Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
Trista and Ryan Sutter — yes, the Trista and Ryan Sutter of the first season of The Bachelorette — are in tears. Their relationship has been pushed to the limit in the latest “exercise” of Marriage Boot Camp: Reality Stars. How, you say? Well, Ryan was escorted into a makeshift morgue to identify a “dead” Trista. With the help of a faux forensics lab and makeup to make it look like the reality star was truly in an accident, Ryan cried into the chest of his “deceased” wife as he was given a dose of what it would be like to lose her. When the exercise was called to a close by hosts, Jim and Elizabeth Carroll, Ryan told Trista (now alive) that he promises to tell her he loves her more often, just in case she does, in fact, get into a car accident. And this is just one exercise. Say hello to your new guilty pleasure.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhQV5imQLpQ]Going into its fourth season, Marriage Boot Camp is a spin-off of WeTV’s wildly successful Bridezillas, which featured ill-tempered brides-to-be in the week leading up to their wedding day. The first two seasons of MBC followed former Bridezillas (now just pissed-off wives) and their husbands as they strive to save their new marriages or decide whether to call it quits. Marriage Boot Camp: Reality Stars chronicles the troubled relationships of your favorite reality TV couples (and some you’ve never heard of).
Happily married hosts Jim and Elizabeth Carroll conduct various exercises over a two-week-long couples therapy session. These exercises, or “obstacles” as they’re sometimes referred to, include partaking in couples swapping, arguing in a ring of fire, and some good old fashioned lie-detecting. The insane couples therapy isn’t the only aspect of the show that makes it so addictive, so we’ve outlined five more reasons Marriage Boot Camp should be your go-to guilty pleasure for 2015. Look out for brand new episodes starting Friday, January 9th at 9pm featuring Survivor‘s Rachel Foulger and Tyson Apostol, Bridezillas‘ Natalie Nunn and Jacob Payne, R&B singer Syleena Johnson and basketball star Kiwane Garris, The Real Housewives of New York City‘s Aviva and Reid Drescher, and The Hills‘ Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt. Yes, Speidi is back. Before you read on, watch the sneak preview:
View videoIt makes you feel (much) better about your own life.
Sure, MBC is about the trials and trivialities of relationships, but whether you’re happily married, happily single, or a bitter spinster, this show makes you (and, if applicable, your partner) feel like the wisest relationship guru(s) out there. For instance, Tanisha Thomas of Bad Girls Club couldn’t stop cheating on her poor husband, Clive. In addition to her infidelity, she explicitly said she no longer loved him. You’d think they would have ended it then and there, right? Nope. Now don’t you feel just a little bit better about yourself and your overall sense of right and wrong? We thought so.
There are epic, drunken fight sequences.
Think Jersey Shore during the Angelina era meets an amateur UFC match in a mansion. Tables are overturned, punches are thrown, the producers often get involved: it’s a hot mess. And it’s SO much fun (as you may have gathered from the clip above).
It's fun to bet on who will break up.
Last season, my money was on Gretchen Rossi and Slade Smiley to call it quits. She was baby crazy and he was/is a freeloading wannabe who thinks he’s still 25. My boyfriend (who I tricked into watching with me and who is now hooked) bet Tanisha and Clive were over for sure. Turns out, he was right and I was wrong: Tanisha and Clive are done-zo and, rumor has it, Gretchen and Slade are trying to get a bun in the oven. There goes ten bucks.
Everyone thinks they're more famous than they actually are.
What makes Marriage Boot Camp: Reality Stars so much better than regular, old Marriage Boot Camp? A couple of things. 1. D-list celebrities, obvi. 2. D-list celebrities thinking they’re actual celebrities. For example: Jenni “JWOWW” Farley and her fiancé, Roger Mathews, attended the boot camp last season because Jenni refused to give up “her career” for their relationship. Roger, who supported his honey in doing what she loves, simply wanted less of their lives exposed on television. Jenni agreed to disagree: “Until I fade into oblivion, I’m going to keep doing this.” Doing what exactly, my dear?
"The Aftermath"
Of course there’s a “Where are they now?” follow-up to this insanity, which is not equally as epic but just as enthralling. We get to see who stuck it out and, yes, who’s filing for divorce. If you’ve ever sat through a Real Housewives reunion, you know verbal punches are a staple of these kinds of sit-downs, but Marriage Boot Camp: The Aftermath features exclusive, never-before-seen footage which is like a jar of cherries being dumped on the largest cake you could think to be served.
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