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Are Brennan Shoykhet and Emily Balch in 'situationship'? Fans claim 'MAFS' Season 17 groom 'hates' his wife

In the latest episode of the Lifetime show, the couple tried to work on their marriage with an exercise given to them by Dr Pepper

DENVER, COLORADO: 'Married At First Sight' Season 17 couple Brennan Shoykhet and Emily Balch's marriage appeared to be deteriorating. In the latest episode of the Lifetime show, the couple tried to work on their marriage with an exercise given to them by Dr Pepper.

The therapist asked the couple to spend some quality time alone and answer the questions written on the cheat sheet.

Brennan appeared disinterested in the game, causing frustration for Emily. As Brennan consistently declined to answer questions, Emily expressed, "I don’t know what is gonna get through to him at this rate."

Brennan acknowledged the challenges in their marriage, saying, "We've tried what we thought was within our capabilities and just reached a point where it was, like, what do we do?"

While playing the game, Emily read the note with a question, "What do you fight the hardest for?" She replied, "Honestly for us, in this marriage." Meanwhile, Brennan gave a very cold response, "Yeah, same."

However, the Lifetime show viewers are now convinced that Brennan "hates" his wife and claim that the couple has been in a "situationship."

A furious viewer tweeted, "Emily is fighting for this because she has never been in a relationship before. It’s like repeating every situationship she’s been in and thats hard but girlll smh leave that man first."

Another social media user said, "Seriously Brennan acts like he HATES Emily. That’s different than not being attracted. He seems like he regards her with disdain."

A person added, "Emily, babe… Brennan hates you. Please love and respect yourself and follow suit with the other two couples."

A critic penned, "Brennan didn't want a marriage. AT ALL. Having space and no pressure to hang out? What are you, 14?"

Another internet user stated, "Emily is giving Brennan too much grace. Put your big girl panties on and let this man have it. He doesn’t want you and nothing is going to change that. Stand up for yourself."

An X user wrote, "I sense that Brennan is the type of man who would kill his wife and pretend she was kidnapped by someone."

'MAFS' Season 17 groom Brennan Shoykhet calls Emily Balch a 'red flag'

'MAFS' Season 17 groom Brennan Shoykhet dubbed Emily Balch a "red flag" during the Lifetime show's couples' dinner.  

At dinner that evening, Brennan spoke to his wife about how he was trusting the process. Brennan shared, "But I don't want to sugarcoat it and say this has been [great]. It's been a lot of fun and everything, but this has been very tough, at least for me."

He further noted, "In the past, I would've just run from a red flag and been like, 'Oh, it's not there anymore. Done.'"

Emily was left shocked by Brennan's statement and asked, "So I'm a red flag?" Brennan agreed and elaborated, "I mean, yeah. It's very uncomfortable to have something and then have it be gone and you don't know why."

Brennan noted, "In the past, when that fizzled out, I would run... but I'm trying." He further claimed that he was just giving their marriage some time to see if anything could change.

However, Emily later admitted to the cameras that taking things day by day wasn't going to cut it and that she needed to see more from him in order to move forward.

Emily Balch feels 'frustrated' of Brennan Shoykhet

'MAFS' Season 17 bride Emily Balch was clearly "frustrated" with Brennan Shoykhet's cold behavior. During Emily and Brennan's evening dinner with other 'MAFS' couples, Clare Kerr asked if they saw a future together.

Nevertheless, Brennan mentioned he was approaching things on a day-by-day basis. Emily was left furious with Brennan's constant repetition of the "day by day" statement.

Meanwhile, Brennan thanked Emily for being resilient and patient with him. However, Emily was clearly tired of waiting for Brennan to express himself and complained to the cameras, "It's not what I deserve."

She headed to the bathroom and requested Brennan not to follow her, but Clare quickly joined her to talk. Emily confessed to being weary of Brennan's silence, and Clare exclaimed to Emily that she was the only person being honest in her relationship and deserved better.

Emily subsequently departed from the dinner, with Brennan following her to the car.

The couple engaged in a conversation inside the car, where Emily expressed her frustrations and conveyed how she felt "embarrassed" by Brennan's apparent lack of interest in her and his unwillingness to open up.

She broke down in tears and admitted in the confessional, "He just says the same s**t, and that's annoying!" She added, "It's literally just frustrating."

'Married At First Sight' Season 17 airs on Wednesdays at 8 pm ET on Lifetime.