‘Married at First Sight’ EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW: Jamie Otis and Doug Hehner Make a ‘Tough Decision’ About Their Daughter Henley
Jamie Otis and Doug Hehner – who tied the knot on the first season of Lifetime’s Married at First Sight in New York City – are now proud parents of two and stars of the self-shot spinoff series Married at First Sight: Couples’ Cam.
In this Married at First Sight: Couples’ Cam preview clip, provided exclusively to Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Jamie and Doug face the tough reality of parenting their three-year-old daughter, Henley, while working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jamie and Doug worry about Henley’s behavior in quarantine
In a preview of the upcoming Feb. 25 episode of Married at First Sight: Couples’ Cam, which airs on Lifetime on Thursdays at 8 p.m. EST, Doug looks like he’s reached the end of his rope during a struggle with little Henley over naptime. Doug and Jamie pulled their daughter out of school during the COVID-19 crisis, but they begin to wonder if that’s the best decision with a new baby at home.
“Right after I got Henley down for a nap earlier, she got up and started causing chaos again,” an exhausted Doug tells his wife.
Jamie, 34, reminds 37-year-old Doug that the situation “isn’t fair” to a three-year-old, who can’t understand why her routine has been upended.
“She’s just acting out because she’s looking for love and attention, not because she’s trying to be any sort of way,” Jamie says.
Doug agrees, adding that he thinks the problem is that Henley is bored and understimulated at home.
“I feel like we’re making her worse by not challenging her,” he says of his daughter’s behavior.
Doug admits he’s reached his ‘breaking point’
Jamie goes on to muse that they probably aren’t alone in feeling like they’re at their wit’s end with the stress of quarantine, homeschooling, and work.
“I feel like every parent in America is going through this right now,” the Married at First Sight: Unfiltered host laments.
Still, Doug admits that he can’t go on like this much longer. The stress is starting to get to him in a major way.
“I’m sure there’s a ton of families going through this, but today was my breaking point,” Doug says, adding: “I can’t keep doing this, Jamie.”
The ‘Married at First Sight’ couple wonders if they should send Henley back to school
What with the changes in their own lives along with an entirely new schedule and environment during the early stages of COVID-19, Jamie says it’s no wonder that Henley is getting frustrated and acting out.
“Between COVID, a new baby brother, and moving, I feel like Henley’s world has been completely turned upside down, and I can definitely tell that it is affecting her,” Jamie frets. “I don’t know what we’re gonna do, but we have got to get some structure back into her life.”
For his part, Doug says he’s thinking about putting Henley back in school so she can have a better routine and more of an intellectual challenge on her plate.
“She’s such a smart kid,” the Married at First Sight star says. “When she was at school, she was being challenged. She had things to do; she had things to come home to.”
Still, Doug knows there are possible health risks involved when it comes to sending Henley back to the classroom.
“I am really torn right now on whether to send Henley back to school,” he admits. “It’s obvious she needs to be around kids. She needs more routine, which Jamie and I really aren’t able to give her right now. But there is a pandemic out there, and I want to make sure my daughter is safe, so it’s a really tough decision.”
The next episode of Married at First Sight: Couples’ Cam, “Challenging Times,” airs tonight (Feb. 25) on Lifetime at 8 p.m. EST.
