Married at First Sight fans and experts alike have had high hopes for Bao Huong Hoang and Johnny Lam since day one, but are the two tanking their own relationship?
We have to admit, we knew the cleanliness issue was going to come up at some point. But we did not see this outcome coming.
The couple’s honeymoon was going fairly well; they had some highs as they soared over the Florida Keys on a parasailing outing, and some lows as the honeymoon came to an end and the couple began discussing health, hygiene, and happiness. Which for Johnny apparently means frequent daily and nightly showering.
In a conversation that is now being referred to as “Showergate” Johnny laid down the law with Bao about hygiene habits.
Is ‘Showergate’ a dealbreaker for Bao and Johnny?
Johnny explained that he liked himself and his partner to shower before bed, especially if they had been working out or doing something else that had them working up a sweat. Bao didn’t see eye to eye on the issue and attempted to reach a compromise by offering to sleep on the couch on the nights she didn’t feel like showering.
Apparently, this did not work for Johnny. The couple never really seemed to reach a conclusion on the problem but it seems like it might have been more of an issue than many initially thought.
A sneak peek for the next episode shows Bao telling Johnny she would not be able to abide by his nightly showering rule. This was followed by Johnny telling Bao that after dinner he would be returning to his own apartment as opposed to spending the night in the couple’s shared Houston home. When the clip was played for Johnny on MAFS Unfiltered, Johnny admitted he actually never spent the night in the apartment.
While the reasons for Johnny’s departure from the apartment aren’t definite, it does appear that “Showergate” was at least a factor, if not the determining factor.
Now, we know hygiene is important but it seems an odd reason to break up an entire marriage over. We can’t say we are truly surprised as Johnny had detailed his hygiene preferences lists to the experts during the Matchmaking episode and the list was about as extensive as the one Bao submitted regarding who not to pair her with.
It outlined his preferences for everything from his partner’s handwashing to their showering. So it would be a stretch to say Showergate came as a a total surprise, but for it to potentially lead Johnny to not even staying in the couple’s shared apartment, not even the guest room, would be quite a shock.
There are a lot of components of compatibility, but there has to be some compromise, and if Johnny is unwilling to bend on even one issue, then he could end up sinking this relationship.
Nighttime ‘animal noises’
Apparently, Bao has a cute little nighttime habit, that some may refer to as “snoring” but Johnny referred to as nighttime “animal noises.”
Johnny teased Bao over her snoring and apparently, hit on a major nerve. After kidding with her about it for the second time, Bao explained that it was actually an issue that she was very sensitive about and that if it bothered Johnny that much that she could sleep in another room. Well, that escalated quickly. Johnny seemed thrown off by the reaction and confused by the serious tone the conversation took.
The following day, the couple discussed the issue again and Bao railed Johnny for continuing to bring it up, explaining she had been bullied about it and was sensitive to it.
Now, everyone has their soft spots, places of insecurity that when hit just so, cause them to fly off the handle, at least a little bit. But this seems extreme, even so. It seems almost a combination of looking for trouble where there isn’t any, mixed with strict adherence to their own rules. Not a great combination.
These two have a very solid foundation and the possibility of long-term compatibility, we even placed them top of our Most Likely to Succeed List, as did many others.
But will Johnny and Bao be able to get out of their own way? Snoring and night showers do not have to be marriage enders, so we feel safe everyone will join us in saying “Calm down, you two!”
Here’s to hoping they do.
Married at First Sight airs on Wednesdays at 8/7c on Lifetime.