Did Any of ‘The Ultimatum’ Season 3 Cast Even Want To Stay Together?

This season of The Ultimatum on Netflix was a trainwreck, with the reality series bringing in six couples trying to decide if they should get engaged. Two couples left the show early to avoid the drama and, unsurprisingly, stayed together. The remaining four couples, however, had some of the most toxic and messy people involved. In general, the remaining participants in The Ultimatum did not seem interested in fixing their relationships, instead deciding to showcase their problems on a larger and very public scale.

The Ultimatum tested the limits of six couples who all came to the show for one reason: to get married or move on. Vanessa Hattaway and Dave Adams returned for the reunion, after leavingThe Ultimatum early in Episode 4. Micah Hardeman and Chanel Watkins also left the show but did not return for the reunion to explain further. Both couples who left the show before the experiment ended (or even really began) have stayed together. Only one couple survived the duration of The Ultimatum, with the other three falling apart.

Most Couples Broke Up at the End of ‘The Ultimatum’

Communication and compromise are the cornerstones of a healthy relationship. Still, with control issues, insecurity, and a refusal to sacrifice any amount of comfort, it is no surprise that most of the couples on The Ultimatum split up. One of the most dramatic pairings of this season of The Ultimatum was Nick Tramontin and Sandy Gallagher. While Nick was spiraling out of control, Sandy had secrets of her own. Neither Sandy nor Nick hid their struggles. Rather, they went out of their way to create more problems. Sandy attempted to move on with J.R. Warren, and did not care about Nick's feelings, while Nick made a fool of himself with controlling and insecure behavior. Nick and Sandy were clearly incompatible and did not try to stay together in the finale, with Sandy moving on and Nick throwing off red flags.

The trial marriage between Sandy and J.R. also led to J.R. and Zaina Sesay breaking up. Sandy may have kept secrets from Nick, but J.R. kept secrets from everyone, and Zania was fed up with J.R.'s behavior and secrets. Even at the reunion, J.R. refused to take accountability and was shady about his intentions throughout The Ultimatum. Zania proved she could stand up for herself in her trial marriage to Scotty Lewis, and found what she needed to finally leave J.R.

Scotty Lewis and Aria De'Westbrooks were the third couple to split up on The Ultimatum. The last episode of the experiment had Aria and Scotty getting engaged, but Aria called off the engagement the very next day. Scotty is not subtle in his insecurities; he wants to control everything and even attempted to gain the upper hand on Zania during the trial marriage. Although Scotty gave the ultimatum to Aria, he tried to manipulate her and make her feel small by holding Zaina's hand in front of her. Aria also realized in her trial marriage to Caleb Lefterys that she wanted something different from what Scotty was giving her. Many of the couples thankfully parted ways.

Caleb and Mariah Are the Only Couple To Survive ‘The Ultimatum’

The only Season 3 success story is Caleb and Mariah Zernik, as they have stayed engaged through the reunion. However, they also had issues. During the trial marriage, Mariah was primarily left alone as she dealt with Nick, who was too wrapped up in his obsession with Sandy and J.R. to give her the time of day. Caleb, on the other hand, found solace with Aria, and proved to be open and understanding with her. However, in the end, Caleb proposed to Mariah and insisted everything between himself and Aria was platonic, even though it was clear the relationship confused him. Aria spoke up at the reunion when everything seemed to be going great for Mariah and Caleb. Aria accused Caleb of giving mixed signals and still liking her Instagram stories, and Mariah was irritated by this. Caleb tried to say that what he had for Aria had been friendship throughout the show, but Caleb may sacrifice his success with Mariah because of Aria.

With toxic behavior and red flags popping up everywhere on The Ultimatum, it seems like none of the couples wanted to stay in their relationships from the beginning – except for the ones who left early. The actions of the couples who remained seemed to come from a place of wanting to break up, but being too scared to do so – even Caleb and Mariah. Being on The Ultimatum, however, gave many of them the confidence, or excuses, to finally split up. To no one's surprise, most of the couples on The Ultimatum broke up and never tried to salvage their relationships.

The third season of The Ultimatum is streaming on Netflix.

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