Ding-Ding Ding–and that’s the end of round three of Bao and Johnny Lam’s ongoing battle royale on Married at First Sight.
This week’s episode featured some down and dirty fighting between what once was considered the MAFS golden couple and fans had a lot to say about what came out.
Married at First Sight fans accuse Johnny of ‘gaslighting’ Bao
Things have been a little rocky between Bao and Johnny lately, but not nearly as rocky as between Johnny and the fans.
While the last few weeks have been a little hectic for all the Season 13 couples(excluding Myrla and Gil) Johnny and Bao’s relationship has especially been a rollercoaster of ups and downs.
Last week, we left the couple with Johnny walking out of a group dinner with the other couples and accusing Bao of being a “liar” and called her “calculating and manipulative” to his costar Jose and to the cameras.
Fans, in turn, began accusing Johnny of being ‘toxic’ in his treatment of Bao.
But this week appears to have been the final straw. Following Johnny telling Bao she wasn’t trying at all in the relationship and saying he would rather have been matched with “literally anyone else,” it seems fans had had enough.
Not only did MAFS fans start calling Johnny the ‘worst husband ever’ and begin comparing him to previous MAFS season’s “worst husbands,” but they also accused Johnny of gaslighting Bao.
MAFS fans felt that Johnny was placing the blame on Bao, when in fact, he was the one not giving much effort, outside of the bedroom anyway. One fan even went so far as to award him the title of this season’s ‘gaslight king.’
Johnny’s fall from grace
Johnny and Bao started off as one of the couples many agreed were one of the Most Likely to Succeed — so what happened?
Things slowly began to unravel for the couple as early as the honeymoon, when Johnny advised Bao of his showering preferences and they were not on the same page. Things really just went downhill from there.
When the couple returned from the honeymoon, Johnny told Bao he would not be staying at their shared apartment and would be going back home for a ‘reset.’ When he returned he revealed that part of the problem, was that when Bao got excited she became giddy, ‘like a little kid’ and that was a turn off for Johnny.
Following that came subsequent dinner table confessionals where Johnny accused Bao of not trying in the relationship, of not being genuine, and revealed that he did not think they were compatible. Ouch!
Fans accused Johnny of gaslighting Bao, which is the relationship technique of blaming and projecting onto someone, to convince them that they are in the wrong when that is not necessarily the truth. In this case, fans are saying that Johnny is blaming Bao for all the problems in the relationship, when in fact, it appears Johnny may be the real issue.
So is Johnny the real problem in the relationship?
But, while the fans’ opinion seems to be made up, it is still up in the air if Bao agrees. Only time and a few more episodes will tell.
Married at First Sight airs on Wednesdays at 8/7c on Lifetime.