Sometimes, in the heat of the moment, people say things they don’t mean — like “F–k you” to your spouse, for example. On the Tuesday, April 12, episode of Married at First Sight: The First Year, Cortney Hendrix found herself in exactly that spot, and while she wasn’t ready to apologize to Jason Carrion (yet, anyway), she was certainly questioning whether that had been the best approach.
If You Don’t Have Anything Nice to Say … Go Kickboxing
In an effort to decompress after their blowout fight, Cortney headed to a kickboxing class with a friend to pound out some of her frustration. In between beating up the bags, the girls chatted about what happened, and the makeup artist revealed that Jason had made some comment alluding to the fact that his line of work (firefighting) was more important than hers (beautifying). She had taken this punch especially hard.
“Do I fight fires? No. Do I save people’s lives? No,” she conceded. “But do not, for one millisecond, think that what I do is not important. And if you do, you can go f–k yourself.” (Since she wasn’t talking to Jason at that point, we’ll let her language slide.) Her friend conferred that it wasn’t appropriate of Jason to compare their careers in an attempt to make Cortney feel lesser than him.
That was when Cortney revealed something else that wasn’t caught on camera: She had put her wedding ring down the drain. Oopsie.
Meanwhile, Jason met up with Neph Rodriguez for some male bonding. “I’m not trying to be shady, but I think it’s good if we have separate bank accounts,” Jason reasoned to the camera. Neph thought having his own privacy with his money was fine (but this is the guy who bought a house without consulting his girlfriend).
Nothing Like a Giant Fire to Put Things in Perspective
Jason was at work and Cortney was home when she turned on the TV to find a huge fire blazing in Brooklyn — and immediately knew Jason was there. Because probationary firefighters aren’t allowed to have their phones at work, she had no way to reach him.
“If he died, he would die knowing that I hated him right now,” she lamented to the camera as tears welled in her eyes. “You say things you don’t mean, and you hope to God that you get the chance to take it back.”
Finally, she got Jason on the line and started trying to make peace, but then she fessed up about the ring. Jason didn’t say much in response, but it’s safe to say he wasn’t exactly thrilled. “I know it was incredibly stupid,” Cortney said to the camera. “I do hope that I find it … because that was the first thing that Jason ever gave me.”
Out With the Old and in With the New
Meanwhile, Jamie Otis and Doug Hehner were finally on an upswing after a bit of a rough patch. Despite her (somewhat veiled) threats to stop going to therapy last week, Jamie realized how important this was to Doug, and she continued. Bolstered by his wife’s efforts, Doug followed through on his promise to foster another dog with Jamie.
“I would take a baby, but we’re not there yet,” Jamie joked as they picked up the foster dog. Its name was Maybelline, which Doug promptly changed to Foxy. (Their other dog was named Lady, so they sort of made a pair.)
“The fact that Doug agreed to foster a dog means so much more to me than fostering a dog because clearly he’s feeling more comfortable in our marriage,” Jamie gushed to the camera, clearly over the moon.
“I hope this helps Jamie move forward and care about making this relationship better,” Doug added. It seemed, at least for now, that it was definitely doing exactly that. Jamie was smiling ear to ear as she repeatedly thanked Doug for saying yes to this request.
In fact, Jamie was feeling so much better about her marriage that she was finally ready to cut ties with her old trailer — the home she lived in with her sisters years ago. For the nurse, it wasn’t about a physical house: It was about letting go of her past and focusing on her future.
Doug couldn’t go with her to sell the trailer because he had to work, but to show her how touched he was, he baked “spooning cookies” to give her in bed. (They were basically what they sound like: cookies shaped like spoons that he positioned to be spooning.) Jamie was so happy she was practically glowing as she bit into one of them and cuddled up next to her husband.
“I feel more content in our relationship than I ever have,” she mused, while Doug said that he felt they were moving forward. Then they committed to each other to go to couples therapy. “I haven’t felt this giddy about Jamie in a while, and we are actually flirting and having fun and talking as if we are a happy couple,” Doug said to the camera. Hey, if you look like a happy couple and talk like a happy couple, maybe you’re (at least close to being) a happy couple.
This Is What Happens When You Jam Your Ring Down the Drain
Since they had both cooled off enough to be in the same place, Cortney and Jason met up to talk about what happened. Though they readily admitted they were still mad at each other, they agreed that they wouldn’t let their fights escalate that much in the future.
Jason opened up enough to tell Cortney that sometimes things she did made him feel unappreciated. “Like what?” she asked. “Things like throwing your ring down the drain,” he replied. Oh, yeah — that.
Still, they managed to make up. “You are really the greatest thing that has come into my crazy life,” Jason told her as they snuggled close.
Later, a plumber came by to try to salvage Cortney’s ring from the drain, but it was long gone. “I feel guilty,” she said to the camera. “Like, I willingly crammed a piece of jewelry down a sink drain to prove a point. … It was wrong.” Realizing she wasn’t getting the ring back, Cortney got emotional and apologized to Jason again through tears. He accepted her apology, and they reiterated their pledge to keep their arguments under control.
Tell Us: Were you surprised Cortney shoved her ring down the drain?
Married at First Sight: The First Year airs on FYI Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET.
