Spoiler alert! This story discusses The Ultimatum Season 4, Episodes 1-5, which can be streamed with a Netflix subscription.
I’ve been a fan of the Netflix dating series The Ultimatum: Marry or Move On from the beginning, and no, it’s not because I think it offers a valid option for struggling long-term couples to save their relationships. It’s because the wild partner-swap premise makes for peak reality TV drama. However, after watching the first five episodes of The Ultimatum Season 4, I’m frustrated that the couples are basically ignoring a big part of the experiment.
The Ultimatum Season 4 Couples Aren’t Buying Into Their Trial Marriages
Anyone who’s watched a past season of The Ultimatum: Marry or Move On or its superior spinoff The Ultimatum: Queer Love has heard the host (in this case, Nick Lachey) issue the rules: At the end of the experience, you will either leave engaged, with a new partner, or alone. The potential for the cast members to find love (or at least lust) with their trial spouse is baked into the show's format, but there seems to be no romantic potential in the Season 4 trial marriages.
There are no sparks flying, and therefore there’s no suspense over whether or not someone might actually leave their partner for a new relationship. Past seasons have at least shown conversations about sharing a bed or how much physical intimacy should factor into a trial marriage. We’ve even gotten scandalous kisses and “intimate” noises. I don’t think we’ve seen so much as hand-holding in Season 4.
Trial spouses Ashley Wilson and Blake Robertson (pictured above) may have had the most potential, but it seemingly only took one Instagram video of a very chaste bowling date for their original partners Hayley Hendrich and Killian Grondin to fly off the rails over their supposed connection. David Atkinson and Monica Payne also got along really well, and she legitimately seemed to be helping him open up emotionally. But come on, man, this is Netflix, not couples therapy.
This Season’s Drama Has Not Been All That Fun To Watch
The Ultimatum: Queer Love never had a problem serving up delicious drama — the Spotify “sex playlist” scandal lives rent-free in my head — and yet Netflix canceled that series. Instead, we’re left with The Ultimatum: Marry or Move On, with this season’s biggest drama so far being Killian’s group text, where he seems to condone his buddies’ lewd comments about Hayley’s body. That’s disgusting to me, and it’s definitely not the kind of drama I come to this franchise for.
And look, rooting for more experimentation between the couples doesn’t make me a monster. For one thing, these are adults who signed up for a crazy partner-swapping experience. I’m not going to apologize for wanting follow-through. Secondly, these couples are not the epitome of healthy relationships.
If you’re still “50/50” on your partner after six years, you’ve got to cut that cord, and nobody at the ripe old age of 23 should be giving OR receiving a marriage ultimatum (this season started with three that age).
Despite the lack of sparks between the contestants and a couple of problematic players, I’m still enjoying The Ultimatum Season 4, and I can’t wait to binge through the switchback round and see how it all plays out.
The first eight episodes are available to stream on Netflix now, with the finale and reunion hitting the 2026 TV schedule on Wednesday, July 22.
