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Original poster

Anyone watching the couples therapy programme on ch4?

93 replies

Longcovid21 · 10/01/2022 22:51

Anyone else think Mau is a complete fucking narcisist and therapy with him is completely pointless? Some. Of the things he is saying. Textbook narcisim. The therapist doesn't seem to see it?!?

OP posts:
Original poster
Longcovid21 · 10/01/2022 22:52

"I want to fuck that thing for the rest of my life" Envy

OP posts:
KirkstallAbbess · 10/01/2022 22:53

BBC2?

I'd like to see more than just snippets but Mau was...interesting 😬

Original poster
Longcovid21 · 10/01/2022 22:55

Oh yes bbc 2 sorry. I've just gone on to episode 2 on I player where he says some really stupid things.

OP posts:
murielsdivorce · 12/01/2022 13:18

yes textbook narcissit - it was the first thing I thought
His wife is so enmeshed in his bullshit world
Telling her she walks on water whilst denying everything she feels

shedreamer · 12/01/2022 13:34

What is this programme called? Id be interested to watch it. I tried couples therapy before ending my marriage. Sadly my ex presenter himself as a total innocent victim ( he is in my opinion a total narcissist) and the therapist swallowed his false persona completely!

StrychnineInTheSandwiches · 12/01/2022 13:37

Is he the guy whose wife had planned a threesome for their birthday? He seemed annoying. Saying she should just think to bring him a glass of water instead of him asking her for a glass of water?

And they're together 23 years!

Original poster
Longcovid21 · 12/01/2022 21:09

@murielsdivorce I felt that the therapist didn't seem to have training in narcisim and even admitted that she was sacrificing his partner during sessions in order to keep him on board. He was totally grandiose saying things like "I would make a great therapist" etc...

Yes it's on iplayer @shedreamer. Search for couples therapy. It's totally addictive. I'm on series 2 now!

OP posts:
Sn0tnose · 12/01/2022 22:23

We’ve been watching this, we’ve just got a few more episodes of S1 to go.

Everything about Mau gets on our nerves. If he was chocolate he’d eat himself.

Shoxfordian · 12/01/2022 22:35

Mau is a complete knob
I really hope his wife wakes up and ltbs

Original poster
Longcovid21 · 13/01/2022 11:41

Yes I won't give any spoilers but things do develop through the course of the programme

OP posts:
Resisterance · 13/01/2022 11:49

"I want zero responsibility, all the sex but without having to do anything or have anybody expect anything of me"

Don't think they could have filmed it in the UK!

It's amazing to see how each couple is unhappy in its own way. So many ways to be miserable!

Resisterance · 13/01/2022 11:52

"I want zero responsibility, all the sex but without having to do anything or have anybody expect anything of me"

Don't think they could have filmed it in the UK!

It's amazing to see how each couple is unhappy in its own way. So many ways to be miserable!

WineThenMisletoe · 13/01/2022 11:57

It seems that each of the couples need individual therapy especially the female couple.

Mau's childhood was a 'shit show' and until he can come to some form of acceptance he will be unable to be a 'good' partner for his wife who of course has her own troubles.

The very angry woman's face throughout is so expressive. She left angry back down the road somewhere and is way past that now.

I have to say that it is compelling TV/Voyeurism

honeyytoast · 14/01/2022 11:28

Just started watching the first episode and it’s bizarre. Why is Annie laughing along breezily while Mau is being a strange twat? Is this their dynamic? Also the way it’s filmed feels like acting and not reality at all. Going to carry on watching but can’t work it out lol

yellowsmileyface · 14/01/2022 13:08

Saying she should just think to bring him a glass of water instead of him asking her for a glass of water?

My narc ex used to say "a good girlfriend would just know what I want/need!" He really seemed to believe that was a reasonable expectation, too. The thing is with narcs is it never occurs to them to just get a glass of water themselves (I'm using it as a metaphor now).

Just watched the first ep and I'm probably gonna end up binge watching. But yes, Mau is most definitely a narcissist. What an infuriating man!

Hrpuffnstuff1 · 14/01/2022 16:29

I think the show highlights just how differently people in relationships communicate and how people just do not hear one another, mainly down to fundamental differences in childhood experiences.

SGBK4682 · 14/01/2022 18:59

I am now, having seen your post! Fascinating.

RoyKentsChestHair · 14/01/2022 20:10

Sounds interesting! Having just finished a long relationship with a narc this will either be fascinating or heartbreaking but I want to give it a go!

crochetmonkey74 · 14/01/2022 21:32

I'm loving this programme. Hate Mau! He is so creepy and Annie is odd in her reactions to him.
I find Sarah the most annoying and spoilt

RoyKentsChestHair · 14/01/2022 22:23

OMG I just spent 9 years with Mau version 2! Fuck me this is eye opening!

RoyKentsChestHair · 14/01/2022 22:25

His whole “I would rather have nothing than accept the insult of saying I could try harder”. I was wondering why my XDP doesn’t care that he lost me. This is why.

crochetmonkey74 · 14/01/2022 22:27

Roy I'm fascinated by him - I've never met anyone like him. What do you think of Annie? I cant work out her reactions to him. She says one thing then theres lots of smiling and cuddling etc

NoiceToight · 14/01/2022 22:28

I think I'd love this show! I listened to Esther Perel's podcast where she records couple therapy sessions, and found it fascinating. This sounds a bit similar?

HollowTalk · 14/01/2022 22:29

I can't say I really enjoyed it but I was absolutely hooked. It's hard to talk about without giving spoilers but I've seen all the series one and it's absolutely fascinating.

RoyKentsChestHair · 14/01/2022 22:38

@crochetmonkey74

Roy I'm fascinated by him - I've never met anyone like him. What do you think of Annie? I cant work out her reactions to him. She says one thing then theres lots of smiling and cuddling etc
I was her! Absolutely besotted with him, couldn’t stop touching him, the magnetism from these men is so intoxicating. And you almost have to gloss over the batshittiness of the things they say, because it’s so incongruent with the rest of him, that it’s a kind of cognitive dissonance. I know he said that but he can’t have actually meant it, it’s just how he expresses himself. I also allowed a lot of stuff to go unchecked because I reframed him in my mind as the troubled 5 year old boy of his stories.

When Mau describes how he felt when he first met her you can see how she must have felt like the centre of his world for a while. And then you spend the next few years trying to get that back.