‘MAFS:’ Olivia Admits Brett Is Intimidated by Her Earning More Money Than Him and Responds To His Criticism About Her Budgeting
Married at First Sight viewers are not fans of Brett. Many find Brett’s attitudes about money unreasonable. They also accuse him of being jealous of Olivia earning more than him.
Not only are Brett and Olivia not on the same level in terms of how much they earn, but they also have different viewpoints on how money should be spent. Olivia says viewers are right about their observations of Brett.
Olivia and Brett disagree over finances on ‘MAFS’
As a nurse, Olivia makes a good living. One of the reasons she decided to participate in MAFS is the idea of new adventures with her husband, and for her traveling is at the top of that list. Unfortunately, Brett makes it known early that he has no interest in doing such.
Brett describes himself as a jack of all trades. He works as a builder and uses his money toward savings, retirement, and investing in the new home that he proudly owns. Olivia finds Brett’s money management impressive and even asks him to help her with budgeting more, which he happily agrees to do.
But things between the newlyweds become tense during their counseling session with Pastor Cal. Olivia tells Brett that she’s looking forward to traveling, dining out, attending different events concerts, and more. Brett immediately shuts all of Olivia’s plans down.
Brett believes Olivia wastes money. He accuses her of not knowing how to budget properly, which she denies, explaining that all of her extracurricular activities are part of her budget.
Olivia accuses Brett of being defensive and not open to doing anything with her, even if she finds reasonable pricing for such. But Brett refuses to compromise, telling Olivia he won’t do anything because it’ll “rip into retirement funds.”
Olivia says Brett is intimidated by her earning more money than him
Viewers of the show find Brett’s ideas unreasonable and criticize him for the way they say he dismisses Olivia and find his comments offensive. For example, Brett tells producers that he believes Olivia not earning a home and renting her home is an indication that she’s wasteful with her money.
In a new interview with Bossip, Olivia admits that Brett’s defensiveness when it comes to discussing money is due to him being self-conscious about the fact that she earns more.
“Brett shared with me that he was intimidated by the fact that I make more money than him, but I didn’t want him to feel that way,” she says.
I wouldn’t want anyone to feel that way. During this process, we are basically asked to describe our “perfect husband.” When I think of the “perfect husband”, I don’t imagine someone who’s in the same financial category as me. Salary isn’t a deal-breaker.
Olivia, Bossip
In terms of Brett’s accusation that she doesn’t know how to budget, Olivia says that’s simply not true and he mistook her asking for help for being wasteful.
“I shared with him that I could use his expertise to get a better understanding beyond the basics,” she says.
I meant it more along the lines of being more knowledgeable about options I have with my savings. How can I make better financial moves as far as investments, stock, IRAs, etc. My budget includes how I manage my money outside of the normal bills and expenses and that’s what I was referring to.
Olivia, Bossip
Married at First Sight airs every Wednesday on Lifetime at 8 pm EST.
