‘Married at First Sight’: Dr. Viviana Coles Puts Some Blame on Paige Banks, Fans Aren’t Happy
Married at First Sight star Chris Williams became one of the most disliked individuals on the show during Season 12. He did not treat would-be wife Paige Banks with respect or fairness, and earned the disdain of Dr. Viviana Coles when he tried to win Paige back during decision day. However, Dr. Viviana Coles has put some of the blame on Paige Banks — something that does not sit right with Married at First Sight fans.
Chris Williams tried to win back Paige Banks
During Married at First Sight Season 12, Chris Williams jerked Paige Banks around emotionally. The night they were married he convinced her to have sex with him, and then the next day he told her she’s unattractive.
To make matters worse, he revealed his ex was pregnant with his child. He told Banks that he still loves his ex and wants to get back with her to raise his child — all while continuing to string her along on Married at First Sight.
When it came time for decision day, Chris decided to play more games with Paige. He told everyone that his ex had a miscarriage, and as a result he wanted Paige back. He said she’s the “best thing he never cherished.” The experts’ faces said it all.
When it came time for a decision, Williams tried to convince the experts that he and Paige Banks weren’t ready for a choice. Dr. Viviana Coles called him out.
“I feel like you’re doing this to play with her and now to play with us,” suggested Coles.
After a quick huddle, Paige Banks decided she’d rather not stay married with Chris Williams after all, to the relief of experts and viewers alike.
‘Married at First Sight’: Dr. Viviana Coles puts some blame on Paige Banks
While it was clear what Dr. Viviana Coles thought of Chris Williams during Married at First Sight decision day, she also lays some of the blame for the toxic relationship at Paige Banks’ feet.
“With Paige, there were countless times she had conversations with the three of us [experts] where she said she was all in on being a ‘bonus mom’ and said she had dated someone in the past with a child,” Dr. Vivana Coles told Bustle.
“So how are we supposed to tell her, ‘No, you can’t consider being a ‘bonus mom’ for this child’? We can’t tell her she can’t, and that before, that was someone she chose to be with and that this is a very, very different scenario. We told her, ‘You need to consider this very, very deeply.’”
Dr. Coles added that she thought Paige Banks went a little too hard on commitment.
“She chose commitment! She chose it in spades! So how can we tell someone in one breath to be committed to their partner and work through things and also say, ‘Um, you need to run’? It’s a difficult position to be in, for sure.”
‘Married at First Sight’ fans react to Dr. Viviana Coles
Married at First Sight fans seemed irritated with Dr. Viviana Coles take on Paige Banks and her choice when it came to commitment. Some felt it was unfair to lay blame on Paige instead of putting the blame on Chris Williams for his toxic behavior.
“Yeah, that’s not a great look for Dr. Viviana. I mean, I will say, I did get the impression that all 3 ‘experts’ wanted Paige to walk away and maybe they didn’t want it to come across as ‘making’ her walk away by saying it outright,” wrote one Redditor.
“But just the fact that they paired Paige with this buffoon in the first place, knowing there were red flags all over the place? Just…no,” they continued.
“Dr. Viv saying Paige was being too stubborn & should have left [Chris] earlier is galling. No mention of how she and [the] cast vetting process failed spectacularly in the first place by casting him (same for Matt),” pointed out another Redditor.
“Viviana does not get it, she is still putting the blame on Paige. This is quite concerning coming from a therapist. How can you say in one paragraph that the job of the expert is to tell the participants what is and isn’t a healthy marriage followed by Paige chose commitment, what can we tell her?” opined another Married at First Sight fan.
