♪ You're the one I want to stay with As I go through all the changes ♪
♪ You're the one I want to be with… ♪
Hello and welcome to The Ultimatum Season 1 reunion.
-I'm Nick Lachey. -And I'm Vanessa Lachey.
-And this has been quite a crazy journey. -Oh, yeah.
[Vanessa] Well, we have the entire cast here today
to catch us up on everything that's been going on since the finale.
And, boy, do we have some questions that we want answers to.
But before we jump into everything, we're obviously missing two of you.
I think you can guess. So why don't we bring them out?
Colby and Madlyn. Come on out, guys.
What's up, guys?
[all cheering, applauding]
Check that out.
-[Nate] Yeah! -Nice!
[Vanessa] Oh, my goodness. I love how Colby came out like,
-"Yeah?" -[Colby] Yeah? Y'all see that?
See what I did?
-[Nate] "That's me." -[Vanessa] "I did that."
Well, obviously, congratulations are in order for you guys.
Thank you so much.
Can I say this is our first Ultimatum baby?
-[Colby] Yeah. -[all chuckle]
[Nick] We're all taking credit.
-[Madlyn] Oh, my goodness. -It's our baby.
-How far along are you, Madlyn? -[Madlyn] Seven months.
[Vanessa] Seven months? Wow.
How do you feel?
Excellent.
-Yeah, really. -She's handling it like a pro.
I'm loving every second.
That's good. You're literally glowing. You know if it's a boy or a girl?
-[Madlyn] Girl. -[gasps] A girl! Congratulations!
And, um, Colby's the daddy?
-Absolutely. -[all chuckle]
[Colby] There's not even a question, doubt, or concern about that.
No. This show just took a turn real quick.
[Colby] Yeah.
We actually heard through the grapevine your good news,
and we knew that it was a little baby girl so we got you a little something
from The Ultimatum family to you.
-That's so sweet. -[Colby] Awesome.
-[Vanessa] You can just take the lid off. -[chuckling]
[Madlyn] Ruined the bow.
She loves presents. She likes tearing them up.
-You guys! -[Nick] I mean--
-That's awesome. -[April] Oh, my God.
What would our first Ultimatum baby be without a baby silver goblet?
[Colby] That is perfect.
[Vanessa] We got the baby goblet sippy cup.
I love it. Thank you.
You're welcome.
When I heard it was a baby girl, I…
was really excited.
That's what any girl, at least me, like, dreams of.
Um, so, really exciting, honestly.
[Colby] Thank you.
Love how you said she's taking it like a champ.
So what's it like for you, Colby,
watching Madlyn being pregnant with your-- your guys' baby?
I'm blown away, actually, by how she's handled it.
My sister recently had a baby just last year.
So we got full experience of the whole, how it works,
process of the pregnancy.
And she, like, has no problems. No aches. No nothing.
She is just like an absolute champ about it.
I keep staring at your bump. I'm sorry. I'm like, "Babe. Babe."
-My ovaries are on fire right now. -[all chuckle]
Um, but, see, we knew when we were getting married.
I told you guys, when I did ultimately give Nick the ultimatum,
it's 'cause he wanted kids and I'm like, "Then we should be married to have kids."
Did you guys know that this is what you wanted to do right away?
Or were you surprised when you got pregnant?
Yeah. I think I even said it on the show too. I was like,
"Next step, starting a family." As soon as we got married,
I was like, "Yeah, it's time to start making a family."
It wasn't trying to get pregnant, but trying not for him to get me pregnant
-as soon as we got married. -[chuckles]
Isn't it funny? When you get married, people ask, "You trying for babies?"
I'm like, "Do you mean are we having unprotected sex with my husband?"
-[Nick] Once you pull the goalie… -[Colby] That's it.
[Nick] Go for it.
So, Nate, obviously, we all know that you want kids.
So when you saw Madlyn come out pregnant here today,
did you feel a type of way about it?
Are you jealous of the experience they're going through right now?
Well… [scoffs]
Um…
Let's take a look back and remind everyone in case they forgot what was on your mind.
There are some things that we can't get past, like the kid thing.
I want kids so bad.
I've always seen myself as like-- Ultimately, I wanna be a dad.
I want kids more than anything. I'm not gonna take that next step
unless it comes with knowing that we're doing it to have a family.
A boy or a girl.
Boys or girls.
Kids and a family. I know that's a must for me.
I want kids a lot.
What happens when I'm 36 years old and still don't have kids, it's like,
"Now it's too late. We'll never have kids."
Kids. Kids. Kids.
Children. Dad. New wave dad.
My want for kids hasn't changed.
-[all chuckle] -Hey!
-I guess I want kids. -Give this man some kids.
-[chuckles] -[Vanessa] Um…
Nate, you can see how this is a tad confusing to all of us.
You proposed to Lauren still not knowing if she would ever want kids.
It was me coming to the realization that
I would rather spend the rest of my life with her and not having kids
than having to go find someone that's…
70, 80% at best of what Lauren is to me,
and have a kid to fill the remaining 20%. That doesn't make sense to me.
She still wasn't quite ready yet, but you knew this was your person.
-So you proposed. -Yeah.
Let's remind ourselves of just how awkwardly tense that proposal was.
Take a look.
[whispers] I'm going to choose you.
Fuck off.
-I'm serious. -Wait, what?
-I'm serious. -What'd you say?
I'm going to choose you.
What's happening now?
[normal tone] Colby.
Are you ready to make a choice?
I choose Lauren.
[Nate] I'm listening to Colby choose Lauren
and it's stressing me out. I don't trust Colby.
And I don't know his intentions.
Lauren.
Are you ready to make a choice?
Yes, I am.
[Nate] If Lauren chooses Colby,
and they end up living together for the three weeks…
I'm shitting my pants.
I'm not trying to do anyone up, but…
-[Madlyn] What the fuck? -Lauren.
-Will you stand up? -[Randall] What the fuck is going on?
I've learned through this that I don't have a family without you.
And as long as I spend the rest of my life with you, that's all I want.
There's no one else I can imagine myself being with besides you for all my life.
-[Randall] Oh, my God. -[Nate] So, Lauren…
[Lauren] Mmm.
Will you marry me? Will you spend rest of my life with me?
Abso-fucking-lutely. Like, yes, please.
Obviously, we cut our experience short.
If you are being honest with wanting to marry me, like,
we still have to figure this out.
[Nate] Um, yeah.
If we have to get a therapist to figure this out, I'm down for that.
[Nate] Okay. Well, I'll say that, look. First, we want to get married.
It's a kids issue thing.
[Lauren] But like…
I'm not going to let you
walk down the aisle and marry me if I can't promise you kids.
[Vanessa] Ah, good times. It's good times.
[Nick] I can honestly say I think
the look on all of our faces when Nate got up was genuine disbelief.
And I think I heard Randall say,
-"What the fuck is going on?" -[all chuckle]
I was so confused.
[Nick] It was such an awkwardly confusing moment.
So, Nate, I just wanna ask you.
You knew the premise of the show was and the premise of the ultimatum.
You knew that this night was all about making a choice.
Sure.
And literally seconds before you got up and walked around the table,
you whispered to Madlyn that you were gonna choose her.
I guess my question is,
why would you tell Madlyn that?
Or is that you're saying the realization you wanna propose happened
literally instantaneously and you just acted on it?
I told her that because I didn't know who I was going to pick.
And I know in my heart and what I was saying to myself was,
I don't want to be with anyone else here besides Lauren.
But I need to pick someone.
If he didn't propose,
and you didn't have that out, so to speak, would you have still proposed?
I don't know. I didn't want to go through this experience with anyone.
I just knew what I want already.
And I knew that I wanted to be with Lauren.
So did that realization come to you
by going through the process?
Obviously, you knew that by giving her an ultimatum-- You issued the ultimatum.
Yeah.
This experience, and I said this before, did help me.
It made me realize all these amazing people here,
all the great dates that I went on with Shanique, April, every one of y'all--
I met so many amazing people.
Um…
Still, no one held a candle to Lauren, to me.
From the very first time we ever talked to anyone is,
we're in love and we wanna spend the rest of our lives with each other.
The only thing is we're working out an issue with,
do we want kids?
Are you still content with the idea that maybe kids will never happen?
So, what we said on there too is we wanted to actually work at it together.
That was our big thing and…
The other part of us not really feeling the experience might be a best fit for us
was because, with this one issue, who's gonna help us solve it, you know?
We sought out expert advice.
-And we, uh… -[Nate chuckles] Okay.
Yeah, we did a little bit of outside work with going to therapy, so…
I think that's great.
Are they having kids or not?
-Not yet. -[Alexis] Okay.
No, we have agreed to have one for now.
It sounds like it worked for you guys. I'm so happy to hear you say that.
Alexis, you seemed very invested to know if they wanted to have babies.
-What's going on? -[Alexis] I wanted to know.
-Why do you wanna know? -[chuckles]
Well, I mean, that's a huge topic.
Um, well, you guys also got engaged that night.
-Congratulations. Yay! -[all applauding]
[Hunter] We're very excited.
I'm assuming by your smile that you're still engaged?
Yeah, yeah, we're still engaged.
Have you guys gotten married yet?
No, not yet. But we're very heavy into the planning phase.
[Vanessa] What are the details? Can we know?
-[Alexis] We're getting married in June. -[Vanessa] June?
[Alexis] Um, his mom's actually a wedding planner.
-So we've taken her knowledge. -She's been amazing.
I mean, come on, in-house wedding planner.
-What more could you really want? -I know.
How did you feel that night when he proposed to you?
Were you like, "Is this really happening?"
-It was a mix of emotions, right? -She asked me.
-Oh, you're asking Alexis? -[all chuckle]
[Hunter] I'm so sorry.
-[Alexis] He's excited. -That was really cute.
-You know, we speak for each other. -Yeah.
[Vanessa] Did you have a feeling or were you surprised?
I mean, I had no idea.
If I had known, I wouldn't have worn my hair up.
[chuckles]
Um, and the white dress was a coincidence. I was originally wearing a yellow dress.
I was closing my suitcase, the dress rips.
I put on the white dress ten minutes before rolling out of the room.
And, you know, I'm crying. Like, I'm emotional because
everyone has kind of paired up, and I'm like, "Well, crap."
I don't-- I'm gonna pick-- It's Colby and Nate who I can pick.
And, no offense, Colby, but that would've been a disaster.
So I'm like, "Okay. What am I supposed to do here?"
I'm freaking out because I don't want Hunter living with anyone else.
I had no idea.
It was the happiest moment of my life.
We moved in together for the first time. We'd never lived together.
And, like, that whole chapter has been amazing, so, um…
I'm so happy that it happened that way.
I love him so much.
-Cohabitating can be a big change. -Yeah.
How big of an adjustment has it been for you two living together?
Um, I mean, everyone has, like, their…
That beginning phase of, like, moving in.
You have your classic arguments, like,
"Don't put the towel there." And, like, stupid stuff, but…
Living together has been great for us. We get to take care of our dog together.
Um, we're close to family. So, it's been really nice.
So, Alexis, I think somewhere in the course of this experience,
you made it clear that what a man brings to the table financially was important.
How is Hunter--? Is he making the bacon? Is he out beating the bushes?
[Alexis] I think, um…
You know, that was a really big thing for me, kind of in the beginning.
And now, living together, we both contribute equally.
Um, it's not as important
because I think there's a lot of other things in our relationship that are
better to focus on than the financial aspect.
-100% -Do you realize how much you're saving
-by his mom being your wedding planner? -[chuckles]
Yes.
-Like, at least $25,000. -So, there you go.
-He is bringing in some of his-- -[Alexis] Yeah.
[Vanessa] So…
April.
At Alexis's bachelorette party, you revealed that you might be pregnant.
I think because the stress-- I already have hormone imbalance.
Then you lay this stress onto it.
My hormones were like a pregnant woman.
And I was not having-- I didn't have a period.
After I moved in with Colby, I didn't have a period.
After coming back with Jake, it still didn't happen.
So just to make sure that I wasn't going crazy--
And sure enough, it was just hormone imbalance.
What do you think would've happened to you and April had she been pregnant?
[Jake] I've always been open.
If she did get pregnant, of course, I'd still be there.
I'd take on the father job and take care of her and the baby.
If she was, I would have definitely been all in.
You being The Ultimatum detective, April,
um, decided to go through Jake's phone when he was sleeping.
And so I've got mixed feelings about that.
I mean, I know there was a time in my life when I did it.
[Nick] You--? Wait, what?
You did it too. I'm actually surprised you figured out my password.
-That was a good one. -Cut, cut, cut.
And, honestly, I remember we went to a therapist, she was like,
"If y'all go through each other's phones, then you shouldn't be together."
I need to trust this man and he needs to trust me.
But you went through his phone
and you found a video of when they were doing a trial marriage,
-of Rae twerking, having fun-- -[Zay scoffs]
There was a bunch of videos.
-It wasn't just that. -Oh, there's more?
I'm not on Jake twerking. I just want to clarify that.
I don't know if they have a video to play it for proof.
I'm sure we do. Let's see the reenactment of Rae's twerking with April's twerking.
I have to see your phone filming this close up to Rae's ass
doing this shit at the fucking club?
["Hella Bandz" by Hunnit Feat. Mucho Dinero playing]
-[screaming] -[chuckling]
[Vanessa] Yes, girl!
Hey! I don't wanna judge. But I though you both did a pretty hell of a nice job.
Damn! [chuckles]
[Rae] How did you guys get the video?
-Oh, my God! -[Randall] That is hilarious.
So how accurate was April's reenactment?
[Rae] I liked April's reenactment a lot.
She did it in heels, and I was wearing flats.
So I think April should get-- You know, that was a good reenactment.
[Vanessa] Oh, my gosh.
So, Jake…
How has the dating life been for you after the show?
Honestly, it's been what, six months since the show ended?
Something like that? And I'm still trying to figure things out.
I'm still trying-- I was doing myself for a while.
Just like-- I'm shutting everybody out.
I'm trying to find out what I really want, what makes me happy.
'Cause that was definitely disregarded the last previous two years.
-And, uh… -[April chuckles]
[Vanessa] You're giggling.
-That was you, right? -[April] Yeah.
Was that your way of saying you don't buy that answer? Is that--?
[April] Yeah.
I feel for you 'cause I feel like me and Zay were rowing in the same boat.
Like, I know you-- Rae gave the ultimatum to you.
I gave the ultimatum.
And I feel like we were both put on the shit end of the stick.
You walk in and boom,
the first day we go to meet everybody, our partners were instantly, like--
Just watching their date back, it makes so much sense.
You guys do have a lot in common.
Watching it unfold, I could tell immediately when Jake and I moved in
that he wanted to be back with Rae.
And…
I was very distraught.
I was at my lowest point probably realizing,
"All right. This has already been checked out."
And being at my lowest,
instead of my person checking in with me, like, seeing him check in with Rae.
I know that they had a connection. But watching that, it felt disrespectful.
It felt like my three weeks was taken.
When I was with Jake, he was out checking on Rae and her mental well-being
and how things were going on with Zay. I didn't get those three weeks with Jake.
-Can I ask a question? -[April] Go ahead.
Why'd you bring me on here?
I brought you on the show because I wanted to marry you.
I'm glad you didn't propose 'cause I don't wanna be divorced to you.
And I'm unhappy, forcing you to do stuff that you don't wanna do.
But I was already trying to do those things.
Do you see what I'm saying?
The whole purpose of this was we weren't compatible.
There's things you wanted that I wasn't taking into consideration.
So, I do apologize. But I'm glad we were on the experience.
I want to marry the right person.
So looking at it, at the end of the day,
I feel like the experience did what it was supposed to do.
As heartbreaking as it was to realize you weren't the person for me,
things unfolded.
Shit happened. Shit hit the fan.
I don't like how you're going across like we had this perfect relationship.
Then I went on the show and like, "Fuck you." 'Cause it's not.
I was already trying to do everything in my power, um,
kids, house, car, marriage, all that already, previously.
So the fact that you didn't care about any of that, and you--
Total disregard of my feelings towards the show, me not wanting to be there,
and how you knew I was not comfortable at all going on this.
Just saying, "Fuck you. I want to do this anyways."
[April] And I apologize, but I had to put my foot down.
If you were buying Rae a car or house, why was it so fucking hard to marry me?
You brought me on the show with total disregard of my feelings.
I never wanted to go on the show in the first place.
Jake, we hear you.
And I think everyone else here did as well.
In fact, we have a clip. Let's watch.
She dragged me on. I'm not the one who gave the ultimatum, you know?
She dragged me onto this. She's dragged me on this thing.
-I got dragged on this. I didn't-- -[Rae] "I didn't even wanna be here."
I got dragged onto the experience I'm taking it in full.
One, she dragged me on this. Two, we agreed to go in this full force.
She gave the ultimatum. I didn't. I got dragged onto this.
She dragged me-- Not dragged me, but she wanted me to do this.
I didn't wanna do this.
I didn't give the ultimatum.
I got pulled onto this experience and I accepted it with open arms.
Somehow I knew that was gonna happen.
I knew that was gonna come up.
-That's how much I did not wanna do this. -[Rae] Did you get dragged onto this?
She didn't drag you. She drugged you.
[all chuckle]
Jake and April, after filming was over, did you guys ever get back together
-or attempt to get back together? -[April] Letting go was hard.
For months, we kinda just coasted, and I stayed at Jake's for months.
We knew the relationship was over. But, for months, we still tried to just…
-We were just-- It was just routine. -[Vanessa] Yeah.
Clearly things didn't work out with Jake the way you wanted them to, but…
how has the dating life been for you after the show?
I am in a serious relationship.
I think after Jake and I separated,
I was like, all right, I'm gonna move in with my girlfriend.
I'm getting my apartment.
I'm gonna have hot girl winter 'cause it's about to be December and…
-Hot girl winter? -I'll explain later.
-[April] Instead of hot girl summer. -He's cute.
He's 48. He doesn't know. It's okay.
And the very moment I said I'm gonna put dating outside for a bit
and just focus on me, he just…
came right on in.
And since then, we've been attached at the hip.
I've already moved in.
This is someone who wakes up every single day and says,
"I love you. I can't wait to marry you."
Go to bed, "Love you. I can't wait to marry you."
"Good morning. I miss you. I'm at work. Can't wait to marry you."
-It's like-- It doesn't feel real. -[Vanessa] Yeah.
And so looking back at this, it's just hilarious to watch because
it took that for me to be here where I am today.
To be at so much peace and, like, in a healthy relationship.
We get each other. It's respectful. We don't argue.
It just feels really good to know that
if this is what it took for me to be where I am today, then so be it.
-Congrats. -[April] Thanks.
Do you talk about babies with this guy yet?
You've talked about babies.
He's older. So, yeah, we have talked about it. [chuckles]
Well, um, something that April also talked about a lot,
not only wanting to have babies, um, but April liked to talk about…
well, April.
Let's take a look at this clip.
Oh, God.
At the end of the day, whoever ends up choosing April is gonna be with April.
April is a firecracker.
Gotta be just as adventurous and loud as April.
My last relationship, I had to leave a bit of April.
He's finally opening his eyes to April.
I'm not here to be wild April. How does Colby truly feel about April?
April doesn't really let who April is out.
Go out there and learn April. Who's April and where is April from?
Where does April need to be? Not here.
He's got to know more of a listening side of April.
Opposite of April. What the hell's gonna happen to April?
Focus on April.
'Cause I'm being myself. Like, this is April.
[Vanessa] Oh, my God!
[Nick] We wanna present you for the Guinness World Record.
-Talk about yourself in the third person. -[all applauding]
When did that start in your life?
I remember our first interview. She was like, "April's gonna…"
I was like "I thought that was April." He's like, "It is April."
-I'm like, "I got you." -[all chuckles]
I'll tell you that started when I started dating eight random strangers at one time.
They're like, "Who's April?" I had to start selling her.
-Did it really start from this show? -No.
[Vanessa] Oh, wait. [chuckles]
[April] I've never in our relationship--
It's all been about April our whole relationship.
[Vanessa] Touché.
[Nick] All right. Let's move on to a couple
whose trial marriage had tongues swirling and sparks flying.
Jake and Rae.
Last we saw, you two had agreed to give things a try and travel together.
So we're dying to know, where did you end up going?
We actually did not go on a trip.
I think that
we kind of came to a consensus that everybody needed more time to heal.
And I felt like it was really insensitive to kind of be like,
"Okay, bye. Fuck y'all. We'll get on a plane and go somewhere."
So we decided not to go on the trip.
What? Okay, um…
Do you feel that Zay and April were kind of holding you guys back
and forcing you not to continue on with your relationship
or in your own individual relationships, and travel the world together?
No, I don't think that they were actively holding us back.
I think that Jake and I both made a conscious choice to kind of backtrack.
I can't speak for what happened between April and Jake
after, you know, we didn't go on the trip, but…
Zay and I did kind of try to fix things.
Um, and, ultimately, that didn't work out. But we did, you know, give it a shot.
I tried to be more expressive with him,
and I actually feel like he became a better communicator after the show.
So, um, we gave it a shot. But, ultimately, it didn't work.
Because we were together, correct?
-We-- -Uh-- uh-- uh…
We didn't go on the trip.
Because?
And then you and I tried to rekindle things.
Why didn't you go, though? Why didn't you go on the trip?
Because I didn't feel comfortable,
you know, actually taking the leap to go on the trip.
I'm confused at this point. Why are you--?
If you are so into Jake, why are you fucking me?
Why are you fucking me every day?
-You know-- -I was not fucking you every day.
-We did have sex. -That's cap.
I'm not saying that we didn't have sex.
I'm saying we did not have sex every single day.
-Yeah. You're right. For sure. -We'd check in with each other.
-As far as-- -Live your truth.
I really-- I told you before. I said, "Don't come on this."
After you showed me what you-- You showed me--
After the show, we were together. Boom. You know what I'm saying?
You can say, "Me and Jake didn't go on the trip because of this."
Cap. You didn't go on the trip because you was with me the whole time.
Well, Zay, let's talk about this reversal of roles with you and Rae.
You were given the ultimatum. But it felt like much of the time,
it was a little bit of the other way around.
Like, you were waiting for Rae to be ready to marry you.
-How confusing was that? -[Zay clears throat]
Having been brought, then feeling like the roles kind of got reversed a bit?
Um, yeah, it was-- it was pretty confusing. Um…
'Cause I'm like, okay, so you're not trying to work with me.
You still don't know what you want. Why the fuck are we here?
Um, Zay.
Talk to me nice.
-I'm gonna be nice. -[all chuckle]
[Nick] Yeah, that sounds familiar.
[all chuckle]
A little real. Um…
There was a night, and we all remember it,
where you kind of went MIA, and it was y'all's last night together.
You went MIA until, like, eight in the morning, which… Wow.
[Zay] You're right.
[Vanessa] That's a long time.
And it got to a point that I think she was concerned.
So, do you want to shed some light on MIA Zay?
[scoffs]
So earlier that day, Rae said that she didn't want to leave,
uh, you know, this experience with me.
So that was-- Obviously, you're in love with somebody, that's gonna hurt.
And I wanted-- You know, I wanted some answers.
I asked her all these things, like, "If you feel this way, let me know why."
Because you see me trying to make this work,
trying to change any and everything to make you happy.
So I can leave this experience with you with a ring on your finger.
Or just leave this experience together at that point, you know?
So I'm asking these things and she's just not really trying to answer and like--
For a situation so serious,
I just expect my partner to be like, "Hey, this and that."
No matter if your stomach hurt, your head hurt, whatever the case is.
And I didn't get any answers and I wanted to escape.
And I left. I didn't turn my phone off. My phone died.
I was with one of my friends and one of her friends.
I end up getting drunk and passing out at his house.
So that's the truth?
That's my truth.
That's your truth, that you passed out at a friend's house. I got you.
And I feel like you think that something else happened, Rae.
I don't necessarily think it's so much about what he was doing.
I think it's…
Just…
You should've came home earlier. I don't know. I mean…
It's-- I mean…
At that point, I can't, like…
In my head, I'm just thinking like, what is…?
Like, I'm asking you in the nicest way possible
and I'm communicating to you the way you told me to communicate with you.
-Right. -I'm doing that.
I'm changing. I'm trying. Like, I'm freaking on this freaking…
In this experience, crying my freaking eyes out. Like, I'm…
And we're different people. I have a hard time expressing myself.
When you love somebody, there's no question.
It doesn't matter. I won't shrink up because there's people in the room.
Yeah, you're right. We're different. But end of the day,
if you love and care about somebody, you'll say it in front of anybody.
It's about reassuring the person you're supposed to be in love with
that you care about them and that you wanna be with that person
or you don't wanna be with them.
But I just needed to hear it from you, from your mouth,
what you wanted and how you felt.
I'm sorry for that.
And I wanted to be able to express myself because you deserved that.
You deserved for me to be open with you.
But I just-- I couldn't do it.
And I'm sorry because you deserved more from me emotionally.
You called me out in the beginning for not being able to express myself.
And I was like, "No, you're crazy."
"I'm so warm. I'm so affectionate. I am expressive."
And then even watching it back, I was like, "What the fuck?"
I was so cold and shut down. I couldn't talk to you.
And I'm watching myself sitting there on the bed and you were like,
"I want this with you. I wanna be engaged with you."
And I knew how I was feeling in that moment
But on camera, I'm just sitting there like this just looking at you.
And it was so weird to see that.
And I'm sorry for that.
I think it was really powerful to hear Rae say it, actually.
And I'm sure you guys can agree, the cast, watching yourself,
and how you think you're thinking.
That was really, really vulnerable, Rae…
Thank you. …to say, "I wanted to give you all of that, Zay."
And you can roll your eyes for a minute. But from a woman's perspective,
to know what you're thinking and how you're feeling in your core,
and then to see yourself going, "Wow, I look absolutely dead in the eyes."
"There is nothing there."
And I think she's admitting that she couldn't give that to you.
And-- And she wanted to.
And again, just like Jake and April,
I think that, Rae and Zay, while you guys came in together and glued,
you now know you're not meant to be together.
-Before marriage. Before a messy divorce. -[Zay] For sure.
Before kids are involved. Before any of that.
Like, it is what it is.
You know, we went our separate ways. And, you know…
Live your life. I'm gonna live mine.
I learned what I needed to learn out of the whole experience.
And I think I'm a better man for that.
And, hopefully, you're gonna become a better woman for that, you know?
Just live your truth and do what you got to do.
I still, you know, still love you and all that, but it is what it is.
-Okay. -Have you started dating anybody since?
Um, I have not. I have not.
I've been just, you know…
Trying to figure out what I actually want, you know?
I-- I thought I knew, but obviously, uh…
Yeah.
Just taking my time and taking it slow.
Yeah. What are your thoughts on the dating world?
Are you like, "Screw it. I won't date for the rest of my life"?
Or, "You know what? I'll take it day by day."
[Rae] Since Zay and I split up,
I've been with, uh, one person.
Um…
She's amazing and, um, I had a really good connection with her.
But, you know, we kinda kept it casual.
I'm kinda figuring out, um, myself and my sexuality
because I was very uncomfortable with being bi for a very long time.
But, yeah. Since Zay and I've been done, I've just been with one girl.
And that's kind of been great, honestly.
I love that. Look at you glowing. Yay!
-[all applauding] -[April] Woo!
[Vanessa] That's awesome. Thank you for sharing.
All right. So, let's go back to Shanique's trial marriage with Zay.
We saw the two of you, late at night, getting very, very cozy.
Let's take a look back.
[sentimental music playing]
I don't know. I feel like everybody else is using this as a cheap, free pass.
How do you feel about that?
[Shanique] It is a little weird to see
how much fun Madlyn and Randall are having, and everyone else.
And I'm just like, "Okay, well…"
"If Randall's the one initiating things like that,
he should be okay with me doing the same thing."
[Zay] Mm-hmm.
[both chuckle]
I think everybody is out here having fun.
You know, I like you. I don't know. What do you think?
We can head back now if you're ready.
You know, I'm just gonna take a step back and say that
when we kind of got to that point in our, like, kind of relationship,
Zay, um, I think we both felt…
Um…
Well, you know, let me speak for myself. I felt like, um…
my version of trying in this experience
looked a lot different than Randall's version of trying.
It's just he thought that him, like, fully immersing himself
in his relationship with Madlyn was him giving this,
like, his all, you know? Like, him really trying.
But I will say that
I did feel, um, betrayed.
I know what we signed up for, but this is still my person.
This is still somebody that I'm in love with and I want to be with,
and I knew I wanted to be with even through Zay and I's relationship.
And so, if I'm being totally honest, I was jealous.
And I think, um…
that…
put me in a place where, I mean, as you guys can see,
you know, I just started thinking, well, if everyone is initiating these things
and leaning into that…
uh, physical attraction that was clearly there
between a lot of people here, um…
Like, why can't I do the same thing? Why do I feel so guilty about that?
And I will say,
um, hindsight 20/20,
that physical stuff between Zay and I definitely solidified that that wasn't…
This wasn't my person, you know? Um, and I feel like I needed to…
uh, experience that to know that.
'Cause there was that kind of question in the back of your mind. Um…
I don't… I don't feel embarrassed by it. I think it was, like, a natural thing.
Like I said, I think everybody had some level of physical attraction to
maybe the person that they chose and, um…
You know, I was respectful enough to Randall.
That was the first thing that I told him.
-So Randall was well aware. -[Vanessa] That's good.
-It just sucked to see the video. -[Shanique] It's a lot harder, yeah.
So, Randall, were you able to compartmentalize it,
the way Shanique was, to see it was part of--?
Well, obviously, it sucks to see.
I mean, like, I'm-- You know, it sucks to see it, but--
-[Nick] 100%. -Um,
she-- Like, I expected to see it at some point.
Because I just-- You know, she told me when it happened.
I wasn't tripping about it. But…
Just the visual, I could've lived without.
[Vanessa] Shanique told Randall.
Did Zay ever tell you, Rae?
[Rae] No, Zay did not tell me about that.
And on top of Zay not telling me,
he constantly accused me of doing stuff like that with Jake when I didn't.
Wanna know why there's not a video of me and Jake in bed?
Because that didn't fucking happen.
You accused me of getting with Jake multiple times.
You flipped out every time I hung out with Shanique since filming ended.
I developed a friendship with Shanique after the show.
And I thought that her and I got pretty close.
And I never once badgered her or asked her what you guys did
because I didn't want my friendship with her to be about that.
And I'm not mad at you because it was not your place to tell me.
You told Randall and Zay should've told me.
What I want an apology for is not the fact that you did it,
but the fact that you did not tell me about it.
And you accused me of doing that with Jake.
And you were very rude in the way that you accused me of doing that.
It's not what it was about.
You were the only guy that never sexualized me.
And we actually did have a genuine connection without that.
That's why this was so important to me and why I learned so much from you.
-[Zay] Uh, and-- -I'm pissed at you.
-Okay. I-- -[Rae] You should've told me.
Okay. I understand that.
And you flipped out every time
I spent time with her instead of telling me why.
You let me have a friendship with her.
Do you want--? I don't think-- I know--
[Rae] Don't attack me. I'm not attacking you.
I have a right to be frustrated.
I accept full responsibility for what we did. I-- I totally do.
All I wanna hear from you right now-- Please, Zay. Don't attack me.
Don't deflect right now because you always deflect.
You always fucking do this. You always deflect.
Don't raise your voice at me. You won't make me back down this time.
You always yell over me and you threaten me.
For once, you're in the wrong and you're trying to flip it on me?
-How did I flip it? -I finally stand up for myself.
You were always on me about why I couldn't fucking stand up for myself
and why I couldn't talk to you.
I'm standing up for myself and you're yelling and talking over me.
Jake, you sitting there looking at me. Didn't I say I accept full responsibility?
[Rae] You accepted it while you were counter-attacking me.
[Nick] Zay, do you think you should've come clean?
What the fuck is wrong with you?
[Zay] I'm sincerely apologizing.
Watch out, fam.
You could've told me instead of attacking me every time.
[Zay] Let me get a fucking break.
[sniffles]
We really just want you guys to be happy. We don't wanna see you in pain.
We wanna see your process and we wanna hear your lessons.
And I know that at times, it hurts.
I'm really happy for you, Rae. You found yourself.
and you guys can rehash this in your own private time.
-Or not. -[Rae] No.
[Vanessa] Then that's great.
Um, what I do know is that you came out of this finding yourself.
And you came out of this knowing where you're gonna move on to.
I'm sorry.
We're gonna move on to our next couple.
-Hey, girl. -Hey.
[Vanessa] Shanique and Randall. Hi.
-How's it going? -[Vanessa] Um,
I'm sorry. You're coordinated very well today together.
-It worked out. -Yeah, we tried a little bit.
Okay.
Well, um, before we get into everything, when we left you guys on the show,
Randall was down on one knee and saying things you wanted to hear.
Yeah, he was.
[Vanessa] After you gave him this ultimatum.
And I can't help but notice you're not wearing your engagement ring.
-Mmm, nothing on this finger. Yeah. -[Vanessa] So, what happened?
[Shanique] So, yeah, of course, the engagement took place.
And even though the proposal was very sincere--
I felt like he really meant that.
I could see the emotion coming through.
I know he really loves me and adores me. I don't doubt that at all.
Um, once we, like, got out of this,
real life sets back in.
Um, so we actually broke up for, like, six months.
-[Vanessa] Whoa. -[Shanique] Yeah. Um…
You just kind of realize that
those are the foundational things that we talked about on the experience,
kinda started presenting themselves in real ways.
We tried, you know, to change. But we obviously had our differences.
[Shanique] We were like, "You know what?"
"Maybe we do need to do this on our own. Take our own break."
We were completely, like, broken up.
Um, and that was like the hardest time of my life for real.
Six months, which is a long time
for people who've been together for how long were you dating?
-Two and a half years. -Yeah.
I think, with us, we just really needed that time apart to
appreciate those things about-- Oh, gosh.
Appreciate, um…
Aw.
-I don't know. This is just like… -Yeah.
…my best friend in every way. In every way.
And, um, just one of the best things that's ever happened to me in my life.
-Stop. -[all chuckle]
So now we're back together and we're just honestly just trying to figure it out.
We're taking it a step at a time.
And I'm just really happy, um,
that we're just not in that place that we were on the show.
[Vanessa] Yeah.
'Cause I watched that back and, like, completely mortified.
Like, the way we were communicating and arguing.
It sucked to see it 'cause in my mind, I'm like,
"Damn. Am I really this selfish? Do I really seem and come off this way?"
Um, so a lot of self-reflection happened with me watching that.
But I also was realizing that, like,
you know, those were times that we were testing each other
and we needed that.
Can I ask, did you date anyone in those six months? Or you tried--?
Yeah, I went on a couple dates.
-[Vanessa] You went on dates? -Yeah.
Not really. After we broke up, it was a tough year for me.
I lost a lot of people in my life,
my grandmother, my aunt, one of my best friends.
It was a tough year, so…
Dating was probably the last thing on my priority list.
And…
Truthfully, I just-- That kinda heightened the moment of me realizing that, like,
"Damn. Shanique never left."
Even though we said we were single, she's still here, like…
I knew I always wanted to be with her, but that made it way more clear to me.
I just think our journey is a little bit different than everybody else's.
And coming on the show, obviously, you have a timeline.
But I think our timeline is our timeline.
I'm just excited for what's to come because I just feel way more hopeful.
They seem so much wiser beyond their years, all of you guys.
But, wow.
I'm happy for you. Preach, Randall.
-You said it best. -[April] Go, Randall.
Doesn't matter how you get there, you know what I mean?
Your journey is your journey. It's not for anybody to judge, you know?
You know, it's all about the destination.
I think we shared it with you. We took time apart.
and in those moments, you get to reflect about what's really important to you.
It's what truly, I think, drove us to get back together.
So we can definitely relate.
So, Randall, I'm just curious, from your side,
is there something in particular that's holding you back
from taking the next step?
Is there something that maybe Shanique's not giving you?
Not at all. I honestly think that we are…
Obviously, it's not the ideal situation with the engagement being called off.
But, to be honest, I wouldn't have it any other way.
I feel like this relationship refresh is something that we both needed.
I hope you two keep working on your relationship.
We love seeing you guys together.
-We wish you the very, very best. -Absolutely.
All right. Well, Colby, Madlyn.
How has marriage been? How has the experience been so far?
-It's just like the show. -No.
-It's a roller coaster. -[Madlyn] No, it's not.
-We only live with each other. -[all chuckle]
-[Nick] So not like the show exactly. -[Madlyn] Yeah.
Leaving the show and getting married, we had to completely recommit to…
[Colby] For sure.
…trust, listen, have patience.
We don't argue. [chuckles]
We can't argue the same way because we're not fighting for ourselves anymore.
We're fighting, you know, for…
-Your family. -[Madlyn] As a team. So, it's-- Yeah.
-It's been incredible. -[Nick] Yeah.
It goes without saying, but it isn't just about the two of you anymore.
It's about, you know, this life and this family you're creating,
which is the most beautiful thing, best thing I've ever done.
-Best thing we've ever done. -I agree.
And I like that.
But I think the thing Nick and I always fall back on is that
there's no definition for how people find love.
Do you think this is something that propelled you guys
and helped you see more clear exactly what you wanted,
exactly how you wanted it?
Absolutely.
Um, my ambition of this whole thing was to make sure I was with the right person.
I was confirming my love for Madlyn.
Um, and it did exactly what my whole intention was
of coming on here for. And look where we're at now.
-[Vanessa] 'Cause you gave the ultimatum. -Exactly, yeah.
Me being the one giving the ultimatum, um, it was definitely nerve-racking.
But, um, we're sitting here next to each other.
Married with the ring on the finger. And we're here working on the family.
It was pretty surreal watching everything back
and watching myself just kind of battle with--
Like, I was going through the experience with the thought that
giving myself to Colby, I would be losing.
Yeah.
And so, when I was finally on the edge, like, do I…
give him up or do I "lose myself"? It was kind of what I was thinking.
Choosing Colby, yeah.
Being given the ultimatum and choosing our marriage,
-it's been such a gift. -[Nick] Isn't it crazy?
You think you'll lose a part of yourself. But, in fact, you're actually growing
-and becoming even more… -Beyond words.
You find an even bigger identity within a great relationship.
[Colby] Absolutely.
How did your families react to you guys already being married?
My mom was super approving.
My dad was a little bit taken back by, like--
Happy 'cause now he doesn't have to go through the whole wedding thing.
But also, like, just thrown.
And now that you're still married and expecting, has he come around?
Oh, completely. Yeah.
Definitely brought us closer together. I'll put it that way.
-[Vanessa] All right. I love it. -[Nick] Yeah.
Well, Madlyn, I think one of the things that stood out from the season
that people are curious about was a moment where Colby was out at a bar.
And he told a girl that you two had an open relationship.
So was there something we didn't know about?
Or was that maybe something you were, uh, not entirely honest about?
Give us some insight into what that moment was for you.
He felt like he wasn't getting the same experience that I was.
That was his way of doing it. It was the wrong way of doing it.
Um, so, yeah, I mean, we don't have an open relationship.
-[Colby] Right. -[both chuckle]
But I think…
that his excuse was me,
you know, having my relationship at the time with Randall,
so that he could go find that elsewhere.
Not okay. On the other side of it now.
Definitely not something that's gonna happen moving forward.
So, Colby, were you feeling like you couldn't openly kinda date
and maybe talk to somebody in a bar you had to give "a disclaimer"?
Right, because I think everyone here actually had to do the same thing.
Um, it was put their wall down and open that door up to
the people sitting in these chairs right now.
You had to have an "open relationship."
You had to cut that person off you're with
and open it to someone potentially sitting here.
And I…
I didn't get that chance, um, because it was…
It…
It didn't happen like everybody else. So I was trying to find a way and
that was the worst way to possibly do it, obviously.
But that's the way I took and I definitely regret it for sure.
[whispers] If you hooked up with someone outside of the show
I would be done. That's the truth.
I know part of what maybe you guys struggled with,
at least in our time with you on the show, was your friends
-and how they reacted to Colby. -[chuckles]
So how has that situation changed?
Or maybe not changed? Are they more accepting of Colby now?
My friends are just 100% support Madlyn.
So, at that moment,
I wasn't liking Colby so they don't like Colby.
It might not be the most healthy thing. But, I mean, they're--
You want your friends to be ride or die.
[Madlyn] Yeah, but they back me no matter what.
And, yeah. So they back Colby now too.
[Nick] Okay.
Well, on your side of it, how was you watching back the show?
How was it for you to see how her friends felt about you?
[Vanessa] I bet that was a fun barbecue. He was like, "Hey, ladies."
-Yeah. -[all chuckles]
-So about that… -Right. Yeah.
Dial them up. All right. Let's see what we got here.
Um, no. In all, um, they've always been real sweet, real nice.
And they obviously speak how they feel, um, all the time.
But, um, in all, we have a great relationship.
Like she said, they got my back too now, so…
-It's a good feeling. -[Vanessa] I love it.
Well, congratulations, you guys. So happy for you.
And, ultimately, I guess so happy that it worked out in your favor
and that this was your journey. So thank you for sharing that with us.
Ultimatum Season 1, cheers to you all and your vulnerability
and finding love in whatever shape or form.
-Cheers to you guys. -[all together] Cheers.
[Vanessa & Nick] You're all still standing.
-[Vanessa] Yeah! Okay! -[Nick] Oh!
-It is water. We switched. -No judgement here.
[Vanessa] Okay. We're gonna ask some questions.
If you had a do-over,
who else would you have picked as your partner during The Choice?
April.
But you picked April. You mean you would've picked her first?
Well, I picked Lauren.
Right. But, ultimately, you ended up with--
Okay. Touché.
I think I would've picked Colby
if knowing Hunter and Alexis were already out here.
Even though I know Colby already had his eyes set on Lauren,
I still would've gone and shot my shot.
-[Vanessa] Yeah. Okay. -Guess Colby would've been a hot pick.
[Vanessa chuckles]
Yeah, I probably would've picked Colby.
-[Vanessa] Really? -In hindsight.
-[Hunter] Colbster. -[Nick] Colbster.
-I probably gotta get one up on Madlyn. -[chuckles]
-You deserve it. -[Vanessa] Okay.
Which cast member do you think has learned the least from this experience? Wow.
I'm gonna go with Nate.
-[Vanessa] Okay. -[Nick] Okay.
That's fair because he wasn't there, right? [chuckles]
[all chuckle]
[Nick] April is hilarious. All right.
What is the most shocking thing you learned about another castmate that…
Maybe don't say the name. But you can tell us the thing about them.
That… [chuckles]
[Vanessa] Uh-oh. Here we go.
That olive oil can be doubled as lube.
-Hey! I wanna know whose secret that is. -Wow! Microphone drop.
[Zay] No. Fuck, no.
You know what else? Coconut oil. Moving on. Hey.
-[Hunter] Wait, what? -[Vanessa] And it smells good.
No, hey, facts, dude. Coconut oil, for sure.
[Vanessa] Yeah.
All right. Before we wrap up, I'd love to hear how you all feel about ultimatums.
It's what this whole thing was about. It's where it all started.
So do you think your lives are better from having been through this process?
[Alexis] I mean, I'm pro-ultimatum. I got engaged.
So, I definitely learned something from the experience.
In all, I think that this was the best thing for our relationship.
I think this was an amazing experience.
And we opened doors that we didn't even know were there.
And it's, um…
I got-- I fell even more in love with you, so it's, um…
Over all, just a special thing.
April.
I have to say I am pro-ultimatum.
I've never been so happy or felt so loved.
And I wouldn't be here today without this experience.
I do have a lot of friends that have been in long-term relationships
where one person is just coasting 'cause the other person can't commit.
And it makes me wanna know how would they end up
If they put their foot down and said, "Hey, marry me or I'm done."
I feel like a lot of those situations would end up like Alexis or Colby.
I feel like I'm so confident in my current relationship
that I feel like if I went through round two Ultimatum,
we would end up like you guys or Alexis and Hunter.
And it makes me happy to, like, sit here today and be like,
without the ultimatum, I wouldn't be here today, so…
And I commend each and every one of you for going through this shit.
-Cheers to that. -[chuckles]
[Vanessa & Nick] Cheers.
Thank you guys so much for being here, being vulnerable,
sharing your lives with all of us. We're so proud of you.
Nick and I, from the bottom of our hearts,
wanna thank you for opening up.
[Nick] Yeah. This was truly a season to remember, that's for sure.
For now, I'm Nick Lachey.
And I'm Vanessa Lachey. Thank you. And here's to love.
Here's to love.
-Cheers. -Cheers.
♪ You're the one I wanna stay with As I go through all the changes… ♪
Thanks, guys.
[indistinct chatter]
♪ You're the one I wanna wake with ♪
♪ You're the one I wanna change with ♪
♪ You're the one I wanna stay with ♪
♪You're the reason I quit leaving You're the one I wanna be with ♪
[song ends]
[theme music playing]
[theme music ends]