On Married at First Sight, Olajuwon Dickerson and Katina Goode had great chemistry, but Olajuwon's outdated fixation on having Katina cook and clean was getting in the way of their romance. In the beginning, MAFS' Olajuwon was a larger-than-life personality, and Katina took him with a grain of salt. Simultaneously, Katina liked that he was a man she could talk to, who leaned into expressing himself. Katina went with Olajuwon's workout routine flow and was willing to step up to the plate to make the marriage work.
When it came to their struggles, setting realistic expectations was essential. Olajuwon acknowledged that he could only push Katina so far before she was unwilling to be a good sport on the honeymoon in Puerto Rico. Olajuwon's over-the-top nature was too much for Katina's friends, but Katina saw the emotional and well-intentioned side of Olajuwon and showed him endless patience.
One topic that didn't lead to a compromise for the MAFS couple was cooking and cleaning. While Katina is not an expert chef, she expressed that she was willing to learn multiple times. Olajuwon agreed that they could work together and, very reasonably, took Katina on a date and cooking class. However, the issue came to a head when Katina was reluctant to help clean up after a housewarming party. She agreed to clean half the floor and then left him high and dry on the cleaning front a couple of nights later. Olajuwon complained to Dr. Viviana Cole, "the cooking food that's what I need in my wife." She answered, "so did you not eat before you were married?"
The MAFS fans and hosts are frustrated with Olajuwon. When Viviana asked Katina how this rhetoric made her feel, she said, "It's just his tone I feel like so much beating up on me." Katina also acknowledged that his pointing out her flaws made her feel diminished. MAFS: Afterparty host Keshia Knight Pulliam emphasized, "a woman's worth is not determined by her domestic duties." After digging further, Olajuwon revealed that the most frustrating aspect for him wasn't the cooking and cleaning. It was getting no response from Katina when he made any kind of ask.
He said, "Please open up. The cooking and cleaning you don't have to do that every day. I point those things out because that's the only way I can kind of bring it to you." He wanted Katina to be vulnerable and engaged. For him, the cooking and cleaning was one indicator of how Katina wasn't showing up in the marriage and listening. Olajuwon will have to change his communication style to prove he's marriage material. At the MAFS: Afterparty, comedian and MAFS superfan Kevin Fredericks joked that he got busy in the kitchen for his wife after the episode. Lindsey Georgoulis then joked that "chore play" was what got her "basement flooded." Kevin also recommended that Olajuwon and Lindsey "be flexible and fluid" in their marriages. Trying to control someone else or setting rigid expectations isn't realistic.
The archaic notion that a wife is responsible for cooking and cleaning is problematic. As Lindsey and Cardi B cemented, it also doesn't spark intimacy or vulnerability. Digging deeper behind the sexist rhetoric, it became clear that there was a more meaningful miscommunication between Katina and Olajuwon. As the two learn to set realistic expectations and create a safe space for each other's flaws, their Married at First Sight journey starts to look better and better.
Married at First Sight airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. EST on Lifetime.