The couple who vacation together, stay together … maybe. On the Tuesday, October 18, episode of Married at First Sight, the two remaining couples went on unofficial second honeymoons to try to strengthen their bonds. Lillian Vilchez and Tom Wilson were finally coming out of their phase of lust and reality was setting in, while Nick Pendergrast and Sonia Granados were taking baby steps toward rebuilding their relationship.
Lillian Promises to Cut the Cord (to Her Phone)
Lillian and Tom had a session with Dr. Pepper Schwartz where they discussed the issues that had crept into their relationship. Though Lillian reported that they were learning “how to argue, but argue better,” she also admitted it was “a bit stressful” balancing her work and personal lives. While Lillian lived for her job, Tom checked out once the work day was done. This meant that after 6 p.m., Tom didn’t answer a single work-related phone call or email. Lillian, on the other hand, never stopped answering work messages.
Dr. Pepper urged Lillian to put her phone down and spend the weekend with Tom away from the worries of her job. Lillian agreed to give it the college try, but her husband was skeptical, to say the least.
Nick and Sonia Try to Rekindle Their Romance on a Tandem Bike
Meanwhile, Nick and Sonia made plans to head to Eden Roc in South Beach. Nick readily admitted he missed having Sonia in the house, though she seemed lukewarm at best on the idea of moving back in. After a brief chat with Pastor Calvin Roberson, Sonia appeared encouraged by what she called “pretty amazing things” she was seeing in Nick, but there was still a long way to go.
As they drove to Miami, both Sonia and Nick seemed genuinely excited for what the adventure might hold. Nick in particular hoped the getaway would help them move beyond the “tribulations and trials” they’d had.
In an attempt to regain Sonia’s trust (which he’d lost when he said he wasn’t attracted to her after sleeping with her), Nick rented a tandem bike for them to use together. He hoped the activity would show Sonia she could rely on him (he was in front on the bike). For the most part, it seemed to work. Sonia said she felt “more comfortable and at ease,” and that it was nice to “forget the drama and really just be present.”
Tom’s Idea of a Vacation Involves Riding in His Bus
As Tom and Lillian brainstormed where they could go, he suggested they drive his bus somewhere. Lillian was less than enthused about that idea (who could blame her?), but she went along with it, and they took the metal beast to Key Largo, Florida. Though Sonia confessed she “got hives” just thinking about being detached from her phone, she made good on her promise — but that didn’t mean she had to like the bus.
Her chief complaints about the transport mode were its lack of air conditioning, lack of working interior lights, how long it took to prepare it to drive and the fact that the bed gave her massive shoulder pain. (ICYMI, Lillian had a serious shoulder injury that was going to require surgery.) In other words, there were a lot of things she didn’t like about the bus. To the camera, Tom called his wife “prissy” and griped that she tended to “complain about the little things.”
Lillian wondered if they were compatible in the long term, considering their different requirements when it came to creature comforts. “Tom and I have completely different lifestyles, and I’m trying to figure what is more important for Tom — the marriage or the lifestyle,” she explained. Still, she said she was “falling in love with Tom,” so it seemed there was hope for them yet. Her follow-through on not having her phone out all the time was also not lost on Tom, who said he was “really proud” of Lillian for keeping her word.
Surgery or Bust
Things were going well until their final dinner, when Lillian brought up her impending shoulder surgery, and Tom asked if she was willing to try alternative medicine before going under the knife. Lillian, who had attended medical school in Nicaragua, said she wasn’t. Tom didn’t like that very much and encouraged her to see what could be offered that was different than Western medicine.
Lillian said she trusted science and MRIs, and that was just who she was. Tom continued arguing that she should expand her horizons. Neither one of them seemed to be listening to the other.
“Knowing when to just listen is a big thing, and he struggles with that a lot,” Lillian said to the camera, while Tom called her “impatient.” It seemed they were not going to see eye-to-eye on this one.
Sonia Wears Her Freak-‘Em Dress
Bolstered by the way things had gone earlier in the day, Sonia told the cameras that she was going to wear her “freak-’em” dress to dinner that night. (Hey, every girl should have one.) Unlike on their wedding day, Nick was forthcoming with praise. “Wow,” he said as he took in her curves. “You look beautiful.” He told the camera he was “absolutely blown away” by how Sonia looked in her dress, and she said she was optimistic the night could “get romantic.”
During dinner, she said the experience of being married had been “awesome” but “also very taxing.” Nick said that, given the chance, he would do it all over again. She didn’t say anything to that. Then Nick made yet another pitch to Sonia to try to get her to move back in. Yet again she said she was “conflicted,” and argued there wasn’t any real difference between her living there or not, so she’d just as soon not — for now, at least. Nick did his best not to shut down and instead pointed out that all of the experts had urged her to move back in: “What’s the worst that’s going to happen? It kinda sucks to drive back and forth.”
Sonia got teary-eyed as she said she wasn’t ready for that yet. “He hurt me, and I forgave him, and although it’s getting a lot better, I don’t want to fall back to where we were,” she explained to the camera. “I’m so confused,” he said. “I feel like she should maybe be giving it a little more forward effort because in a week we have to decide whether we’re going to stay married.” They slept in the same bed that night, but they did not have sex.
The next day, as Sonia put her bags in the back of her car to drive back to her own house, she had put her wedding ring back on, which Nick saw as a definitively positive sign.
Tell Us: Do you think Nick and Sonia will stay married?
Married at First Sight airs on FYI Tuesdays at 8:30 p.m. ET.
