Warning! SPOILERS below for the conclusion of The Ultimatum Season 1! Look away until you’ve caught up!
There are many shows from the 2022 TV schedule which have already captured a lot of viewers' attention, but when it comes to bingeable reality shows, we've already gotten two Netflix dating shows that have had people tuning in in droves. While Love Is Blind Season 2 set the world on fire back in February, now The Ultimatum, which is one of the exciting new Netflix shows in April, is doing the same. Fans have been entranced by the stories of the six couples who had one partner issue an ultimatum to the other, then split so they could enter trial “marriages” by living with a new partner for three weeks, before then returning to their previous partner to decide whether or not they should stay together. And, the results of this dating experience have been intense!
Now that both The Ultimatum finale and the reunion have hit the streaming giant, we can take a look back and talk about who’s still together, who split up, and other big moments from The Ultimatum Season 1 reunion. Let’s go!
Madlyn And Colby Are Married… And Having A Baby!
This had to be the biggest shocker of the finale and reunion, right? After several episodes of Colby attempting to gaslight Madlyn and convince her that him cheating with a woman who was not April, his trial wife on The Ultimatum, was for her benefit, Madlyn broke up with him. Then, in the finale, not only did she change her mind, but she actually accepted his proposal!
And, fans of the couple got even more good news, when Colby asked Madlyn if she’d be willing to get hitched right then. When she said yes, out popped a very gentle-looking officiant who married the previously troubled twosome right then and there. The opening moments of the reunion revealed that Madlyn and Colby are still married, and they’re expecting a baby girl!
Rae And Jake Did NOT Work Out!
These two were just a surprise all around. As April said in the reunion, her boyfriend Jake and Zay’s girlfriend Rae immediately hit it off when the couples were unleashed to date others and find new partners for their trial marriages. In fact, they seemed to be the strongest of all the couples, period, even with Nate and Hunter deciding to skip their trials and proposing to their girlfriends (Lauren and Alexis, respectively) right before having to move in with someone else.
Even more cracks began to show in the romances of Rae and Zay (she eventually broke up with him), and April and Jake (they fought a lot once they reunited after their trial marriages), and the finale saw the latter couple part ways pretty much amicably. This led to a meeting between Rae and Jake, with him presenting two open-ended plane tickets so that they could continue getting to know one another as they traveled. Unfortunately, the two decided not to pursue their connection further, and didn’t even use those tickets (we’ll get into the reason later). Both Rae and Jake are currently single.
Shanique And Randall Are Together, But Not Engaged Anymore!
Shanique and Randall did not seem particularly lovey dovey by the time the finale rolled around. It looked, though, like seeing one another and having to finally decide if they wanted to spend the rest of their lives together struck a chord, as Randall got down on one knee and proposed to Shanique. She said yes, and everything seemed to be on track for them.
Then the reunion came around, and hostess-with-the-most Vanessa Lachey noticed that Shanique wasn’t wearing her ring. Apparently, after the finale, Randall and Shanique broke up for about six months, with each of them needing more time to think about what happened while they were on the show and what it brought up for them. Luckily, all you Shanidall fans won’t be disappointed, because while they aren’t currently engaged, they are dating again!
Rae Yelled At Zay Until He Walked Off Stage!
OK, remember how I said we’d have to get into why Rae and Jake never used their plane tickets? Well, here we go. As you will likely remember, once Rae and Zay reconvened after their trial marriages (to Jake and Shanique, respectively), they were clearly not meant to be anymore. They argued a lot, with one blow up leading Zay to stay out all night without contacting Rae, which led to yet another big argument that got physical, and Rae packing her bags and breaking up with him.
During the reunion, they replayed the lead up to a big moment between Shanique and Zay, the period right before they enjoyed some on-camera sexytimes. When Rae had to talk about the moment, she revealed that Zay never told her about his sexual activity with Shanique, as he also repeatedly accused her of having sex with Jake, which is something they never did. Rae was still so angry about Zay’s lie of omission and treatment of her, that she yelled at him for several minutes (even through his attempted apology), until Zay walked off stage and closed himself up in a dressing room while Rae was left in tears.
Vanessa Lachey was able to help Rae calm down, and Zay eventually returned to complete filming the reunion, but it was clear that she had to get that off of her chest. This is probably especially true, because Zay revealed that he and Rae got back together after the finale, which is why she and Jake didn’t take off on their romantic adventure trip. Zay is currently single, though.
Lauren And Nate Have Agreed To Have One Kid!
Nate was one of only two men on the show to have issued the ultimatum to his girlfriend, and it was clear very early on that the main sticking point for him and Lauren was her not wanting kids and him being high on the idea of parenthood.
So, everyone was completely shocked when, instead of living with a trial wife, Nate cut his experience short and proposed to Lauren, with her still not wanting to have children.
The reunion revealed that Lauren (who said producers “lied” about her age) and Nate are still together, and potentially learned a big lesson, because they went to couples counseling to see if they could work through what seems to be the one thing keeping them from being 100% on the same page about their future. Lauren said that they’ve decided to have one kid (for now), instead of the brood that Nate was looking forward to. Yay progress!
April Now Has A Boyfriend Who Wasn’t On The Show!
Oh, good for April! I was iffy about her whole relationship with Jake for a number of reasons, so when they returned from their trial marriages (his was with Rae and hers was with Colby) and it was so apparent that Jake wasn’t feeling their romance anymore, I really just wanted April to get out.
And, she did. After a brief moment where April thought she might be pregnant by Jake (which had been her dream, along with marrying him), she told him to figure out what he wanted and left. That was after they’d spent weeks arguing. So, when April was asked about what she’s been up to since The Ultimatum ended and Jake chose Rae, it was nice to hear that she now had a serious boyfriend who wasn’t on the show and talks about marrying her one day.
Hunter and Alexis, by the way, are still engaged and making wedding plans, so I’d say things turned out pretty well for the couples of The Ultimatum Season 1, regardless of my finale and reunion predictions. I know that many of you can’t wait to see if the show will get a big renewal like Love Is Blind, so we can watch many more seasons of this dating experience!
