MAFS : Nicole Wants Chris to Say 'I Love You' First — but He Doesn't Think 'It Feels Right' Yet

Married at First Sight couple Christopher "Chris" Thielk and Nicole Lilienthal aren't exactly ready to take a big step forward in progressing their relationship.

In PEOPLE's exclusive look at Wednesday's episode, newlyweds Chris, 36, and Nicole, 32, sit down to discuss when it's appropriate to utter the phrase "I love you" to one another.

Chris acknowledges how the pair are "growing every day." He is also "proud" to call Nicole his wife. However, they have yet to use the L word since saying "I do" — and neither particularly seem ready to do so, for differing reasons.

"We've never full-on had the love conversation. I know it's kind of the elephant in the room," Nicole says. "So, it would make me feel a lot better if we could talk about it but I would love to know how you feel because I don't want to just withhold it because I'm like, 'Oh, he knows how I feel.' And you're sitting there like, 'Does she even like me?'"

And while Nicole thinks the person who feels more strongly should use the L-word first, she admits in a confessional: "I would love for that person to be Chris."

Lifetime

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Chris, however, notes he doesn't "want to feel pressured into saying it."

"It's not even, like, fear of you not saying it back," he continues. "It's one of those things that, like, I think you say it when you're ready. You just want to make sure that it's real when you do say it, and that's kind of where I'm at."

Nicole responds, "There's going to be days where we don't like each other but we still at the end of the day are like, 'I love you.' I'm not saying it, I'm just saying there will be days in the future, but that's when I feel like it will be comfortable to say 'I love you.'"

Chris adds that he doesn't think it's necessary to "put a timetable on it," even if it takes "months."

Lifetime

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"Right now, it's not time to say it," he continues. "That's all there is to it."

Addressing the matter further, Chris tells the cameras he believes Nicole wants him to "say 'I love you' first," but a previous experience has made him more hesitant to rush into doing so again.

"One of my past relationships, I definitely said it before I was ready to say it," he explains. "And it was one of those things, once you say it, you can't take it back. So you definitely want to make sure you say it when you actually mean it and when it feels right."

Lifetime

Chris and Nicole were introduced to MAFS viewers during the Lifetime show's season 16 premiere.

Heading into their onscreen love journeys, Nicole had hoped her family would help her find "the one," but they've been unreliable thus far.

As for Chris, he struggled to build a meaningful romantic connection since making the move to Nashville, especially as he's discovered many women he's dated in the area aren't seeking long-term relationships.

The duo then chose to place their faith in the experts to help them find true love, leading them to each other.

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Married at First Sight airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on Lifetime.