MAFS bride Brook Crompton has left the experiment, marking an abrupt end to her three week stint on the show. Throughout the experiment, Brook and Chris’ relationship hit their fair share of roadblocks, from a revealing audition video to a failed Intimacy Week task, and Brook left the show feeling “overwhelmed” and “smothered”.
Sex Educator Eleanor Hadley spoke to WHO about what went wrong with groom Chris Neild’s “ploy” for intimacy.
Spoiler! Trust isn’t earned by simply running a bath.
Chris hopes his intimacy act ‘pays off’
In a group workshop between the grooms and expert Alessandra Rampolla, Chris opened up about feeling rejected by Brook and wanting to “show her day by day that [they’re] good together” and “switch her mindset bit by bit.”
While it’s a noble quest, his bid for intimacy involved running a bath, having a bottle of bubbles on standby and ultimately seeing where it got him.
“I’ve got something I’d like to do for yourself,” Chris said to Brook, before asking her to wait in the bedroom. “I’m going to set something up for you.”
While a bath (and glass) of bubbles sounds like heaven in theory, the motivation behind it shows more of Chris’ true colours.
“Obviously I’m hoping it pays off,” he revealed to the producers. “Anyone in my position hopes it pays off.”
Hadley explained to WHO how “deeply problematic” this mindset was, especially when it comes to sex and intimacy.
“The idea of doing all the right things to entice her as though it’s a simple checklist that you can tick off [is problematic],” Hadley told WHO. “It insinuates to that audience that sex is a transactional thing. If you do the right things, then you get rewarded with sex.”
Brook did not fall for Chris’ ‘ploy’
After seeing what Chris had set up, Brook immediately shut it down, proof that Chris’ minimal work did not in fact ‘pay off.’
“I feel a little bit smothered,” Brook said to the producers. “After this morning’s chat, I don’t know if he’s really understanding where I’m at still, and I don’t know how many times I can tell him.”
Turns out, that was the last time.
The episode ended with the dramatic news that Brook left the experiment. No goodbye, no final words, just Chris alone on a balcony.
What now for the MAFS couple?
After Brook’s departure, it’s unclear what’s next for Chris in the experiement.
He did reflect on his behaviour during the season, particularly his ‘locker room chat’ in his audition tape that upset Brook.
“[I need to] think more about the gravity of the situation before I make comments and remarks,” he said after hearing the news. “I just feel defeated.”
While Chris reflects on on his past actions alone, Brook is resting easy, engaged to her 28-year-old ex Harry and pregnant with their first child.
So, with Brook no longer tasked with keeping Chris in check…let’s hope he learns how to change all on his own.
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