Despite all of their fights, Ashley and Manuel have one way of resolving their issues. But it won’t work forever.
Manuel meets Ashley’s friends on 90 Day Fiance Season 10, Episode 6. These friends have even more concerns than she does. He’s not shy about being rude in front of them, either.
Can a couples counselor help these two smooth things out before they marry? That’s no small task.
Ashley Michelle and Manuel
The two seem to be in a very good mood. Producers ask why, because apparently they were quarreling just a couple of hours ago. Ashley admits that it’s because they had sex. To the camera, she admits that the two of them have been bickering about something or another every day, but that the sex is helping. That’s horrifying, honestly. Ashley does speak to the confessional camera about spiritual practices in her witchcraft that relate to sex, which is neat to hear about but not really resolving relationship issues. She does know that, though.
Time to meet the friends
Ashley brings Manuel to meet up with some of her friends at a local bar called The Spirit Room. They’ve all heard her side of things throughout this relationship, so they have … let’s call them reservations. But they’re very open and friendly with Manuel, at least as much as they can with the language barrier that some of them have with him.
So how are things?
Ashley gives her friends a fairly honest take on how often they’ve been disagreeing. And when they ask how he’s taking to living in her very witchy house, she admits that he’s not responding well to that at all. Manuel was both insulting and dismissive, which is really not okay — especially about something as personal as a religious or spiritual practice. If they’re going to marry, you’d like to see more respect.
And yes, they fight all of the time
Manuel isn’t afraid to be rude when talking about Ashley in front of her friends. At the same time, the dynamic that he’s describing is a very toxic one. Her friends remind Ashley that she cannot simply bone all of her problems away if she wants this relationship to work.
Manuel feels 80% ready to marry Ashley
He says that the other 20% will come from living with her more and getting to know her better. But, he warns, she’ll never know him completely, because “everyone has secrets.” That is … quite the mindset. Lots of people refer to privacy, but most don’t refer to “secrets” when they’re entering a relationship. Because no, not everyone has secrets.
Couples counseling
Naturally, Ashley is all for going, and she hopes to prevent larger problems before they arise. Manuel is against it. Of course. Once there, Ashley opens up about how she feels that Manuel has built up walls that she cannot pierce, and that’s a problem in the relationship. He says that he’s always solved his own problems, and that Ashley’s questions sound like accusations to him. Then, he notes that their communication issues mean that his answers upset Ashley. And Ashley notes that Manuel will tune her out, which feels disrespectful and solves nothing.
DUDE
Manuel then says that when Ashley gets upset, “I sit back and enjoy.” He’s trying to imply that he says things to upset Ashley on purpose, even though we don’t really think that this is the case. The counselor communicates to him that Ashley feels like he’s leading a double-life, keeping a secret.