Married at First Sight Recap: Johnny Lam Expresses Concerns for 1 Couple Who Were Once 'Frontrunners'
Johnny Lam/instagram Johnny Lam
Johnny Lam appeared on Married at First Sight's 13th season, which took place in Houston and aired in 2021. Though he was married to Bao Hoang at the time, the pair have since divorced. On July 6, season 15 of Married at First Sight premiered on Lifetime, following five San Diego-based couples as the reality of their newly-wed lives together sets in. Here, Lam gives PEOPLE his recap of Wednesday night's episode.
I have this love/hate relationship with Married at First Sight. I'm not sure if this is by design or not, but there are moments in every episode I love to see (and I touch my chest and an "aww" escapes me), and then there are moments that I hate to see (where I cringe, close my eyes, and beg for a commercial break.)
In this week's recap, I'll cover the moments I loved and hated most for each couple in episode 10! Let's get to it, shall we??
Krysten & Mitch
Madeline Barr Photo Krysten and Mitch
Love: Krysten identifying she needs to put her needs first.
Starting with the conversation with her friend Zoe (and carried over to the couples dinner at the end of the episode) she began to realize she's been taking a backseat to Mitch in this relationship — accommodating him, compromising, giving him props when he makes headway growing into a husband. When she raised her pointer finger in the air and asked, "What about me?" I felt the urge to scream "THANK YOU!" Her demands aren't unreasonable. She has dreams of someday becoming an entrepreneur flipping homes, and that's contrary to Mitch's values. Mitch has shown he can let his self-righteousness get the best of him, to where he can become quite judgmental. Fortunately, as they reread their marriage vows to one another, Mitch realizes that his judgmental nature has run contrary to his vows. Rereading them reminded him of his commitment, and Krysten appreciated how he is giving it his all. They hugged it out.
Hate: Krysten's divisive remarks when she stated in a moment of exasperation that she came into this experiment "already a wife," while Mitch still at times questions whether he was really cut out for marriage.
Whether it's true or false that Mitch is ready to be a husband (or Krysten is already a wife), the comment came after Mitch had a vulnerable moment as he shared with the other couples he is going through a journey of self-discovery where he feels uncertainty and self-doubt. I found myself empathizing with Mitch here because it was something I felt very early on on my own MAFS experience: this feeling of inadequacy, thoughts of "maybe I wasn't even ready to be married," particularly when comparing myself to the other Houston husbands whose relationships seemed to be taking off while mine floundered. In moments like this, your partner can either be a calming presence offering words of support in your journey, or can say something that isolates you more.
Despite it being an intense moment, overall, these two communicate well. Krysten made a plea, and it felt like Mitch heard her. I'm hopeful the two left the couples' anniversary dinner with a deeper understanding of each other's needs to move forward.
RELATED: Married at First Sight: Ryan Ignasiak Breaks Down Which Couples Are 'Growing Together' in Marriage
Lindy & Miguel
Nick Crespo, Dreamer Photo & Film Lindy and Miguel
Love: Lindy and Miguel are very comfortable with one another.
Cozy little day date on the boat. Snuggled up next to each other at the couples' anniversary dinner. The body language and chemistry between these two says it all. Throughout the episode they provided reassurance to one another that they want and like each other and feel lucky to have been matched together. When things are good with this couple, they are very good.
Hate: Miguel's hyperfocus on himself and letting his feelings get the best of him.
Back at the apartment, they looked over their wedding photos. As Lindy looked it over, she was reminded of her nervousness and insecurities about the day. This irked Miguel as he said in a confessional moment that her "hypercriticality" is kind of ruining it for him. But as a viewer, it is obvious to me Lindy is in the moment, enjoying the moment. She's reminiscing on the start of their relationship, and laughing almost hysterically about how great it was, letting Miguel know that he has kept to his vows and assured Miguel this is the healthiest relationship she's ever had. Lindy said she is continuing to fall deeper for him as the days go on. Meanwhile Miguel appeared to be honed in on how her reactions are making him feel.
I love it when these two are on. Something I think they both could work on is getting out of their heads. For Lindy, it seems like a nervous habit. For Miguel, it's a byproduct of his critical nature. I believe as Lindy gets more comfortable and secure around Miguel, she could gradually ease into a state where she is less anxious about everything. And hopefully Miguel can accept that he can't control Lindy's emotions; rather, he can only control his own response to them.
Morgan & Binh
Madeline Barr Photo Morgan and Binh
Love: Binh owning up to his mistakes and not giving up.
Despite the lack of connection between Binh and his wife in almost every aspect, Binh was still giving it a shot. Prior to their one month anniversary, he seemed optimistic they had what it takes to right the ship and turn things around. He's planned a private intimate outdoor patio date back at the same place where it all started, treating this milestone as a moment to reflect on his wedding day, how great it was, and see if he can recapture the spark from day 1. During their patio date, under a barrage of being called a liar and accusations of inserting another person into their marriage, he accepted the criticism, acknowledged the mistakes Morgan said he made, and apologized for what he's done. This was incredibly hard to watch, but I'm proud of him for attempting to be the bigger person. The first step to even have a chance at reconciling is for one person to take a step back and attempt to de-escalate, apologize, extend an olive branch, offer to make amends.
Hate: Morgan waking up and choosing violence.
I'm starting to feel like Morgan will never forgive Binh. When Morgan arrived at the patio date that Binh planned, he tried to give her roses, but she dismissed them, throwing them to the ground. In fact, this whole scene, it felt like she's dismissing him. When reminded of her wedding vows made at this location, Morgan said that Binh is not that person, and her vows were not for him. Ouch. She said she has lost all respect for him. And as I've always believed, you can't love someone you don't respect.
In a confessional, Binh said he felt like he can't do anything right. He's confused on what he should do, but I think he does the right thing by apologizing, admitting he is in the wrong, as a way to maybe bring down the wall Morgan has raised. When Morgan failed to accept his apology and continued to say that he is lying to her face, I could feel down to my bones Binh's despair, even through my television screen!
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Stacia & Nate
Mallory Kessel Stacia and Nate
Love: Nate propping up his words with actions.
There's this pit in Stacia's stomach (and maybe even the viewers' stomach) that Nate's merely a fantasy: walking by every night, talking sweet, and looking fine. Nate attempted to put that to bed this week. In back-to-back-to-back gestures, he attempted to win over her trust. He signed the postnuptial agreement Stacia requested to protect her pre-marital assets and got matching tattoos of their wedding date on their hands. On top of all that, he also professed he is falling in love with her during their private picnic at the park and in front of their friends at the couple's dinner. Nate has listened to his wife, and he is doing what's within his ability to cater to her needs.
Hate: Stacia propping up her walls.
Before her one month wedding anniversary to Nate, Stacia visited her mom Stacy to talk about trust. Nate has been telling her to simply have faith in him, but she needed more reassurance to back that up before she can. This is an obstacle she needs to pass before she can move forward. In past situations, she said she has gotten hurt from trusting too soon. Sometimes as a viewer, I can sense she wants to protect herself, particularly if she feels strongly toward him and that feeling is not sufficiently reciprocated. Her mom gave her some sage advice, suggesting that she should trust what Nate says, giving him the benefit of doubt. But it's not that easy for Stacia, and she still has her guard up. Overall, I don't even hate this, because I loved the emotional mother-daughter moment. I teared up!
There is a lot of growth in this episode for Stacia and Nate. Particularly for Nate, he understands everything that is happening is a trust exercise, and he's agreeing to them because he knows it's important to Stacia. The conversation in the park highlighted Nate's struggles with opening up to Stacia beyond just the surface level. He felt like he expressed his commitments, but Stacia wouldn't take them at face value. Nate said that when that happened, he felt it was harder to express himself. But once he realized it came from a place of fear, he was compassionate. He said he trusts her, sees a future with her, and even goes so far to admit he is falling in love with her. I wonder if this is the moment for Stacia and Nate where they clear the hurdle and clear the obstacle she says is in front of her.
Alexis & Justin
Mallory Kessel Alexis and Justin
Love: Reminding yourself of the good times
Justin and Alexis scrapbook together for their one month anniversary, and it's such a great activity for a couple in my opinion that started out really strong but has now hit a few speed bumps. Sometimes it can be healthy to take a step back to remind yourself of why you're still here, what you're fighting for, and how good it could be. Alexis understands they have their issues, but as they looked over photos from their first month together, she told Justin she wants to cherish the moments. She pointed out their honeymoon and how it was such a perfect day. They looked really happy, and she wants to recapture that. And at times, I do get the impression these two moved too fast, particularly when Alexis said she "experienced too much hurt too soon." It could be their foundation was poured in a hurry, and once it came down to stress test, it wasn't set yet. But she said later in a confessional the fact that she is married is forcing her to stick it through, which I believe is the entire premise of getting married at first sight (maybe there is a method to the madness after all.) The scrapbooking session ended with Justin thinking time is working against them. She thought they have enough time to work this out.
Hate: The way Alexis and Justin fight
During the group dinner, Alexis didn't feel like talking because she didn't want to call him out in front of the group (oh boy). Justin pressured her to talk because he felt they are doing great, but her not speaking concerns indicates to him that something is wrong and she's not telling him. The bickering is very hard to watch, and at times reminds me of some of the most tumultuous points of my own marriage where the arguments got circular, destructive rather than constructive, and often just plain petty. I wish someone during the group dinner would've interjected because this argument spiraled to the point where it felt like neither one was listening and they began taking jabs. Things escalate to the point of no return after Alexis called out his emotional side, called him pouty, unable to self-regulate, and inconsistent like a "Jekyll and Hyde." You can see Justin's frustration, and he really dug his heels in trying to get her to prove what he did wrong in the moment. All while the other couples looked on in horror.
The episode ended with a cliffhanger, and I'm getting worried about Alexis and Justin. Originally frontrunners with how affectionate they were at the beginning, how quickly they expressed their love to each other, and how much fun they had together, I'm curious to see how they get past this disagreement and back to a place of healthy, open communication.
Married at First Sight (produced by Kinetic Content) airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on Lifetime.
