‘Marriage Boot Camp’ Recap: Willie Taylor Tells Wife Shanda She Makes His Life Hell, Hazel-E Calls De’Von a Sugar Baby
Last week, the blowout between Willie Taylor and De’Von on Marriage Boot Camp affected the whole house and ended with a lecture from Dr. Ish and Judge Toler.
One thing everyone agreed on is that De’Von has to manage his emotions and keep his fists to himself. Will this still be an issue moving forward? In episode 4, Dr. Ish assigned the boot camp couples a new challenge.
New ‘Marriage Boot Camp’ drill is about resentment
A few minutes into the show, De’Von reflects on the fight and apologizes to Willie. The two come to an understanding and squash their beef.
It’s a new day at boot camp and everyone is doing better, but the couples don’t know Dr. Ish and Judge Toler are planning to do something covert for their next exercise.
They want to create an environment that causes friction in the relationship by separating them from their partners. Dr. Ish and the judge want to see how each duo handles fights.
Fake podcast is a test
Each couple is split up and podcasters come in to interview one group (Kurupt, Hazel-E, Willie, Vado, Medina) about their boot camp experiences. Unbeknownst to them, their partners are observing and listening to everything. But Dr. Ish is watching everyone’s reactions.
Music producer Clinton Sparks is the lead interviewer and asks about their relationship issues. Kurupt calls Toni an enabler, Vado claims Tahiry doesn’t know him, and Hazel-E thinks is De’Von a sugar baby.
Medina talks about being an alpha man and the lack of intimacy. But Willie points to infidelity as the problem and casts some blame on Shanda for retaliating.
De’Von is angry at Hazel-E for implying he’s a clout-chasing opportunist. He feels emasculated.
The questions continue and Kurupt talks about an incident with a female artist who came to his hotel for work, and that was a big issue for Toni who thinks he’s a liar.
Hazel mentions how De’Von snaps and “things go super left.” One of their biggest fights resulted in him grabbing her phone and throwing it against a wall.
Everyone finds out Vado talks to his daughter’s mother for emotional support, and this angers Tahiry, because she says he doesn’t talk or share anything with her. Medina feels Phaedra keeps pushing him away and he wants to be more assertive to her.
We also learn that Willie got in trouble two weeks ago for texting a woman behind Shanda’s back. Things wrap up, and Dr. Ish wants to see who fights and how they fight. Now, they find out they were being watched and are shocked.
Arguments break out between the couples
Toni goes confronts Kurupt and he learns about the fake podcast. She talks to him about his addiction and dishonesty, and he gets defensive. Tahiry tells Vado she heard everything and calls him a clown. Phaedra and Medina talk about their relationship, and he thinks she treats him like a pushover or “nice guy.”
Willie is tired of discussing the cheating, and he tells Shanda she doesn’t take accountability for making his life hell. “I’m not interested in fighting,” he says, and walks off angry.
Hazel talks to De’Von about the sugar mama comment, and she doesn’t feel bad about it. She tells him she’s scared he may hit her one day, which he denies. Elsewhere, Kurupt and Toni curse and fight until Toni walks off.
Role-playing helps them dig deeper
Dr. Ish gathers the group together and explains the point of the podcast was to teach them about listening to their partners. Next, he has them do reverse role-play. At the end of the drill, each couple opens a card which contains a tool to help them engage and fight fairly.
Willie and Shanda re-enact a fight about cheating, and their lesson is to listen, understand, and validate. De’Von and Hazel-E go up and they address how he bottles things up until he explodes. Their lesson is to argue about one thing at a time.
For Toni and Kurupt, it’s about his behavior and her walking out on fights. Their card is about working on the same team.
Vado and Tahiry flesh out his emotional ties to his child’s mother, but they have to learn to stick together. With Phaedra and Medina, Dr. Ish points out he’s never seen them kiss. He urges them to have fun.
Judge Toler reads everyone, De’Von and Hazel fight again
The judge tells Tahiry to chill out about minor things and advises Vado to reciprocate. She wants Shanda to stop being angry and accept Willie’s small efforts to do better.
Judge Toler isn’t sure if Phaedra and Medina are together: “I don’t know what y’all doing.” She says they either linked up for the show or are acting extra guarded with each other.
She emotionally explains to Kurupt how hurt and scared Toni is, and tells him to honor her for being a ride-or-die through his alcohol addiction. The judge then lets De’Von know he has to manage his temper and not risk his freedom.
Hazel-E instructs De’Von that they’re going to bed early and tells him not to smoke. She retires for the night but gets mad at De’Von because he wants to hang out downstairs. He’s tired of her bossing him around.
When he finally heads up, she’s on the phone talking trash about him, and they argue. She yells at him for chilling downstairs and accuses him of being an “attention whore.” He aggressively snatches her phone and they keep fighting.
