It’s the day of the penultimate Commitment Ceremony and the couples are prepping for the night ahead.
Melinda and Layton are waking up strong, after Layton defended Melinda at last night’s Dinner Party when Harrison took personal attacks at her. Melinda feels more connected to Layton after he had her back.
Despite attempts to rebuild their connection throughout the experiment, Claire and Jesse’s relationship now hangs in the balance after a comment at last night’s Dinner Party from Harrison brought his old doubts to the surface. He has woken up questioning who he should trust, Claire who might be keeping him against his will to protect her image, or Harrison who might be emotionally manipulating him?
Although he broke up with Bronte at last night’s Dinner Party, Harrison has decided to attend tonight’s Commitment Ceremony, and take Bronte back. This is her time to show him that she’s in the relationship as much as he is.
The first couple up are Alyssa and Duncan. Alyssa explains that the Retreat was difficult for them as a couple. Duncan reiterates to Alyssa that he knows her son is a priority, but there is something deeper they need to discuss around being vulnerable instead of picking apart his behaviour. When asked whether Alyssa’s expectations are too high, Duncan admits it’s a concern. Alyssa gets upset – she has a child, she wants to be a priority and she has expectations. She cries and leaves the couch. Duncan follows her and she begs him to leave her alone, before heading into the lift and leaving.
Duncan returns to the couch, where he explains that Alyssa has left the building. He explains that little things are big triggers and he’s struggling. This relationship has been increasingly difficult on him and he feels like he’s walking on eggshells.
Alyssa re-enters and sits down. She explains that she does have high expectations, but she doesn’t know how to date as a single mother, so she needs reassurance and check-ins to feel safe in the relationship. Duncan tells Alyssa that he feels like missing her child weighs on her so she second guesses things, whereas he sees these are things to work through. Alyssa, feeling attacked, breaks down and pushes Duncan away each time he tries to console her. Alessandra encourages her to be open to what he’s saying and not take it personally. Having decided to stay, Duncan explains that 95 percent of the relationship is good, but everything they can work on. He writes stay. Alyssa says stay and pleads to get off the couch.
The next couple on the couch are Tahnee and Ollie. They are having conversations about the future, and Ollie admits he doesn’t want to do a long distance relationship and is willing to make the move to Sydney to be with Tahnee. Alessandra prompts the pair on whether they are falling for each other and they both confirm they are. Both write stay.
Up on the couch next are Lyndall and Cameron. The Couple’s Retreat was good for them, it was a reminder of their honeymoon, and they’re both very happy. Mel asks Cam whether he has feelings for Lyndall, he cares for her, and has strong feelings but he has concerns about what happens after the experiment, but they haven’t thought about the future. They both choose to stay.
The next couple on the couch are Bronte and Harrison. John questions why they broke up last night, and tonight they’re unified. Bronte explains that they broke up because of comments at the retreat, but she still has feelings for Harrison. Bronte admits when they had the disagreement and Harrison was asking for reassurance, the comments at Retreat made her want to run. Harrison rejects the notion that he’s ever manipulated Bronte and says the comment hurt their relationship. The group is shocked. Harrison says the problem for him is that Bronte gets emotional and worked up. John cuts him off – he’s blaming Bronte for all the issues and asks him to explain a way he is contributing to their issues. Harrison can’t name one. They go around in circles as Expert John encourages Harrison to take a look inwards. They go to the decision. They both write stay.
Claire and Melinda speak up in disbelief: everyone is confused because they were leaving and now they’re staying. Lyndall is the last to pipe up. She can’t believe what she’s hearing about how Bronte feels, she tells Bronte she’s being emotionally manipulated. Harrison steps in, he wants to address the comment. But Expert John cuts him off and asks Bronte whether she thinks Harrison has been emotionally manipulating her. She says no, not her feelings. It’s all real, and she doesn’t think she owes anyone an explanation. Expert John probes and Bronte admits that she doesn’t feel good enough for Harrison. Harrison tells Bronte she is good enough. And the pair leave the couch.
The next couple on the couch is Evelyn and Rupert. Rupert tells the Experts they are playful and they flirt, Evelyn explains they haven’t gone all the way but they want to eventually and they admit they are sexually attracted to each other. And both say stay.
Melinda and Layton are next to face the Experts. Melinda explains Bronte told her that Layton wasn’t on the same page as her. Melinda knew it wasn’t true, and when she brought it up with Layton it caused conflict. On a more positive note, she mentions feeling like Layton had her back at the Dinner Party. Layton believes their main problem are the various issues around them which stop them from moving forward. John cuts him off and tells him he’s being too analytical and not being emotional. Layton admits to not being as emotional as he could be in relationships. John encourages him to lean into his feelings. Both write stay.
The last couple on the couch are Claire and Jesse. Jesse explains everything was okay but when Harrison made a comment about Claire only wanting to stay for her own image it triggered how he felt when Claire admitted she kissed Adam. Claire says they were moving into a better place, and Harrison threw a grenade to deflect what he was facing at the table. Harrison interjects and says it’s when she opened her mouth, but Claire shuts him down. John probes Harrison why he made the comment. But after blaming Bronte for sharing the information, he admits he cannot prove whether it’s true or not. Claire admits that she did the wrong thing but she stuck around for Jesse. Harrison’s meddling is too much and they depart the experiment.
