Love to See It with Emma and Claire

Three weeks into “Married At First Sight,” the couples really start to settle into their marriages. Some of them take the plunge into sexual intimacy, while others are still tinkering with basic communication. Nikki and Shawn practice using “I” statements and relinquishing power. Caitlin finally dims Devin’s light to an acceptable soft glow, while he lovingly compares her to a frozen lake. Courteney’s hatred for Nick deepens by the hours, as is his determination to pretend it’s fine. Marissa has effortlessly melted her life into Adam’s jetskiing, peacocking, thrift-shopping vibe, and they have no plans other than to just keep vibing it out, full send. After some couples counseling and a group dinner, spied on by Paul and Dr. Lisa, the experts arrive to the first group therapy session ready to call everyone out – especially Adam and Mecca. But given some of these bizarre pairings, they may need to be called out just as much as any of the newlyweds.

The second week of “Married at First Sight” S20 is exposing more profound incompatibilities between these couples. An atheist married to a devout Christian? Two “bright suns” forced to orbit each other? A black cat wife eternally chased by a sad golden retriever husband? It’s enough to make you question why the experts paired these seven couples up to begin with! Episodes 4-6 take these newlyweds through a tumultuous honeymoon trip in Mexico, and drops them back in Seattle to kick off their new lives together. Several of the wives struggle to get comfortable spending every second with their new husbands – and to deal with the pressure to get physical after just a few days of knowing them. At least Adam and Marissa are off to a promising start, as long as she’s down to spend the day ripping it on his jetski.

For the first time ever, we’re covering “Married at First Sight”! The franchise’s 20th season, set in Seattle, kicked off last week with three episodes. The first batch of episodes introduced us to seven couples – including one semi-professional reality star (hey there, Nick from “The Circle”), a man who only travels via jet ski, and a woman who claims not to remember January 6th – as well as a handful of problematic dads. It’s an overabundance of couples, and most of them seem doomed from jump. Leigh and Claire discuss the threads of conservatism in this cast, how many of the men are bursting with ego or can’t stop pushing their new wives’ sexual boundaries, and how hopeful we are that each couple will find a love story together. (Spoiler: Not very!)

After an epic season of “Love Island,” we have a lot of catching up to do! This episode, we get into some Bachelor Nation news, as well as the post-villa drama and gossip that has already begun to percolate from our new “Love Island” alums. Then, it’s time for book club! We read the new memoir from former “Bachelor” producer Julie LaPlaca, “The Love Producer” – and took in some of the discourse about it. So we dig into her revelations about the inappropriate relationship she claims to have developed with Peter Weber while producing his season, her romanticization of the entanglement, and her preoccupation with becoming the Bachelorette herself.

It’s “Love Island” graduation week! Emma pops back in from maternity leave this episode to offer her hot takes on this final batch of episodes. The families come through to offer their blessings or curses on the couples (for Melanie and Sincere, it’s a quadruple hex that still isn’t strong enough to destroy their connection). The couples partake in one final grotesque challenge, romantically transferring mushroom soup and mayonnaise from mouth to mouth and then making out on a slip’n’slide. They are sent on EPIC final dates to remember, like making pizza together on a floating bungalow, reading a love story written about them in a fairytale bower, or eating hard sandwiches tied in twine next to a swamp. Zach shows his devotion to Kayda by promising to follow her wherever she goes, presumably so he has a place to stay, and Bryce and Trinity level up their relationship even further. It all builds to a finale that warmed our romantic hearts.