Married at First Sight: Happily Ever After premiered with the current relationship status of its three returning Married at First Sight couples, and Shawniece Jackson and Jephte Pierre revealing they temporarily separated after "Decision Day."

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The new spinoff stars Shawniece and Jephte from Season 6 of Married at First Sight set in Boston, Ashley Petta and Anthony D'Amico from Season 5 filmed in Chicago, and Danielle Bergman and Bobby Dodd from Season 7 taped in Dallas.

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At the time filming commenced for Happily Ever After, all three couples were expecting their first child together.

The premiere broadcast of Married at First Sight: Happily Ever After kicked off with expert, Dr. Pepper Schwartz, visiting Ashley and Anthony in their home.

Ashley disclosed she knew their baby's sex but Anthony wanted to wait until September 1 to find out -- a date which had no significance or relevance.

"I just think it would be fun to wait in crazy anticipation. Funny enough, I thought that would be the sixth-month mark, however, it's not and I miscalculated -- it's the five-month mark. Oh well, the date is set!" Anthony told the cameras.

Ashley told Dr. Pepper she tells any family and friends who want to know the baby's gender but they are not allowed to share the news with her husband.

"I'm being as understanding as I can be about it. It's a little upsetting to me, but Anthony and I have different styles of communication, and sometimes, little arguments turn into bigger arguments," Ashley explained.

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"We need Dr. Pepper's help to stop us from having these little fights turn into something bigger."

Meanwhile, Pastor Calvin Roberson met Danielle and Bobby for dinner at their home.

Danielle said their relationship was only "getting better and better and better" after the show.

Although Danielle has said she wanted to wait a year or two before starting a family, she learned she was pregnant.

Danielle and Bobby didn't know the baby's gender yet, but they both admitted they'd love to have a boy. In fact, Danielle hoped to have all boys when it comes to her future children.

"It's a boy. There's no question. It's going to be Bobby Dodd IV," Bobby told the cameras.

Danielle then shared with Pastor Calvin that she and Bobby had yet to fight. Calvin was shocked they never had a single disagreement, wondering whether the couple was "too good to be true."

Calvin worried there was something deeper in the relationship that was going unacknowledged or that Danielle and Bobby were running away from.

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Viewers then received an update on Shawniece and Jephte's relationship. Jephte confessed he "wasn't really feeling" his wife in the beginning of the Married at First Sight process and their time on the show was "a roller coaster."

Although Shawniece and Jephte chose to stay together on "Decision Day," they apparently hit a big rough patch in their marriage.

When Dr. Jessica Griffin met with the couple in their home, neither individual was wearing his or her wedding ring. Shawniece said she took the rings because after eight months, Jephte was unhappy and they were still arguing frequently.

"I just made the decision to separate," Shawniece said, before Jephte clarified they took some time apart after the show so he could find himself again.

Jephte apparently left Shawniece and didn't see her for two or three weeks. He had an extremely difficult time dealing with social-media backlash.

"My head was just so messed up. I was reading the worst things about myself and I started to internalize that stuff... It was really hard. I never felt like that before and it was scary and I didn't know what to do," Jephte explained to Jessica.

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Jephte then shared with Shawniece how he felt like he was "mentally drowning" and he was definitely in a state of depression in which he felt "weak" and "vulnerable."

Jephte didn't know how to communicate these feelings to his wife, and he also didn't want to upset her because her pregnancy was high-risk at the time. Jephte thought separating himself from Shawniece was the best thing to do for their baby.

Jephte broke down into tears, and Shawniece quickly teared up as well. Dr. Jessica said she really liked this side of Jephte, but he and Shawniece needed to address their marital issues in order to move forward and provide a healthy environment for their child.

Shawniece insisted she always wanted to be there for Jephte and listen to him but she also had to put herself first at times.

Meanwhile, Danielle and Bobby discussed the roles of the household with Calvin. Danielle admitted she felt so sick, especially on weekends, that Bobby pretty much did everything -- including bringing meals to his wife in bed, cooking and cleaning.

Danielle was so thankful and grateful for Bobby's love and support, because she said her pregnancy just consisted of napping and throwing up over and over again.

Calvin worried Bobby was "doing too much" and may become "completely overwhelmed" but was afraid to push back in fear of damaging his marriage or hurting/disappointing his pregnant wife.

Bobby and Danielle also discussed how their physical intimacy was lacking.

"Since we've conceived and we're expecting, our sex life has slowed down because Danielle is not feeling well. Things will change, but it's just a crapshoot, man," Bobby told the cameras.

The couple agreed they were both happy, in love, and share a similar sense of humor.

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Going back to Ashley and Anthony's conversation with Dr. Pepper, Anthony revealed he and his wife started trying for a baby after January 1, and they accomplished the plan "pretty quickly."

But the pair's biggest issue was communication. Ashley said Anthony never shared much information with her and struggled to open up at times. Anthony attempted to explain he doesn't like to answer Ashley's questions until he has all the answers.

The experts then sent each couple on a vacation to a special resort in Connecticut so they could reconnect and "reset."

Once they arrived, the three pairs met for dinner and drinks. Danielle disclosed she was 12 weeks pregnant, Ashley said she was 14 weeks along, and then Shawniece pointed out she's 20 weeks.

Anthony joked that Shawniece was "ready to pop."

Once Danielle learned Ashley knew the gender of her baby but Anthony did not, she said Bobby would never be able to wait because he wanted to know as soon as possible.

"Danielle and Bobby seem very happy. They seem like they're in the honeymoon phase still. It's all brand new. But for us, if we were pregnant at that point, I don't think we would have made it," Ashley confessed.

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Ashley then revealed watched their Married at First Sight season was "the worst part" of their marriage because old fights would resurface. In fact, they stopped watching the show in order to stop fighting.

Ashley told the cameras her relationship with Anthony was "very rocky" after cameras left and "Decision Day" was over.

Bobby and Danielle then shocked the other couples by disclosing they had yet to fight. Ashley simply didn't believe in a perfect relationship, saying she'd "call bullsh-t" if a couple ever said that.

The next day, the women enjoyed some time together at a nail salon while the guys played some cornhole and relaxed with cocktails.

Shawniece shared with the girls how she and Jephte "separated for a couple of months" and they hadn't been "intimate for a long time." She said they would wear their rings again once they learned to understand and depend on each other.

Meanwhile, Jephte was so excited to become a father, and he got emotional just talking about it.

Afterward, the three couples sat down with Dr. Jessica, Dr. Pepper and Pastor Cal.

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The cast members were then asked to independently rate his or her marriage from 1-10. Dr. Jessica wanted to discover whether each couple was on the same level -- and if not, what they could do to get on the same page.

Ashley rated her marriage a 9 and Anthony gave it an 8, with Ashley insisting there was "always room for improvement." Bobby and Danielle, once again, both rated their marriage a 10, but Danielle pointed out the experts should ask them again in two years because they hadn't been together very long.

And then Shawniece gave her union a 6. Jephte, however, refused to participate in the activity, saying, "I don't want to do this."

Shawniece was scared to open herself up and be vulnerable all over again, and Jephte's refusal to open up didn't help.

"Shawniece knows that little girl inside her, that love was instant. This love, we're still working on it and trying to build it. But she holds the key, the world, right here [in her belly] and so this makes her so important because she is the vessel to this baby," Jephte explained.

Shawniece knew Jephte loved her for being the mother of his child, but she hoped he would come to love her just for being her.

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"I want you to make sure that your reason for loving her is not just the baby... I don't want that to be the reason you are here. The goodness and beauty in that baby is in her," Calvin told Jephte.

"Don't just look at the baby, but look at Shawniece and say, 'Wow, this woman is incredible.'"

Jephte said he was trying to work things out with Shawniece for the right reasons, because his wife is an amazing woman, but he said they had "a lot of work to do."

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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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