08x09 - The EX-Files

[bunniefuu]

♪ Let's dance
Till the moon becomes sunrise ♪

♪ Doing what feels right
Got me feeling some kind of way ♪

-[Sara] Oh, look who it is!
-Oh!

-[laughs] Oh!
-Look at us in our robes.

[Sara] Look at you!
Working from home. Get all comfortable.

This is a nice view in the morning.
I can get used to this.

Should we get what
you're in right now too? 'Cause you…

I'm not the only one in my robe. Look at…

-[laughs]
-Look at this beautiful specimen.

-Just cleaning the countertops.
-[both laugh]

No, we're excited for today.
It's gonna be a good day.

It's gonna be a good day.
Always a good day.

Always, yeah.

["Overthinking" by Andy Garcia playing]

♪ Overthinking ♪

♪ Overthinking ♪

-[Daniel] Let's go!
-[Taylor] I'm excited.

[Daniel] Very excited.

-Excited to see the family.
-[Taylor] Yeah.

Family's a huge deal to me.
Family's a huge deal to Taylor.

It's the first time that I brought
a girl home to meet my parents like this.

And it's not even a girlfriend.
It's my fiancée.

-Castle!
-Hi!

This must be Castle.

[Sally] It's been a long time.

-Hi! I'm Taylor. Nice to meet you.
-I'm John. Welcome to our home.

-Thank you. Hi, I'm Taylor.
-[Sally] Welcome to our family!

-These are for you.
-Thank you.

-[John] Good to see you.
-I'm Taylor.

-Hi, I'm Bryce.
-Hi.

-I'm Michael. Nice to meet you.
-I'm Taylor. How are you?

-Good.
-Good.

-[Daniel] Rachel, this is Taylor.
-Hi, Taylor.

-Nice to meet you! Who's with you?
-Nice to meet you too.

This is Christopher Robin.
This is my guide dog. I'm legally blind.

-He's beautiful!
-[Daniel] Oh yeah.

[laughing]

Can I take my shoes off?

-[John] It's up to you. I don't care.
-[Taylor] I'll get rid of this.

I don't know how
to bring a girl home to my parents.

-I've never done this before.
-You're doing great.

-Thanks.
-What could go wrong?

-[laughing]
-What could possibly go wrong?

-Here we are.
-[Taylor] Well, your home is beautiful.

[John] Thank you. We're interested

to hear about the pod experience

and when things started to click.

Um, that was our first date.

I walked in and said, like,
"You ready to get married or what?"

-And I hadn't said that to anybody.
-[laughing]

[Daniel] Taylor was like,
"I don't know. Are you on a knee?"

And I got on a knee. This was
within, like, a minute of our first date.

Then we kind of laughed it off

and just every date we went on
was very intentional

about values and things
you need in a marriage.

And, like, we talked about family
and just all of the stuff

that basically means everything to us
when we're looking for our person.

[Taylor] I don't feel like
there's been any stone left unturned.

The way that Daniel worded things
was my favorite part about him.

He kept referring to his future wife
as the mother of his children.

[Sally] Mm-hmm.

When he was saying it, it was
just like, "Oh my… who is this man?"

When I would say anything
that he agreed with,

instead of saying, "I agree,"

he was always saying,
"I'm right there with you."

And in my head,
that's just such a partnership.

"I'm right there with you."
Like, "I'm next to you in this."

You know, we love
the concept of it, right?

Because obviously,
we have a daughter born blind.

-[Daniel] We talked about you, Rachel.
-Aww. Yeah? [laughs]

-Not you, Michael. [laughs]
-[Sally] Yeah.

[laughing]

[Sally] Oh my gosh.
But the cool thing is that this is how…

-[Rachel] That's all I know.
-This is her life. This has been our life.

This has been our family where, you know,

friends are chosen from the heart.

It doesn't matter what they look like.

It doesn't matter,
the physical side of it.

-[Daniel] Yeah.
-[Taylor] Yeah.

Um, now, obviously,
when you're marrying someone,

maybe there's some of that aspect
that comes in at some point.

But initially, I thought,
"Well, this will be great for Daniel

because I want Daniel to meet a girl."

-"And know her heart," right?
-[Taylor] Mm-hmm.

But then I thought,

"I actually really want this
for the girl to get to know his heart."

-[Taylor] Yeah. Yeah.
-Because I don't know.

I don't know
that you let a lot of people in.

If there can be a girl
that gets let in to his world

without seeing him as well…

-[Taylor] Yeah.
-That's just really a cool thing.

Just kind of going off of what Mom said,
this is my world.

-[Taylor] Yeah.
-I can't see somebody's face.

So listening to you guys
talk about your dating experience,

I just thought, "Whoa.
"You talked about all these things,

and you had all these feelings,

and you proposed before you even
saw what the person looks like."

-I really respect that. It's incredible.
-[Daniel] Yeah. Thank you.

And I got to the point of
before I went to the reveal to see you,

I just said, like, "Truly at this point,
it does not matter to me."

-Like, it just didn't matter.
-[Rachel] Gosh.

-[Sally] Mm-hmm.
-Like, you could've been 6'2" for all--

It would have been wild.

-But…
-[laughing]

-I would have picked you up.
-[laughs]

I would have carried a step stool with me.

Like, you're beautiful, but I didn't fall
in love with you because you're beautiful.

I fell in love with you because of,
like, how kind you are

and your heart, you know.

[Taylor] It's just kept becoming
more and more obvious.

-This is my person.
-Mm-hmm.

[John] So are we
the first set of parents that you've met--

In life?

-[John] No.
-[laughs]

-[laughing]
-[John] Yeah, no.

Has Daniel had a chance
to meet your parents?

-[Taylor] He has not.
-[Daniel] I have not yet. No.

My family is taking a little bit longer
to warm up

to this whole process.

[Sally] Mm-hmm.

Which has been very difficult for me
because they are my world.

Um, just like you are Daniel's world.

And now Daniel is my world.

So I'm trying to be patient,

but I feel like to have that extra support

and love and understanding
from them in this process

would also help me immensely.

-Well, you're their little girl, right?
-[Taylor] I'm the baby. Yeah.

I think it all comes from a place of love.

-It definitely does. It does.
-And wanting to protect you.

-So we understand it.
-[Taylor] Yep.

They've been together
since they were 14 and 15, so…

"What do you mean you're gonna
marry someone you met four weeks ago?"

Oh, maybe I'm gonna get emotional.

I'll try not to, but… [sniffles]

…kind of our underlying theme is,

"You know, it's unorthodox,
but perhaps God's will."

[Taylor] Yeah.

And so it seems like he is,
which is awesome.

She's a very authentic,
genuine person with a great heart.

And it seems like a really good match.

-I've never seen him like this.
-Yeah.

Just…

caring that much about another girl.

As his mom,
I probably know the real him the best.

And just to have somebody else

that he allows in is really,
really special.

Just to take it down to the brass tacks,

are we in a place of approving

of Daniel and Taylor getting married?

And the answer is, "Without reservation."

-Well, welcome to the family.
-Thank you. [laughs]

-You're gonna make me cry. Thank you.
-[laughing]

♪ You're all I need ♪

♪ And I got you, you… ♪

-[Lauren] How are ya?
-[man] Yes, good morning.

-Yes. Hello.
-[man] How are you?

-Good! How are you?
-Perfect.

We are at the cycling studio
that I work at part-time.

-[woman] Welcome in!
-[cheering]

[Lauren] Dave is going to meet
my friends Delaney and Melissa.

I'm just a constant
third wheel in their relationship.

So they're excited
to have this now be someone

that could, like, join the mix with us.

-[pop music playing]
-♪ Oh my… ♪

Let's go.

[music continues]

-[shouts]
-[Dave] I'm really athletic.

I played baseball
at University of Minnesota,

but I've never felt
so, like, uncoordinated in my life.

[woman] Third, go!

[Dave] I have no idea what I'm doing.

There's not enough room

on the bike for me
to do all this stuff. [chuckles]

♪ Oh, whoa! ♪

[woman] Yeah, well done.

[sighs]

I'm looking over at her.
Lauren's really good at it.

She was cruising along,
but my legs are just not having it.

-Sucks.
-Can I get a smile?

[cheering]

[woman] Yep!

Yeah!

-You did good!
-It was so hard.

-Yeah.
-[Dave] It's so hard.

I keep telling everybody I don't do
workout classes 'cause I suck at them.

-You're more of a headphones on--
-Yes.

Go at my own pace.
Like, do what I wanna do.

-Yeah.
-[Lauren] Yeah.

-I don't like being told what to do, no.
-[Delaney] No?

I know. Yeah,
that kind of explains me in general.

Lauren, how are you feeling?

I'm good.

I am so proud of you.
I know Delaney is so proud of you.

-This is crazy.
-[Delaney] Freaking out.

You're gonna make me cry.
Um, no, I'm good.

I'm excited about
all of these different parts of it.

-I'm getting emotional thinking about it.
-I know. Me too.

[Lauren] There are so many steps
to this process.

And I've been so anxious
about the next thing. I, like…

During the reveal, I was so excited
to see you, but I was like,

"We have such a good thing
going in the pods."

"Let's just get married here.
Like, this is fine."

-[Dave] Yeah.
-Then it got better.

Seeing you and then being in Honduras,
everything just got better.

This is the first part
of the process that where, like,

things haven't gotten worse,

but it's just another thing that
we're tackling with other stuff going on.

-I don't know how much they know…
-They know a lot.

Yeah. The whole, "Lauren might have been,
like, seeing a guy before she went."

-Who?
-[Lauren] Really quickly though.

I would have never considered him
"being in a relationship."

It did not feel like
there was anything I was hiding from you.

[Dave] I guess that's what
I'm trying to figure out.

It has been a lot, especially
with, like, the connections that I have

with, you know,
the guy and certain people.

It's just kind of been a lot
for me to try to also hear,

but then also trying
to explain to friends and family.

-Yeah.
-But your friends that are believing this…

That's… yeah.

-See, that's what I mean.
-[Delaney] Is this a doubt in your head?

-I don't know what's real and what's not.
-[Delaney] Okay. It's hard.

What's true and what's not.

Do you for real feel that? Like, you're
kind of going back and forth with it?

-100%.
-[Delaney] Okay.

Well, I can tell you that I know this guy.

He dated someone that we used to work with
for seven years. Seven years.

And never got married
and then broke it off.

I used to hang out with them,
like, knew him.

Lauren just happened
to match with him on Hinge.

And we would have hung out with him
if they were dating.

-Yeah.
-Like, I knew… yeah.

Her… her last relationship,
we knew the guy.

Like, we had met the guy.

-She brought him around. We met him.
-We all know.

This other person, he was never…
he never hung out with us.

-'Cause we didn't date.
-[Delaney] It wasn't real.

Literally, it wasn't even a thing.

It, like, makes me so mad
because our last message

was, like, from a message in 2019

when I hung out with him and his ex.

He DMed me on Instagram.

-And I was like, "This is weird."
-Yeah.

And he said,

"So should we
blow this wedding up or what?"

-This guy wants to be on TV.
-Makes me so mad.

-[Melissa] That's the type of guy he is.
-[Delaney] Dude.

Like, it's just him
feeling sad about himself.

-Seriously.
-[Melissa] Yeah.

I'm trying to get there
where it's like I trust that.

-'Cause that sounds very true, you know?
-[both] Yeah.

The whole timeline of everything
is kind of hard for me.

Yeah.

What do you expect though?

Like, what would
be an ideal timeline for you?

I mean, I don't know.

I don't know if I'd have been
seeing someone up until the weekend--

-[Delaney] It literally was not.
-That's the other thing I was told.

It was not at all. We were hanging out.
He would've been at our engagement party.

That's what my friends have told me

is that, like, they hung out
right away before she left.

-Absolutely not.
-[Dave] I was like, "Okay, that's…"

She was with us.

This is where my mind spirals,
'cause I'm like,

"Would she have ever told me about this

had I not had a connection with it?"
You know?

Have you been on dating apps before?

[chuckles] Before, yeah, but not recently.

Have you, like,
flirted with somebody at a bar

prior to going on the show?

Yeah.

[Delaney] Obviously. You're good-looking.

-That's gonna be about as similar as to…
-Serious as that.

Yeah, so again though,
I'm trying to figure out all of that.

Like, what's true, what's not true.

What, you know…

[Delaney] It's okay.

I've cried. Every time we talk about this,
I've cried. Like, that's not new.

I'm 32 years old.
I'm not in high school, you know?

And that's what it feels like.

That's what makes me worry
about your friends.

My friends don't mean anything negative.

They're just trying to make sure,
like, I know all the facts and stuff.

[Lauren] They don't know the facts.
That's the hardest part.

It's like someone talking about someone.

But they know this guy pretty well.

He's trying to stir up something
that's completely fake and false.

And it's extremely upsetting.

-Like…
-Yeah.

What do you feel like you need?
Or what is the…

-I need you to, like, trust me on this.
-I know.

I get your doubts, but you gotta…

You don't wanna walk away
from a good thing.

[Dave] Right. Right.

Okay. Sad, we have to leave.

-I'd hug everybody, but I'm sweaty.
-No, we give hugs.

-I smell bad.
-[Dave] Nice to meet you.

-[Melissa] You look gorgeous.
-Okay.

[Delaney laughs] She said, "Okay."

-Okay.
-Okay, leave now. [chuckles]

[chuckles]

-That was good. I really like them.
-I think that was good.

I mean, it was good to hear some context.

[Lauren] I'm obviously glad
we're talking about this.

I'd rather talk…

-I'll get through it. It's okay.
-I feel bad when you get emotional.

I know, and I'm, like, sorry.

-I just hate seeing you cry.
-I don't know what else to do!

Like, I'm so helpless in this.

I don't know what else you need to, like…

-[sniffles] I don't know.
-Yeah.

[Lauren chuckles]

I'm trying to block out all that
other noise and just, "What do I think?"

"What does Dave think?"

"What's the best,
mature way to handle this?"

How do I really figure this out?
So that's where I'm at.

I need to talk to the people that are
the biggest voices in your head right now.

[Dave] Mm-hmm.

I don't think anything's
gonna happen for us positively

until we do that.

I agree.

So again, I want to believe
everything we just talked about.

I really do.

-[pop music playing]
-♪ Forget… ♪

Okay.

♪ Forget about the consequences… ♪

[sighs]

♪ In my head… ♪

-I'm sorry.
-Yeah.

♪ Filling up the empty spaces… ♪

[chuckles]

-You okay?
-Yeah.

Okay.

-[sighs] I will be.
-Yeah.

At some point.

[vocalizing]

Yeah.

♪ Living for the brighter days ♪

♪ Living for the brighter days ♪

[knock on door]

[woman] Hello.

-[chuckles]
-[woman] Hi!

-How are you?
-Good. How you doing?

-[woman] Long time no see.
-Hi!

-This is Virginia.
-Nice to meet you!

This is Becky.

It means a lot having Virginia
meet my family.

I'm a big family guy,
and they've always been everything to me.

-This is my dad Willie.
-Hi!

-How you doing?
-Nice to meet you. Virginia.

I know how I feel about Virginia.

And I know
that she's the one that I wanna be with.

-We had a rough game today.
-Did y'all win?

[Devin] Yeah, we won,
but we could've won by a lot more.

To have them tell me they're happy

to see us together
would mean the world to me.

-So, Virginia, nice to meet you.
-[Virginia] Nice to meet you guys.

-Tell me a bit about yourself.
-[Virginia] I work in health care.

I was born
and raised in South Minneapolis.

-I went to Park Center.
-[Becky] Oh!

-He went there the same, yeah!
-I know. I know.

I graduated in '08 though,
so I went there before him.

[Becky] How old are you?

-Oh, I'm 33. I just turned 33, yeah.
-[Becky] Okay. And he'll be 29, yeah.

[Devin] It's hard for other people
that aren't in it

to understand really how it works
and, like, what it feels like.

You guys on the outside looking in,

it's like, "It's ten days.
There's no way."

For us, we were in there,
and there's no phones.

You go into these pods,
and you're talking to each other,

and it's not,
"What's your favorite color?"

-[Becky] Mm-hmm.
-"Are you ready to get married?"

-[Becky] Right.
-"Do you want kids?" Big things.

I didn't think that I would
fall in love in the experiment.

I was, like, open to it.

And then I went in there,
and I was crying! [laughs]

He was very vulnerable with me in there,
and I was very vulnerable with him.

I talked about my faith,
and I asked about kids.

Those were two big things for me.

I could sense his heart,

and it was, like, a really big deal for me
to know that he was such a good, kind guy.

We're really strong in our faith,
and we're really family-oriented.

We've taught our kids God's first.

-Mm-hmm.
-And really push going to church.

-And have God number one in their life.
-Yeah. Yeah.

That's something really big
that I always wanted for him,

to have an equally yoked

and raise your children the same way

with your mom and dad.

-I'm assuming they're Christians too.
-[Virginia] Yeah, they are.

They're both really supportive.

-They really just want me to be happy.
-Right.

When it comes to kids,
I know you're a bit older.

-Yeah.
-So are you gonna do that right away?

We talked about different things,
but, like, a couple years ago,

I looked into freezing my eggs.

I'm open to doing
whatever we need to do to get kids here.

We talked about,
I think he said two to five.

-And I've always--
-Two to five? Wait a minute.

-He's always wanted five. I told you.
-[Devin] I always said that.

Well, so he said five.

-But he wanted to name them by his name.
-[T] After Kobe. No.

-So, like, D for--
-No, that was a joke. That was a joke.

That's what you said! I was like, "What?"

I did talk about middle name being Kobe.

-[Devin] Yeah, I said, like, D-E-V-I-N.
-"D" for… [laughing]

They all have the first letter,
and then it spells Devin.

It wasn't a real thing though.

And I was younger when I said that.
She's calling me out.

She's calling you out.

-But her range is bigger than mine.
-[T] What?

-I used to say six.
-She added an extra, two to six.

-[Becky] Really? Oh gosh.
-But now realistically, two to six.

I always wanted to have a bigger family.

That's really exciting for me to have
personal relationships with all of you.

-Yeah.
-[Virginia] That's what I desire.

[T] With, like, marriage roles,

do you consider yourself
a 50/50 kind of person,

where, like, everybody can do anything,
or you more like a traditionalist?

We're pretty, like, 50/50 partnership,
I think, on a lot of things.

We don't necessarily say, like, 50/50.

-It's just whatever makes sense.
-[Virginia] Yeah, yeah.

But I'm willing to,
you know, work with Devin

and do whatever makes sense
for our family.

Like cooking.
I like doing those types of things.

So, in general, I'm kind of
more "traditional" in that sense.

-[Becky] You like that.
-Cooking.

-We talked about cooking together.
-[Kayla] He does some cooking.

We talked about our finances
and where we're gonna live.

How comfortable are you merging
your guys' financial lives together?

This is a new thing
we're trying to navigate together.

We talked about having separate accounts
and then having an account together.

And we also entertained,
like, the idea of a prenup.

I think that's kind of just
the modern way of doing things.

Um, but, yeah, I see us working together

on debt,

on projects, on growing financially.

-I want to create generational wealth.
-Is that why you want the prenup?

No, I think a prenup for me is just, like,

if the worst thing possibly happens,

then it's just a financial--

[laughs] I don't understand why everybody
doesn't have a prenup. I don't know.

And it's not, like,
a gloomy, dark thing to me.

It's kind of just like
a "just makes sense" thing to me.

-What if he lost his job?
-[Virginia] Yeah.

How would you feel about that?
Let's say you get sick.

Are you gonna be there for each other
when that stuff happens?

Because, you know, I know people that

as soon as somebody gets sick,
they're gone.

That's part of the, you know,
"death do us part."

For sure. Absolutely.

I feel like I've done that
in lesser commitments.

-[Becky] Okay. That's good.
-So definitely in marriage.

I believe in a partnership
and us working together

and me stepping in any gaps,
or him stepping in any gaps,

just working together
through those things.

So in, like, 60 years,
when Mom and Dad retire.

-And Devin doesn't wanna place them…
-Sixty years?

…in a nursing home. I'm being kind, Kayla.

And he says,
"I want my parents to move in with us."

-Is that something you'd be okay with?
-Yeah.

I feel like nursing homes
are really scary.

-[T] Yeah.
-I've been to some. They're really scary.

[laughs] So I wouldn't wanna put anybody
in a nursing home, you know.

So, yeah, definitely.

[Devin] Just hearing her talk
about people and her love for people,

she's really pure and genuine.

She's really big into volunteer work.

And she wants to start
a nonprofit and stuff like that.

I know that whatever I wanna do,
she's there for me.

She kind of painted a picture for me,
and it was so cool to hear.

She was like, "I picture us married."

"You're the head coach at Park Center."

Then she said that we already had one kid,

and she's holding her on her hip,
and she's pregnant with another one.

She's doing concessions
and sitting down and watching

and cheering us on.

-I was like, "That sounds beautiful."
-[Becky] Wow.

[Devin] That sounds like something
I want in my life, you know?

I've always wanted to be married
and have kids. You guys know that.

It's always been something big for me.
And it's her.

I've never felt that way in my life.

-He's wanted it for so long.
-[Becky] Yeah, he has.

I'm excited for you. I really am.

I feel like you guys
have become really good friends.

-We're like best friends already.
-Yeah.

-He's got a soft heart.
-[Virginia] Yeah, I could tell.

But he's stubborn.

-He's like his mother.
-[laughing]

I get good vibes from you, really, a lot.

I just put blessings on you guys
and want the best for you

and just want you happy and have a family

and have what you wanted, you know?

So you can mark this off,
"Experiment successful."

You have all my support.

-Yeah.
-And my husband, I'm sure.

-If you're happy, I'm happy.
-I told you.

-[Virginia] Oh, that's great.
-I said they were gonna say that.

I was nervous coming here,
but you guys are so nice.

[all laughing]

So, we have a little family member
that we wanted you to see.

-[Virginia laughs] Yes, I've heard.
-[Becky] Did he tell you about--

A little pig.

-Oh!
-Look. He's stressed.

[Devin] Oh, you got me excited.

[Virginia] Yeah, I'd love to.

[Becky] Pico!

-Pico!
-[Devin] There he is.

-[Pico grunting]
-[Becky] Hi!

[Virginia] Oh, he's cute!
You got him when he was little?

-Yeah, he was like this big.
-Oh!

-He's family!
-[Becky] Yeah.

[Virginia laughing]

Can I use your restroom?

-[Becky] Yes, you may.
-[Virginia] Okay.

[Devin] To the bathroom.

So, what do you think? [chuckles]

-I like her a lot.
-Yeah?

-Yeah. She checks all the boxes big time.
-[Devin] Mm-hmm.

Personally, the prenup, it kind of--

When she said that,
it kind of made me nervous.

When people think of prenup,
they think it's not gonna work out.

That was probably my only thing.
I was like… [groans]

When she told me at first,
it caught me by surprise too.

I wasn't expecting her to say that.

But if a divorce does happen,

typically, somebody
kind of gets screwed over.

So we both leave with what we came with
if we did happen to get divorced.

-Then anything we'd work together in…
-You would split.

…we'd talk about how we would split that.

But in her mind, it's like,
"I don't want that to happen."

-It's fine.
-[Devin] No, it wasn't…

It's not something
that she's going in thinking.

-I think it's more of the day and age.
-[Willie] Right.

I told her, "If we come to an agreement
on what it should look like,

I would sign it."

I'll sign it and tell you every time
that we don't need to worry about it.

-'Cause it won't matter anyway.
-Correct.

I went from not seeing her
and really loving her,

to seeing her in person
and loving her even more.

I just feel really good about her,

and I'm not scared of wanting to say I do.

-Okay. That's good.
-Which, like, you know…

[Becky] You're not getting
any hesitation from her?

-No. Unh-unh.
-[Becky] None?

[Devin] We both are like,
"Yeah, this is what we want."

-I'm so happy for you.
-[Willie] That's good.

Yeah. So…

-["In the Stars" playing]
-♪ Baby, you and I ♪

♪ We can shine so bright ♪

♪ I know the constellation's ours ♪

♪ See it in the stars ♪

♪ Baby, you and I ♪

♪ We can shine so bright, I know… ♪

-[laughing]
-Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!

Yes!

-Hi! Hey!
-Hello.

-[woman] Oh my God!
-[Ben] This is Sara, guys.

-Yeah, no. Hi, I'm Sara.
-[woman] It is so good to meet you!

-I'm Leah.
-Leah. Okay.

-[woman 2] I'm Lana.
-Lana. Hi, Lana.

Hi, I'm a hugger. I'm a hugger.

-[man] Good to see you.
-Good to see you too. This is fun.

-Nice to see you again. What's up, Sara?
-Hi, Abe. Nice seeing you again.

-[Leah] First thing, can we see the ring?
-[Sara] Oh, yeah.

-Yes!
-I know! Isn't it so…

Oh my God.

-Did you pick it, Ben?
-[Ben] Yep.

It's gorgeous. I love it so much.
I catch myself looking at it all the time.

-[Leah] It is really beautiful.
-Yeah. It's amazing.

Yeah, she's so easygoing.

That's so stunning!

-[laughing] Yeah, yeah, I know.
-[Lana] Can we get into it?

What made you wanna do the experiment
in the first place?

The genuine,
actual getting to know someone

emotionally first is huge for me
because that's always what I've wanted.

I never did dating apps
because I just got the ick.

What were you mainly looking for?

Fun, enthusiastic, spontaneous,
cup half full, zest for life, someone…

-"Zest for life!" I love that!
-Someone who's just optimistic, you know?

And that's exactly Ben.

[laughs] I literally
got everything I asked for.

-"I manifested this!"
-Yeah, literally everything.

-[Lana] What'd you say in yours?
-Pretty much the same thing.

-"Zest for life"?
-Yes, exactly.

-Word for word, yes.
-[Lana] Is that in your vocabulary?

[Sara] It's weird how,
like, you can feel romantic

in that way with someone
without even seeing them.

'Cause, like, body language is huge to me.

It's just by talking. The way you talk
is what gave me comfort.

I've felt like
we've been dating for years.

Aww.

Core-values-wise,
do you feel like you match?

-Is there anything that doesn't?
-We've talked about--

That's where I told you
how I wouldn't have got on a knee

in the pods if that wasn't the case.

[Sara] I grew up Catholic.
We were talking about religion.

You said something like,
"I totally believe in equality,

but I don't want that to be the reason

why you don't have
a relationship with God."

My sister's g*y, and she's my best friend.

A huge thing in my life

is I need someone
who's accepting of equality.

-For sure.
-That's huge in my life, and--

I have a girlfriend too. No big deal.

-Cheers. Yeah, okay, lovely. I love it.
-Just so you know.

Like, "Just so you know,
I'm gonna g*y drop."

-[laughing]
-100% g*y drop. Just drop it in there.

So next day,
he's like, "I want you to know

I accept and, like, believe in equality."

"That is not at all, like, an issue."

"And I go to service,
but that has nothing to do with…

or gets in the way."

Yeah, yeah.

I could feel how passionate.
Like, you meant it.

-You were so genuine.
-[Lana] Would you go to service with Ben?

Yeah, I'm spiritual.

I'm very open to attending a service
and seeing how it is.

I'm just trying to figure that out,
but I'll definitely attend, you know.

I'm agnostic, right?

So I'm not… I've never gone to church.
or anything like that.

-You've never gone to a single service?
-No.

Things in relationships that
can be a deal-breaker is faith, right?

I was telling them about
the drunken conversation that we had.

You were sober. I was drunk.

But Ben was driving me home.

He was being a DD for me.

And we get back.
He was like, "I have church tomorrow."

I was asking if he could go do something.
I was like, "I forget you're religious."

He goes, "I actually don't like that term.
I prefer 'faith.'"

And we sat,
and we talked for, like, 45 minutes.

-And it felt so energizing.
-Oh, I love that.

And he was the DD! Another point for him.

I know. My gosh. Getting people home safe.

We sat here for 15 minutes, "Here
are all the things we like about Ben."

We were talking about
how Ben's a good communicator.

You show that. You're a really
good communicator yourself as well.

-Oh, thank you.
-I see how it meshes well.

Like, we fell in love without seeing
each other, only communicating.

-Yeah, like, love is blind? What?
-[all laughing]

I feel like it's really unfair to say
love is blind when you're both really hot.

Right?

That's super unfair to be like,
"Oh, we like each other's personalities,"

then you see 'em, and you're like…

When the doors open,
both of them were like, "Yes!"

That's so unfair.

I tell her this. I've told you this
multiple times the last few days,

that you are the most beautiful girl
I've ever seen.

-You're so sweet.
-[Leah] I might cry.

You guys are glowing.
This is, like, amazing to see.

You guys are glowing.

I love to see this.

♪ I nеver thought
I'd wanna sing love songs again ♪

♪ You make mе wanna think
About falling for a friend ♪

♪ Even if we don't get further ♪

♪ I wanna be here in the moment
'Cause I'd like to get to know you ♪

[Monica] Can we just do this?

-Yeah, but, no.
-I just did it.

-What do you mean? Why can't you--
-[laughing] 'Cause they're on the floor.

-But it's fine.
-We are very different people.

I take my hamper,
and I just dump it on the floor,

and then fold it.

Did you hate that? Was that a red flag?

No, it's not, but…

[laughing]

Was that a nonnegotiable?
I threw your clean clothes on the floor.

No, no, that's fine.
It doesn't bother me that much.

How… Honestly, honestly, honestly,

how did you think
the meeting went with my family?

I thought it went really good
with your mom, good with your dad,

not great with your sister.

Why didn't you think
it went great with my sister?

-I just don't think she likes me.
-Okay.

Which is fine, not--

-Well, it's not fine!
-Not everyone has to like me.

-It's not fine 'cause she needs to.
-[both laugh]

-She needs to.
-That's up to her. That's not…

[Monica] She needs to give you a chance.

The question I would have then is,

"Did I give a reason for her
to not like me?"

No.

If so, then I would say,
"Give me constructive feedback."

Tell me, like, what I did wrong

or what I could have done better.

Well, you did nothing wrong.
I wanna make that incredibly clear.

You did nothing wrong at all.

She's just tough with really anyone, I…

Friend or otherwise.

Okay.

[Monica] And what she said to me,

she's just worried about
if we're good for each other,

which is a very valid thing for her to--

[Joey] Why did she say that?
I'm just curious.

Has she ever thought
anyone was good enough for you?

I don't think so, actually.
No. She hasn't liked anyone.

-Why?
-I don't know.

Just wondering if there's
any jealousy aspects in there,

coming from an outsider's perspective.

'Cause why has she never ever approved
of one of your significant others?

It sounds like there might be
some unresolved issues.

-Family is extremely important to me.
-Mm-hmm.

And, like, if my sisters were to tell me
that they didn't like someone,

I would listen to that.

That's why I want you guys to talk,

like, one-on-one.

To, like, really talk.

Yeah, I'd talk to her.
I think you guys gotta talk too.

No, I know!
Oh, we will, trust me. We will.

Is that, like, a make it or break it?

No, but it's like…

[chuckles] Yeah, it's a serious thing.

Yeah.

-You didn't like that fold in that one?
-No, did not.

Oh God!

[pop music playing]

♪ 'Cause I'm gonna take it down ♪

♪ Oh, oh, I'm gonna take it down ♪

-Hi. [laughing]
-[man] Hey, T.

-I'm gonna cry.
-Hello.

Welcome home!

-[Taylor] How are you?
-Okay.

Yeah. [laughing]

Hi! Can I give you a hug?

Yes, for sure.

[Daniel] It's so wonderful to meet you.
I got you flowers.

-Oh, thank you.
-You're welcome.

-[Taylor] This is Daniel.
-Hi.

-Couldn't have a better first name.
-I know.

-Rumor had it that you had a strong name.
-Yes, yeah.

Wonderful to meet you both.

I feel like it's definitely
taken my mom a little bit of extra time

to come around
to everything that's happening.

My dad, I would say, has definitely
been ready from the jump,

especially given the year
that we've had with his health

and cancer treatments and all the things.

Um, yeah, to have him here
and be a part of all of this,

I'm just so grateful. [exhales]

I heard you built your house?

Yes, yes.

-Fairly incredible.
-[Dan] Yeah!

Daniel's parents
are coming in to meet my parents

and to get a glimpse
of what the future would look like

with our families being together
is really important.

Do you guys wanna go sit
in the living room and chat?

-Okay?
-Sure.

[Taylor] I just know my mom
really, really well.

And I… am just hopeful

that she can let Daniel in
as much as I have.

Coming in today, my fear is

she won't get behind our love
and the process.

I'm trying to put myself in your shoes,
and if, like, I had a daughter,

um, and she came home

with a guy that you didn't know, and--

-It's me you need to worry about.
-Yeah, I know!

[laughing]

I'm easy.

-Okay, well, if I was a mother…
-[Connie] Yes.

…and I had a daughter who came home
with a guy that you'd never met,

you didn't hear anything about…

Um, and, oh, by the way, they're engaged.

Uh, and oh, by the way,
there's a wedding in three weeks.

I get… I understand how that would feel.

I just hope that you see us together
and just hear our story

and just, like, feel some peace about it.

-I'm excited for you to meet my family.
-[Taylor] Yeah.

It's very real for us. I know
it's very real for you guys as well.

And it's very real for my family,
and we're taking it seriously.

It just feels so peaceful,

as crazy as it is,

and overwhelming, I'm sure,
it seems to everyone else.

Very stressful here.

You guys have never
seen any part of the show?

-No, no.
-[laughing] Okay.

-Yes.
-Neither had I. [laughing]

So how did you get interested, Daniel?

-They reached out to me, and I thought…
-[Dan] Oh, okay.

Yeah, I thought, honestly, at first,
it was like, "Oh, I don't know."

I'll entertain it kind of as a joke.

And then I got really thinking

of the idea of Love Is Blind
and my, like, past relationship history.

And also even, like, with my sister.

My sister's blind.

I saw how she loved people,
and it was all just based on who they are.

I was like, "Wow, that
could actually be pretty interesting."

For as crazy as it seems and as whatever,
I will always be grateful

for whatever reason
they picked me to be there.

'Cause my life is, like,
changed forever because of it.

[Taylor] We also talked about
how it's not something

that we would feel a pressure to do

because of the circumstances
that we're in.

Right.

But, um, the process
has gotten us to this point,

and this is not a point
I maybe thought would ever happen.

-[Dan] Mm-hmm.
-I didn't. [laughs]

-I hoped.
-Yeah.

-Coolest thing I've ever been a part of.
-It is. Yeah, yeah.

Feel like the luckiest guy
in the world. [laughs]

I've said it a million times.

-That's all I could say after…
-It's true. [laughs]

-I know it's true.
-No, it's true that you've been saying it.

[laughing] Oh! Like, "It's true.
You are the luckiest guy in the world."

-I didn't say that.
-You are.

I know I am. I know I am.

-It's crazy we're sitting here, right?
-[Dan] Yeah.

-[Daniel] Amazing.
-Yes. That's the better word.

-But also crazy. [laughs]
-Yeah.

The process is crazy to me.

-Yeah.
-I mean, where in the…

What world did you ever think
you would get engaged and not tell me?

Moments like that are priceless.

-I feel left out of it, you know?
-[Daniel] Sure.

-Yeah.
-Which is a big deal to be left out of.

But we got to tell you
as soon as we could.

Yeah. I know.

It was interesting not being able
to communicate with you guys

because in dating, in everyday life,

I'm quick to ask for opinions

and input on situations.

And so this was truly a process

that I had to only rely on my gut
and my gut alone,

which is probably something that
I have ignored many times in the past.

That's what I went off of.

And so it gives me
a bit more of confidence

that it is good and right.

And as sad as I was to not
have you guys a part of that part of it,

now you get to be part of this.

I guess I'm amazed that you got by
three weeks without a cell phone.

-Yes. Yeah. You and I both, Dad.
-[chuckles]

[laughing]

Honestly, like,
I've just never felt more safe

and loved than I do.

-Well, that's what we want for you.
-I know.

-[Connie] That's a big job, Daniel.
-Yeah.

I'm ready for it.

Got me going.

-[Taylor laughing] We're all crying.
-[Daniel] Yeah, I, um…

I wrote Taylor a letter

in the pods one of the days, and, uh…

-Oh my gosh. [sniffles]
-[chuckles]

[Daniel] One of the things
I said was I just…

I felt like I wanted to make her happy
and feel safe for the rest of my life.

And, like, that's… [sniffles]

[Taylor] Yeah.

[Daniel] That's what I wanna do.

[sniffles] Oh!

[laughing]

Um… [sniffles]

And I assume
you would like to have children.

I would, yes. Very much so.

[knocks]

-[Connie] Oh.
-[Dan] Oh.

-[Taylor] Do you want me to go look?
-Sure.

[Taylor] I found some people.

[laughing]

-[Connie] Hi.
-[Dan] Hi.

[Daniel] Hi, Mom.

Daniel. Hello.

-[John] Good morning. Good to see you.
-Good morning.

-This is my mom, Connie.
-[John] Hi, Connie.

-John Hastings. Nice to meet you.
-Nice to meet you.

-[Sally] Hi, I'm Sally.
-Sally, nice to meet you.

-This is my dad Dan. [laughs]
-Sally, nice to meet you.

-John, nice meeting you.
-[John] My pleasure.

-Come on in.
-Thanks for coming.

-Pretty comfortable.
-[John] Yep.

-[all laughing]
-[Connie] Yep.

So we hear this was
a recent renovation or remodel.

-It's beautiful.
-[Connie] Yeah.

When people retire, they usually downsize.

-Yeah.
-But both of our homes, we've made bigger.

So that our hope is the children
and the grandchildren always come.

-Same here. Mm-hmm.
-[Daniel] Sounds familiar.

[Sally] Funny because when they
were at our house yesterday,

the whole point is that
I kept all the kids' rooms their rooms.

I'm like, "Okay, the pack and play
is gonna go here."

-"The crib's gonna go…" whatever.
-[Connie] Yeah.

[John] So is this year 50 for you?

-[Connie] It is.
-[Dan] Fifty. Yeah.

-[John] Congratulations.
-[Daniel] How long have-- 30?

-It'll be 34 in August for us, so…
-[Dan] Okay.

-Yeah, we're catching up. [laughs]
-[Dan] Yes, yes. Yeah.

[Connie] It's very important to me

that he realizes that it's forever.

[Daniel] Mm-hmm.

And that he needs to be her everything

and keep her safe

and to be the father of her children,

our grandchildren,
by the way, if that's how it… [chuckles]

-And--
-Keep that in mind.

[Connie] It's a big, big task.

There's no going back on this.

We don't have divorce in this family.

So just so that's out there.

-We've talked about that.
-We've talked about that as well.

I wouldn't have proposed, made that
commitment without being 150% sure.

'Cause divorce
is not an option in my mind.

It's a lifelong commitment for me,
and so I take it very seriously.

[John] And we're in agreement with that.

-It's a lifelong commitment.
-[Dan] Yes, yeah.

What do you think about these guys?

As you guys know,
as your children become adult children,

you can't really
tell them what to do anymore.

[Dan] Right!

[Sally] You can be there to support.
You can be there to encourage.

You can be there to help,
but it comes to a point

where you have to put your trust
in their decisions, and…

-Which is hard for us.
-It is hard. It's hard.

But we weren't there.
We weren't in the pods with you guys.

And we weren't in those
however many hundreds of hours

that you spent together without phones,

without TVs, which I absolutely love.

[John] It was a pressure cooker, you know?

And you made the statement that, for you,

Daniel was a soft landing for you.

[Taylor] Mm-hmm. Yeah.

[Connie] Should be that way forever.

[John] He's not like me.

I can be an intense individual,
but he's very even keel.

[Daniel] Mm-hmm.

So it's like, when the chips are down,

there's a calmness there
that he'll bring to the relationship, so…

-I feel like you're both that way, but…
-[Dan] Yeah.

We're very grateful
that he has met your daughter,

and that it's going
in the direction it's going.

We're now in a place
of encouraging and uplifting.

-How can we help, and what can we do?
-And support.

-But…
-[John] Yeah.

Clearly, between the four of us,
we have a lot of experience.

Yes.

Um, there's no perfect person.

-There's no perfect marriage.
-Right.

Taylor's able to look at your marriage
and take things from that.

I'm able to look at your marriage
and take things.

And hopefully, we can
bring that into our marriage, you know,

and have it work for the best.

-Yeah.
-But… yeah.

And there's a real drawback
to having two strong families though.

[John chuckles] Yeah.

We're gonna be
wrestling for time with them.

-They have to come for Christmas.
-[laughing]

We get dibs on Christmas.

-No!
-We get 'em Christmas Eve.

[all laughing]

[Daniel] What a day.

Very, like, heavy,

emotional day for me in a great way.

Having my parents here to meet her parents

was for sure the highlight
of my day. [laughs]

Um, but probably the most important step
thus far for me

in my journey with Taylor.

This was amazing. Thank you for coming.
I'm glad you guys drove up.

-It was our pleasure.
-Yeah, it was good.

[Daniel] It's important for me to have

their approval of me and the wedding.

And I want to ask her parents

for permission to marry their daughter.

It was weird for me to propose to someone
without meeting her family.

Sure.

It's important to me that you understand
that I'm serious about it.

She's an answer to my prayers.
She's an answer to my parents' prayers.

But I wanted to ask your permission
to get married to her.

I wanna have a family with her. I want
you guys to be involved in our family.

Family is everything to me.
I know it's everything to her too.

I know it's everything to you guys.

So I would like to just ask you guys

for, you know,
your permission to move forward with her.

Because I love her so much.

And it means a lot
to me to have your guys' buy-in

and for you to feel okay about me.

-["Window Seat" playing]
-♪ I saw the world from a window seat ♪

♪ Felt the calm, I felt the peace ♪

I do.

Yes.

-Thank you.
-[Dan] Yes.

My hand is shaking.

[laughing]

I'm just gonna try and love her
the best I can. [sniffles]

-Thank you.
-[Daniel] Yeah.

[sniffles]

Sounds like you got
those wedding vows down pat.

-[Daniel chuckles] It's just…
-[laughing]

Yeah. Sorry, I'm getting emotional.

It's just… it's very real.

["Cross My Heart"
by Tommy Marra and Joe Uzzo playing]

[laughs]

♪ Do you believe in me… ♪

Can I give you guys hugs?

-You sure can.
-[laughing]

[Dan] I'm very happy
for both Taylor and Daniel.

They seem to be…

like they've been together for 14 years
instead of three weeks.

-[Connie] Thank you.
-[Daniel] Yeah.

-I know you'll take care of her.
-I will.

It's pretty wonderful
that she's found someone

that she thinks is equally as special

and will be with her forever.

-[Daniel] Thank you.
-Nice meeting ya.

You as well.
Thank you for raising a wonderful girl.

Those two things in the same sentence
really are crazy, though.

-You do know that.
-Which two?

-"Nice meeting you."
-Yes.

-"Good luck marrying our daughter."
-[Dan] Yeah!

[laughing]

♪ Sing a melody loud anywhere we go ♪

♪ Cross my heart and hope to die ♪

♪ Every breath I'm feeling fine ♪

[Lauren] Okay.

-I'm overwhelmed already setting this up.
-Really? Why?

There's just, like, so much to set up.

I wish we had, like, four more barstools.

I know.

-We'll get creative.
-Who do you have coming over?

[Dave] My friend Adam and Will.

They're kind of on standby quick

to make sure we want them to come.

What do you mean?

They don't wanna be forced into, like,

making things uncomfortable, you know?

-For me?
-[Dave] Yeah.

-I want them to be here.
-Okay.

I would rather have them
make me feel uncomfortable

than let this continue to be a thing.

Okay.

So I don't want them
to worry about that at all.

-I can handle myself.
-Okay.

I didn't realize
they were up in the air about it.

Well, I mean, they're just… I don't know.

Obviously, your friends will back you.

-They wanna back me and be supportive.
-[Lauren] Yeah.

I'm just still not fully understanding

how this is, like, impacting us this much.

Like, you didn't flirt with someone
at a bar a week before you came here?

-I mean, flirting's different.
-I get that.

I'm not saying
it's the most comparable thing.

I'm single. I flirt all the time if--

And I was single
the day before going on the show.

But I wasn't going home hooking up
with people literally a day before.

-It was not a day before.
-I mean, that's what they think.

I did not hook up with him the day
or even the week before coming here.

They said, "For a fact, I know that
they were together that weekend before."

I don't wanna choose
between you and my friends,

but I feel like these things
just keep adding up and adding up.

I'm getting frustrated.

There's these things adding up,
and I'm not there to defend myself.

He has one version of this,
and it's very different than my version.

And I understand
that's very frustrating for you.

You knew for a fact
I was with him the night before.

That's not a fact. It's not true.

How do I know that's not true or not?
I don't know.

Everything they've related to me--

They're telling you facts
that aren't facts though.

This guy thinks you guys were together

literally, like, within 48 hours

of you leaving for the experiment.

I mean, my friend was with this guy

on a ski trip, like, a week ago.

And so it came straight from him.

He is someone going into this
that you didn't think super highly of.

I mean, I don't even--
no, I've only met him a couple times.

And he's… yeah.

The main thing I'm trying to figure out
is this was not just like,

"Oh hey, sorry.
Our casual hook up's over."

"I'm gonna go get married now."

That just doesn't make sense to me.

I don't fully understand
how that makes me not ready to be here.

How do you see somebody
for a couple months

and not have
any sort of closure with that?

How do you not explain that?

I did explain that!
The whole time we were so casual.

The last time that I saw him
was we got ice cream together,

and he told me about the Hinge date
he had the night before.

Okay.

This was a very explicit, like,
friends-with-benefits situation.

It's probably longer than it feels good
to think about and hear about.

But, like, I don't understand
how me hooking up with someone,

me being friends with benefits
with someone for two months,

equates to me
not being ready for marriage.

And, like,
that's where I'm struggling too.

I'm not trying to hide anything.
I'm so honest with you about this.

Everyone in my life
is so confused why this is a thing.

Because they're like, "This is such
an insignificant part of all of this."

I'm not trying to discredit
how you're feeling about it,

but I'm confused that this is the thing

that is prohibiting us from figuring out,
like, if we wanna get married.

Yeah.

-We're about to get married.
-I know.

It's f*cking weird
you were with some other guy,

and next thing you know,

I'm spending every night
in the same bed with you.

And we've barely even hooked up.

I know. Because you've
been somewhere else for the last week.

I have, yeah,
and I feel like for good reason too.

If I was seeing somebody
going into this experiment, I definitely--

I was not seeing anyone
going into this experiment!

[sighs] Okay, I mean--

This is not someone I dated.

We never went on dates together.

We never slept over
at each other's houses or places.

We never, like, hung out
with each other's friends.

Yes, you're like, "Oh my gosh."

"Two months. Like, that's a long time."

It's really not when there's


and have such a strong gut on,
like, what I want,

and, like, the person I wanna be with.

And, like, it was very obvious
that he was not that person.

And so, yes, the easy thing to do
would be like, "Okay, I'm not interested."

-But I continued to hook up with him.
-Yeah.

And I continued to not address stuff
that I should have addressed.

I know I should
have handled things differently

and, like, cannot get over
that this is where we're at.

I genuinely did not think

this was going to blow up
in a way that is so ridiculous.

[Dave] Yeah.

And I feel like I lost you this week.

Um…

-I just don't know what else I can say.
-I know. [sniffles]

Or do or like…

I don't know how else to show you
that I'm here, and, like…

I wouldn't be here. I wouldn't be
doing this sh*t if this wasn't for you.

[sniffles]

This really sucks.

But if the end of it is you
and I figuring it out,

then, like, I'll do it. [sniffles]

-But you have to meet me halfway.
-I know.

I'm trying. I really am. I've been trying.

But it's just… [exhales]

It's just been a lot.

I hear it not only from my friends,
but my sister has mutual connections.

She's just like, "Who is
this girl you're engaged to

that was with some other guy?"

I've never in my life
had to, like, defend my character.

-Never been in this situation.
-[Dave] You shouldn't.

But I have to
because everyone's f*cking talking.

-And I'm not part of the conversation.
-[Dave] Yeah.

And I'm saying sorry for that
because you don't deserve

to get that type of treatment
from people that don't know you.

'Cause I know you,
I feel, pretty damn well.

[Lauren sniffles]

You're one of the best people
I've ever met.

That's part of the reason I fell in love.

[sniffles]

Um, and I'm just…

I guess I'm just really trying
to tell you I'm struggling.

[Lauren exhales]

I do need you to work through this too.

Like, I'm frustrated that, like,

this is such a blockage.

We've been working through it all week.

And I'm just going to bed at night,

"She was doing this with some other guy,
like, right before she came here."

-I was not going to bed with him at night.
-I'm saying that's in my head.

That's what it feels like.

And it's been very hard for me
to get past that.

-["Wings Were Tied" playing]
-♪ I know this to be true ♪

♪ I let go 'cause of you ♪

♪ We couldn't see ♪

♪ What was meant to be, watching… ♪

[Lauren exhales]

[Dave] You okay?

-No, to be honest. [sighs]
-Okay.

-What do you wanna do about tonight?
-[Dave] I don't know.

I'm starting to think
they probably shouldn't come.

When am I allowed to be part
of talking to your friends about this?

'Cause if it's never,
then this is never gonna work.

You gotta decide
if you're gonna lean in or not.

And that's what I've been
trying to do this week.

You saying you're trying this week.
I haven't felt that.

I wanted to give you time to do this,

but last night,
I, literally, like, laid there

and cried for an hour
before falling asleep

'cause I felt so disconnected from you
and so frustrated about this.

We're not getting anywhere.

[Dave] I've been tempted
to just walk away.

Friends, family, they're like,
"Why can't you guys just date?"

[Lauren] Mm-hmm.

[Dave] I was like, "We could."

Neither of us have to be here,
but we're choosing to be here.

I'm really trying to get back
to where we were literally a week ago.

I've never felt
this type of love for someone else.

I am still in love with you.
And I still am there with you.

I'm just also trying to wrap my head
around this whole situation.

[Lauren] I love you too.

And I want to marry you. [chuckles]

There's no question about that.

I don't know how else to say that
that's where I'm at now.

I don't know how else to communicate that
or show that.

[Dave] Yeah.

I want more than anything
for you and I to be okay, and, like…

-Yeah.
-Yeah. I don't wanna give up.

-["I Love You, I'm Sorry" playing]
-♪ Two Augusts ago ♪

♪ I told the truth though
But you didn't like it… ♪

What do you wanna do?

I have no idea.

I'd rather us not
go our separate ways tonight.

[Dave] Okay.

I mean, see, that's where…

I would, 'cause I don't
feel comfortable right now being here.

I'm not trying to walk away.

But I also don't know what else to do.

♪ That's just the way life goes… ♪

[Lauren sniffles]

Go meet up with your friends. [sniffles]

-Yeah, I just need to, like…
-Yeah.

-…figure things out more.
-Yeah.

♪ I love you, I'm sorry ♪

♪ The way life goes ♪

♪ I wanna speak in code ♪

♪ Hope that I don't ♪

♪ Won't make it about me ♪

♪ I love you, I'm sorry ♪

[Sara] Your friends were amazing.

-I love that they were so excited for us.
-[laughs] Yeah.

Because you're literally everything
I have always wanted.

-[laughs]
-Oh my gosh. That was… mm!

I respect you, and I love you so much.

-Mm-hmm.
-I'm just so happy that I've met you.

That this brought me to you.

I literally can't imagine you
not in my life.

-I lived my life for close to 28 years…
-[Ben] Yeah.

…without you in it.

-Isn't that sad?
-It's…

-Well, yeah, but guess what.
-[laughs] What?

-We get to do the rest of our lives, so…
-Oh my gosh! Stop!

[both laughing]

[Sara] I know!

[Ben] Oh my gosh.
No, I'm confident in what this is.

Do you got beer in there still?

-Yes.
-I was gonna do a refill.

-Oh yeah.
-Would you like a refill?

-Okay, a local please.
-"Local"?

-[accented] "A local, please." Coming up.
-Thank you. Thank you.

-Mm.
-[sighs]

-Thank you.
-Mm-hmm.

-[gasps]
-What?

-[gasps]
-[Ben] What?

-Okay, you're scaring me.
-Oh my God.

[ice clatters]

[sighs]

-Hmm.
-Okay. See, this is the thing.

-It's overwhelming to get our phones back.
-Mm-hmm.

What was the big gasp?

There's this girl on TikTok.

She doesn't say any names, but she says,
"In Minneapolis, they're filming…"

-She's crying in it? Yeah.
-She's crying.

She's basically just saying, like,
"I'm so sick and tired of reality TV."

I think, like, celebrating shitty men
and, like, how they treat girls

and how they treat others and everything.

Do you wanna watch it?

-[Ben] I think she is referencing me.
-No.

-Yeah, and…
-Okay.

[Ben] I had seen it.

-When?
-Literally when we were at the brewery.

I saw this come out,
and I'm like, "Screw this."

I don't want to give her any ability
to do anything with me

if she decides
to release my name or anything.

I don't wanna give her control over that,
so I blocked her.

And 'cause she had blocked me
from seeing her TikTok feed.

Why? Why would she do that? 'Cause she…

Probably 'cause she doesn't
want me to see this? I don't know.

I haven't talked to her
in over four years.

But why would she react this way
if it was over four years?

That's why I blocked her,

'cause I'm so uncertain
to what else she's gonna try and say.

Do you think she's gonna make stuff up?

[Ben] She's already making up stuff.

She was like how I manipulated her
and did all these different things.

I hate talking bad about people,
but it's like she's not…

She's overreacting.

So how did you meet?

Tinder, I think.

-Never hooked up.
-Never hooked up?

-Never hooked up.
-Never?

I wish I could give you a more,
like, "Yeah, it was a dramatic breakup."

"I didn't treat her well
because of this reason or this reason."

Or "I don't feel proud of this or that."

But I just strictly,
I just honestly don't remember.

All I remember was it was four years ago,

and it was a short amount of time

that we were talking.

I just honestly
can't remember what happened.

I don't like that you don't remember.

How do you not remember, Ben?

-'Cause it was four-- yeah.
-Legit. Come on. Tell me.

I remember my relationships
four years ago.

This wasn't a relationship.

It was someone I went on,
I think, maybe one date with,

and then met up at bars
going out for a few weekends.

-Uh-huh.
-And then didn't talk to after that.

And what I remember
was that I just ghosted her.

Okay.

I can't tell you why I ghosted her.

I can't remember what we talked about
or anything like that.

Why was she crying
if you just ghosted her?

Hmm.

-Ghosting.
-Mm-hmm.

-Simple ghosting, if it truly is that.
-[Ben] Mm-hmm.

That's what makes it difficult for me
to believe she's still crying about it

four years later.

Didn't you go to her house?

Yeah, it was one of those
where you meet. You go on a date.

-You kiss?
-Yes, I think we kissed.

-And you didn't hook up?
-Didn't hook up. No.

-Nothing?
-Mnh-mnh.

So there was no communication
after that? Literally none?

I don't know if…

I don't even know if we did talk
after the four years,

but I wouldn't be surprised if there
was a DM or something here and there.

Like, "How are you doing?"
or like, "Wanna hook up?"

Like, what kind of…

None of those. It never came from my side.

I can guarantee
that I never initiated the reach out.

[sighs] This is the worst part.

[Ben] I know.

And I don't wanna get inside my head,

but, like, I'm not going to
dismiss what she said.

Okay.

I just…

-Ben. [sighs]
-[Ben] I know.

It was such a small amount of time.
I forgot about it.

It wasn't something on my mind
that I need to come out and tell you.

[Sara] Mm-hmm.

I do love you.

And I do feel like I wanna marry you

and that we can live forever.

-What would help the situation?
-Nothing.

-I don't want to dismiss her.
-Mm-hmm.

-People evolve. People change.
-Mm-hmm.

-Knowing you, you know…
-Mm-hmm.

I love your heart. Your heart is amazing.

I'm gonna trust your word.

But, like, I'm telling you now,
if more comes out of this,

if I find out there's anything at all,
I won't be able to trust you.

-[Ben] Yeah.
-I'm telling you now.

-[Ben] Mm-hmm.
-I need to know everything.

I need you to tell me everything.

-[pop music playing]
-♪ Is it something more ♪

♪ Or is it a hookup? No ♪

♪ This thing called love… ♪

[shouting]

[Monica] I've never had someone in my life
that I've had this connection with.

-Cheers to us.
-And now to the future.

Oh!

She's the queen of my world.
Team Buckley for real.

[voice breaks] I'm just so thankful.

I love you.

I love you too.

-The human being you are is very rare.
-Well, I'm not going anywhere.

-[Lauren] Oh my God!
-Lauren's the most lovable person.

It will be fun with Lauren,
no matter what.

[Taylor] Seven days, seven years,
tomorrow, right now, I'm ready.

Good.

[woman] I have no doubt
that you guys have a strong connection.

I just don't see the point
in rushing into marriage.

-[laughing]
-[Monica] I'm more in it than he is.

Like, I want you to want me.

I did print out the prenup.

[Madison] Hello!

-Hey, Devin!
-[Devin] How you doing?

When I'm with you,
it just seems, like, very easy.

[woman] Oh my God!

The second I got my phone,
I was like, "How's Mason?"

He's a huge liar. He's a massive liar.

♪ How did it come undone? ♪

It's not easy, but I love you.

The guy is still texting you,
trying to talk and hang out.

-He's not texting me trying to hang out.
-A week ago he was.

When was the last time you had sex?

[exhales]

Been that long? [chuckles]

[Lauren] He texted me at,
like, three in the morning,

saying that he was
gonna stay at his apartment.

Texted him this morning, and it was green,
so I assumed his phone was off.

And, like, we are getting married today.

[Monica] I'm at a crossroads right now
of two different lives.

And I will know what life that is
in a few hours.

[man] Now is the time to decide
if love is blind.

-[Devin gasps]
-[Monica] Get me out of here!

-[pop music playing]
-♪ Tell me ♪

♪ I'mma need to hear you say it ♪

♪ Tell me ♪

♪ It's all in my imagination ♪

♪ Tell me ♪

♪ I'mma need to hear you say it ♪

♪ I need to know, yeah ♪

[vocalizing]

♪ Tell me ♪