All’s well that ends well … right? On the Tuesday, February 21, season 2 finale of Seven Year Switch, the four couples decided if the “switch therapy” experiment strengthened their marriages or convinced them it was time to call it quits. As has been the trend all season, two of the couples seemed right on track, and two seemed to be going completely off the rails. Here’s what happened when it was finally time to make the big decision.
Aaron and Heather
Upon returning home, it was clear that both Aaron and Heather were determined to put the tools they’d learned through the experiment to work. Heather hit the gym with her husband to show him she was more motivated now, and he vowed to try to help out around the house more, even though he found cooking to be “hard.” Heather met up with a friend, and Aaron met up with his dad to discuss their experiences during their time apart from one another, and they both really seemed to be on the same page in terms of wanting to make things work, though they realized things about their temporary spouses that they had appreciated as well.
Ultimately, Aaron said he’d learned that he needed to put more effort into their marriage, and Heather said she’d learned to assert herself. Not surprisingly, they both decided they wanted to stay together. The experts were very encouraged by the changes they saw in each of them, and everyone toasted to the fresh start.
Tony and Liliya
Tony and Liliya had also both learned a lot, but there will still issues at hand. While Liliya felt “guilty” that Tony didn’t feel appreciated, she confessed to a friend that she didn’t feel appreciated either. “I’m working my butt off and taking extra shifts, and sometimes I need your help, and I don’t have it,” she told her husband, who responded by reiterating that he didn’t feel like she supported him.
The affection between them was apparent, though, and they both seemed committed to making the changes necessary to save their marriage. When it was time to announce their final decision, they both wanted to stay together.
Dustin and Jaclyn
Things were tense between Dustin and Jaclyn after they were reunited, and it didn’t seem like either had learned much. “It was nice to have a little bit of a break away from Jaclyn,” Dustin told one of his friends while they played pool. “If we did split up because we were not happy, I’m not going to be completely down and out. I’m going to move on,” he said to the camera. Wow, sounds like he’s really into his wife. Jaclyn went on a walk with her dad (who still didn’t know that she and Dustin were already married), and her father wisely told her that the things about Dustin that drove her crazy were unlikely to change. Jaclyn then called James to tell him that Dustin and Kelsey had been texting each other at 2 a.m.
“He told me she said she wanted to f–k him,” Jaclyn reported. “I’m just making sure that you are thinking not just with your heart but with your mind.” James didn’t seem like he wanted to hear it and got off the call as quickly as possible. Now if only Jaclyn could take her own advice.
Realizing his marriage was on rocky ground, Dustin told Jaclyn he “did miss” her and insisted that Kelsey had been the one who’d wanted to cheat, but he’d rebuffed her advances. (Right.) “I will be better. I will be more responsible,” he promised. When the experts arrived to meet with them, Jaclyn told them that she believed Dustin’s version of events — namely, that he was the innocent bystander who had thwarted Kelsey’s seductive moves at every turn. The experts clearly weren’t buying any of it and asked Jaclyn if she might, just maybe, be putting her head in the sand. She insisted she wasn’t.
When Dustin arrived (he had been out walking the dog), he admitted that he’d told Kelsey he found her attractive, but said the person he was portrayed as in the footage wasn’t the real him. “The way I acted in L.A. was not how I would act here. I would never go out and drink every single day, but given the opportunity to, I took it,” he explained. He said he went “too far” during the experiment, but now he wanted to stay married. Jaclyn did, too. A few weeks later, they got married. (No comment.)
James and Kelsey
Upon returning home, it was clear that James desperately wanted to work things out with Kelsey, but she didn’t seem very enthused. When James told her he’d felt “disrespected” by how much she had flirted with Dustin, Kelsey played dumb and said she had no idea what he was talking about. To her parents, Kelsey described switch therapy as “confusing.” Her dad replied by telling her she was selfish. “Maybe it isn’t James,” her father said as he broke down in tears. “I think it’s very unfortunate.”
Somewhere in here, James received that phone call from Jaclyn, and he confronted Kelsey about texting with Dustin. “I know that you talked to Dustin,” he said. “I don’t want any more drama, pretty much. You cannot talk to him anymore.” Though Kelsey kept her cool in the moment, she later admitted to the camera that her “stomach dropped to the floor.” Oh, she also said Dustin was making things up to break up her marriage because he liked her and wanted her for himself.
James then asked Kelsey a series of questions, ranging from whether she was still in love with him to whether she had ever thought about cheating. She said no to that second one, but footage from her time with Dustin proved otherwise. James told her that he felt he was doing all of the compromising and that he was “embarrassed” by her behavior. Yet again, she sat there in total shock.
The experts arrived and tried to get Kelsey to really open up about her true feelings, but it wasn’t clear whether they succeeded. Though she admitted she was “confused,” she decided to stay with James and he decided to stay with her — which meant all four couples survived switch therapy (at least for now).
Tell Us: Do you think the couples all made the right decision?
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Seven Year Switch airs on FYI Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET.
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