHALES)

Yeah.

..this is toxic, inappropriate and unacceptable behaviour...

that you must see now.

(TENSE MUSIC)

PAUL: This is... This is just not who I am.

It's just not me. That's all.

I just don't know what else to say.

It's just not me. That's all. I understand that.

(EXHALES)

But...

frankly, I don't feel very good about this.

I want you to tell us why the three experts

should not kick you out of the experiment right now.

(DRAMATIC MUSIC)

(CRIES)

(SOFTLY) It's OK.

(TENSE MUSIC)

It's just not me. That's all. I just don't know what else to say.

It's just not me. That's all. I understand that.

But I want you to tell us...

Yep.

..why the three experts

should not kick you out of the experiment right now.

(CRIES)

(DRAMATIC MUSIC)

(CRIES)

I genuinely hate myself for what I've done.

Like, I... (EXHALES)

Obviously I...

You have no idea how much I regret this behaviour,

how much I regret this.

I've never done this in the past, ever.

I've made the biggest mistake.

This will never happen again, but I just...

(EXHALES)

(CRIES)

I'm so ashamed of it.

Like, I... I can't sleep at the moment

because I just can't stop thinking about it.

It's like on repeat in my head, but now I just...

I regret this so much.

I'm sorry to let everyone down here and you guys and you and everyone.

I'm just... I'm gonna have to make that up to Carina, of course.

I... Before we had this,

we were actually having the most amazing...

like, most amazing time.

And that's what I want to continue to do with Carina.

I want to... I want to leave that in the past and I want to continue.

I want to move forward, because from day one, it's been incredible.

She's always asking about my family, she's asking about my future goals.

We talk about life all the time.

You know, it's... And that's all I've ever wanted in a relationship.

I'm having some real strong, strong, strong, strong feelings for Carina.

They're probably love feelings, for sure.

Like, I really do care about this woman.

I really do. I really, really do.

(EXHALES)

That makes me sad.

I'm getting sad.

Mmm.

Carina, how were you feeling about Paul before this incident?

Um...

Really good, actually.

Yeah. Really good.

I was... I was feeling happy and...

(CRIES) ..we get along really well.

I was optimistic and I still am. Mmm.

Like... Mmm.

And I don't want to give up. Yeah.

Everything was going so well.

So that's where I'm just trying to...

Yes, well, that's what we saw. Yeah.

There are clearly deep feelings...

and you have been heading in the right direction

for most of this experiment.

We want you to succeed, but make no mistake, Paul, you're on notice.

Understood.

Any type of violent behaviour, you're out.

Understood.

MEL: I know this has been uncomfortable and really difficult.

We're gonna go to a decision.

Let's start with you, Carina.

Yep.

Um... Well, I want to stay...

Stay, kiss-kiss.

..'cause we have so much to still learn about each other.

Thank you.

And to you, Paul.

Of course I just also wrote stay. Yeah.

Stay. OK. Good. Thank you.

(EXHALES)

Paul, there's work to be done in terms of your emotional regulation.

Yeah. Yes. OK. I understand.

And that's what we would like to help you with,

so we are gonna provide some services

with strategies to help you de-escalate

to ensure that you don't ever... Ever do that again.

..let yourself do this again. (SNIFFS)

(APPLAUSE)

(CRIES)

(DRAMATIC MUSIC)

(CRYING)

(DRAMATIC MUSIC)

(CRYING)

NARRATOR: Tomorrow night...

the next exciting phase of the experiment begins.

MAN: Let's go! WOMAN: Oh, my god!

Our newly-weds head off to the annual couples' retreat...

Welcome home for the next four days.

..where, over two big nights,

some much-needed R&R will strengthen bonds.

I think coming on the Byron retreat is exactly what we needed.

(SQUEALS)

LAUREN: I feel like my soul is leaving my body

more and more every day.

But not everyone is enjoying the group environment.

(LAUGHS)

It's far from a retreat. It's actually like school camp.

MAN: Yeah! Extremely loud people...

(WOMAN YELPS) ..acting like buffoons.

Do you think you're the man that she says she wants, though?

And when the group questions Lauren's feelings for Clint...

You are so lucky.

You actually have no idea what you're talking about.

..Lauren doesn't hold back...

I'm actually so done with...

Like, your opinion means nothing to me, Jamie.

..and a new rivalry is formed.

Don't. Don't. Watch your tone.

Like, what the hell? That is so rude.

You know what, this conversation is so boring. I'm over it.

(DRAMATIC MUSIC) Losers.

Captioned by AI-Media ai-media.tv