Married at First Sight star Olajuwon Dickerson has admitted it felt like expert Dr. Pepper Schwartz was attacking and "coming at" him based on what she had seen in clips during their counseling session.
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During Wednesday night's episode of Married at First Sight: Afterparty, Olajuwon watched back a Season 14 clip of his one-on-one counseling session with Pepper when the couples only had 17 days to go until "Decision Day."
"I have heard that you told {Katina] that she's got no life skills, that she's behind you in terms of maturation. So I'd like to hear your side of that," Pepper tells Olajuwon in the footage.
"If anybody wants to say something, they can say it to me, because I don't play those games. And this is my life. I don't even think it's funny," Olajuwon says.
"I don't think that's funny at all either," Pepper clarifies.
"I don't think it's funny at all. Dr. Pepper, like, you're pointing me out to make me look like the bad guy, but I'm really bothered about all this. I'm really serious," Olajuwon admits.
Olajuwon told Afterparty host Keshia Knight Pulliam, "When I hear, 'I heard, I heard, I heard,' Dr. Pepper, I feel, was just coming at me based on what she heard and seen off clips."
Olajuwon explained how his issue was that an opinion had clearly already been made before he could even give Pepper his side of the story or his truth.
"She didn't ask me, 'Where is your conflict? Where are you struggling?' Not once [did she] say that. It was more of, 'This is what's been brought to me. This is what I've seen.'"
Olajuwon continued of Pepper, "I felt like she was just attacking me and not giving me a chance to speak up."
Olajuwon reiterated how he felt attacked and misunderstood.
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Keshia noted how at that point, there's probably nothing Pepper could have said that he would've received.
"Yeah," Olajuwon agreed.
But because of how frustrated Olajuwon got during that conversation with Pepper, Keshia asked if more had been discussed that didn't air on Wednesday night's Season 14 episode.
"What was said that we didn't see as an audience sitting at home?" Keshia asked.
"So first... me and Katina, y'all have got to remember I married a stranger. Our communication skills are not going to be on point, but when you try and somebody is passionate when they speak, it might not come off right," Olajuwon explained.
"Could I have handled the situation better with my wife? Absolutely... It's a learning process."
Olajuwon ultimately acknowledged how Pepper "is an expert for a reason" and he was "not knocking her countability and what she can do."
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Unbeknownst to the couples, Pepper and Pastor Cal were watching from a different room with the hope of seeing everybody interact and offering the spouses some "course correction" if necessary.
Olajuwon complained to the group about how Pepper had accused him of belittling his wife and making himself seem superior to his partner.
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Olajuwon insisted Pepper had "the wrong perception" of his dynamic with Katina, who laughed in the moment about the idea of her husband belittling her.
"[Pepper] said, 'I heard, I heard,' so I had to remind Dr. Pepper that it's cool that you 'heard' but I'm a grown man and I don't do that 'he said, she said' game. I feel like as an expert, you shouldn't [listen to that]... Dr. Pepper didn't help me, not at all," Olajuwon said.
"Ninety percent of it was a waste, I'm going to be honest with you. I felt like it was a waste because I could've met with an expert and really talked about something that helps my marriage, but I didn't."
He added, "It was more of me catching Dr. Pepper up because she had no clue what's been going on, and she made it clear."
Pepper said from the other room, "Keep talking, Olajuwon."
And he did.
Olajuwon added how production was clearly "bringing negative sh-t" to Pepper's attention, which resulted in Pepper talking about things that wasted his time.
Pepper and Pastor Cal then came out from behind closed doors and approached the group.
Pepper explained how she had heard things from production about Olajuwon because they had been watching him every single day with concerns and so she just wanted to give him an opportunity to set the record straight and explain what his marriage was like from his own perspective. Pepper said she was glad to hear that his marriage was going well.
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Pastor Cal then complimented Katina on always having resolution and peace in mind, and he told Olajuwon, "This woman is exactly what you need," which prompted Olajuwon to enthusiastically nod his head in agreement.
"I'm not in love," Olajuwon responded. "But we resolve things."
Pastor Cal, however, reminded the couples during the latest episode that love is a commitment and a person chooses to love and grows in love rather than falls in love.
Married at First Sight's fourteenth season currently airs on Wednesday nights at 8PM ET/PT on Lifetime.
The series also starred Alyssa Ellman and Chris Collette, but they chose to divorce one week into the extreme experiment.
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
