Seven Year Switch

[covetingthepreciousthings]

Anyone else watching this now?

I think some of the couples expectations are unrealistic. Rachel and Simon (I think?!), both seem to think that a 2 week holiday and a letter is going to fix everything. He slipped straight back into distance mode when he met his wife and I think Rachel thinks that Tom hasn’t got the balls to leave her.

Yes I think when he met with his wife he went distant again, it was rather odd.

It seems to me like Rachel and Tom have the most cracks

I think Rachel was shitting herself that Tom might leave her. In her mind, he’s not good enough for her, but I think she’s realised she doesn’t want him to leave.

Michelle and George seem to feed off the drama of their relationship. It’s exhausting being around couples like that.

Predictions for next week stay or separate?

Tom and Rachel- stay
George and Michelle- stay
Tony and wife- stay
Simon and wife- separate

I have been watching this show from episode 1 -

Nikki & Simon they are like a mittored imagine if my life 28yrs ago. She is focused on the dc, he is focused on how many evenings a week he can be out.

Tony & Gemma - in my opinion Gemma is lovely, Tony would be returning the door keys if I were her. He is one selfish up his own arse twat. It is all ME, ME, ME in his world.

Rachel & Tom appear to be worlds apart in there attitudes to life. Difficult to guess what will happen there.

Michelle & George - in my opinion they both need to grow up and pull together if it is going to work.

Myself and my dp feel it is a good programme. It was only seeing a clip on gogglebox that made us watch it.

Predictions -

Rachel & Tom - split
All the others stay together. Unless Tony ‘fesses and finally bursts out of the closet

Also waiting for tony to come out of the closet!

Anyone else think Channel 4 spent all their budget on this and that's why Married at First Sight was so short/crap this year?

I don't think any of the couples will say they are splitting up after two weeks back at home. They will still be in the post-holiday/trying hard/making an effort mood but eventually people will revert back to type. I'm not sure how much people really fundamentally change. Would be interesting to see a six-month update from them all.

It was quite amazing to see Simon change instantly when he was reunited with his wife. He seemed quite happy and at ease with Gemma but the instant he was back with wife he closed up again. He doesn't want to be there but I think he's afraid she will not cope if he leaves.

Simon and Nikki are fundamentally incompatible.

The reason he was relaxed with Gemma is that she doesn't need him to prop her up. Gemma is calm and is the "supporter" in the relationship dynamic. And so Simon is able to relax in the space that Gemma offers.

Nikki, on the other hand, needs to be with a man more naturally in touch with his emotions. The reason she feels unsupported by Simon is because he simply doesn't know how to support her emotionally. He appears to be suffocating in Nikki's emotional world and so he deals with it by shutting down completely.

They are who they are and I suspect that one or the other will eventually find someone they are happier with, if it hasn't already happened...

it was marked how quickly Simon changed when he was back with Nikki. Seemed to me that she interupted him the very first time he tried to speak openly about his feelings. She jumped in when he paused but hadn’t finished, bringing it all back to her and he just gave up.

Think they’ll stay together though....kids, marriage, sense of responsibility...people stay for much worse.

I think they'll stay together on paper but I suspect Simon might have a OW

I feel a bit sorry for Nikki as she doesn’t have much of a life of her own. If Simon gave up some things, she could get out more and get her life back a bit. PND is awful and it takes a long time to feel like a normal person again.

I also think they’ll all stay together. In the international versions, nearly all the couples stayed, but when you read an update a year later some of them split up.

I said to myself from the very first second I saw Simon that he was having an affair. I strongly suspect it, I have no idea why. I’m interested to see that so many others think that too...!

I really hope not. I feel for his wife, she is just drowning.

I really like Nikki, Simon, Rachel and Tom. But as couples they seem entirely different people.

Simon has already checked out. I felt so sorry for Nikki that as soon as he came back, he was making it clear he wasn't going to give her what she needed. I hope he has the courage to actually leave instead of pretending he's still there when emotionally and physically he really isn't. She was so much more relaxed with Tony. She needs someone who can chat and be kind. There's a lack of kindness from Simon.

I think Michelle and George will stay together because their reunion showed they are one of those couples who thrive on drama.

I think Tom has checked out as much as Simon has. He just doesn't have the nerve to admit it. Hopefully, he will finally tell Rachel he wants to leave and they can both get on with their lives.

Gemma should tell Tony to stay at his mum's. She needs more calm and stability than he can provide.

Dingdong... The first series of the Australian one three out of four couples split up at the six months mark

Nicki looked visibly younger and happier when she was away from Simon.

Simon and Nikki are completely incompatible as a couple. They may stay together for the children but they really aren’t getting what they need from each other. Simon is a fair weather husband. It looks likely to be an unhealthy, unhappy marriage.

I don’t think Rachel is really that unusual, she wants a higher earning, ambitious partner (but not super super high earning) and she won’t be the only woman who does. Tom just isn’t the right partner for her, she will always be dissatisfied with him. Poor Tom!

Tony is gay as the day is long, it’s really weird Gemma can’t see it. He is so so selfish as well. She could do much better.

George and Michelle I think will stay together as they do love drama which they probably think is all passion.

It was interesting that Tom only wrote how he honestly felt after Michelle gave him a stern talking to. He seems like a lovely guy but he does need to grow a backbone.

I thought it was interesting Michelle pushed Tom to write a different, blunter letter that made Rachel upset even whilst Michelle was writing a letter to George that wasn't that blunt at all. There's an odd competitive edge between Michelle and Rachel where they're both deliberately trying to upset each other.
I think all the couples will hit the shock of trying to implement changes in RL eventually but Michelle prompting Tom to write a different letter meant Rachel faced it earlier than the rest of them.

I think Rachel felt inferior to Michelle because of that photo. She is probably a bit jealous of her confidence and so when they met she really wound Michelle up. I think Michelle getting Tom to write the letter in that way was a little bit of payback.
Rachel annoys me as she wants a high flying husband but isn't willing to get off her bum and get a job herself. They met at uni (I believe) and so she has a good education. If women want to be treated as equals then she could get a good job and Tom could work in a bar in the evenings.

Totally agree WIshing
Makes me angry hearing lazy women not bothered to work slagging off husbands work. You cannot do nothing yourself, then criticise. It doesn't work like that.

There's 100s of jobs I'm sure Rachel
Could do
Something that could iomproe heir lifestyle and afford a car

If I quit work we would have to sell the car. It's called the reality of life

Rachel needs to focus on her own career and making the money she wants.

Really looking forward to this tonight. Hoping it's good news for some of the couples.