MAFS - Dave and Ashley - *Sleuthing - Spoilers* - Discussion

reason wrote:I swear I am starting to really feel sorry for the guy.

They are paid handsomely, one week at a time. You are watching him carry out the role he agreed to play, or decided to play. "I tried so hard, but it takes two." Ashley is playing the role of "get real, it was doomed, you're a loser and not for me."

Green eggs and ham -- Ashley wouldn't take that guy on a date on a plane, in a train, on a ferris wheel. And she's collecting a paycheck also.

It is a DUMB SHOW in that way. Bad matches, doomed from the start, and we see 14 episodes of the theme of that couple "He tried too hard, she didn't try at all" play out.

They have re-aired the same 3 interviews from each of them, the same points over and over, and we as viewers are sick of the repetition.

Who knows what was really happening, but very clearly this couple is collecting the paycheck one week at a time, to me anyway.

crazychicken wrote:There is a dent Ashley had surgery as a baby for a growth on her pituitary (I think) gland her mother tweeted about it when people noticed during the wedding episodes.

SomeGuy wrote:Uh... That seems very, very, very unlikely. The pituitary is behind the bridge of the nose and dorsal (towards the back) from where the optic nerves cross (optic chiasma). I had a pituitary adinoma (google same) removed six years ago. The procedure is to go up the nose (google from there - it gets icky). While robotic surgery has changed things for the better (thank goodness!), the basic procedure has been around for a while. Blessings on Dr. James Evans of Thomas Jefferson Univ. Hosp. for his work!!!!

I read on previously tv that she had a brain tumor as a baby. That person was speculating that it could account for her inability to connect with her emotions, but I kind of doubt it. If it's true that he lied about paying the rent on their house, having a job and even bringing up an imaginary salary for his imaginary job, then that just adds to some of the other red flags I've noticed. Ashley is acting strange, but I can't help but feel that we don't have the whole story. jmo.

Well, this will go over like a lead balloon, but here goes... If David is truly the kind, genuine, caring man he presents himself to be, perhaps Ashley recognizes all of these wonderful traits, but still finds herself not attracted. That's not a crime; if I was attracted to every kind, caring man I came across, I'd be sleeping with all of my neighbors on a regular basis and all of the helpful guys down at the hardware store- none of us can really judge someone's level of attraction, one way or another. That said, I find her to be stiff, unapproachable and, IMO, her parent's hostile responses speak volumes about her background and her presentation. I see zero effort from her and I firmly believe her reserved personality should have been picked up on in the screening process and eliminated.

It's on the Internet - it must be so...

"Ear to ear" - "35 sutures" to remove a (presumably) cranial tumor? No sign of scarring? Um... have a chat with a medical professional to get closer to reality.

The surgery my mother underwent to attempt to remove a malignant tumor near Broca's Region (speech center) left the right side of her head looking like she was stitched like a baseball. Which is not, by any means, a criticism of the neurosurgery team at UNC's Chapel Hill hospital. The point is, that sort of work doesn't disappear or only leave a dimple.

Well I might as well weigh in. Wife and I have watched this since season 1.
Are they a "bad match?" Is he faking? I have no idea. He's not being portrayed as a creep or a fake, but who knows?

But I am sure of a couple of things: he is not hideous. He seems to be trying. He is clearly afraid to even try to touch her.

I realize some people on here have a visceral reaction to him and that's fine. But I can't see a single thing the guy has done wrong? If it's all fake--the hurt in his face, the obvious anger when she shuts him out, the guy is a good actor.

Even if you meet someone of only decent attractiveness, it hurts nothing to hold their hand or give then a kiss. Maybe he's Lucifer and she knows it, but she has been an absolute dial tone. And yes, I feel sorry for the guy.

I dont think he is an actor, he was really hurt when she had nothing good to say about him. No wonder he starts to asked out females. I hope next week he just let it rip. I am over Ashley.

reason wrote:I dont think he is an actor, he was really hurt when she had nothing good to say about him.  No wonder he starts to asked out females.  I hope next week he just let it rip.  I am over Ashley.

No, I don't think he's acting either. And yeah, I hope she gets her check. She's done the very bare minimum to earn it. Hopefully when it's over he'll be able to speak up. She clearly wasn't in this for anything more than the money. Reminds me of a couple of the losers from last season.

Great casting process.

(Repeating what I posted in the general S3 forum):
"Plot-wise, David and Ashley were... David and Ashley. I now have different view of Ashley, though. The "not physically attractive" thing is a symptom of a problem, not the problem. I'm inclined to think that she may not be even open to herself. In other words, one part of her simply can't cope with even her own immediate reactions to some situations. Is it all about men? The Chippendale wannabes certainly set her off. It appears she had one extended relationship which obviously came apart. Is this some sort of response to "I was close to someone and I was so hurt at the end"? As long as she's not in a personally challenging situation, she does well (e.g., kickball). But David's "atta-boy" pat, when leaving the field, gets zero response. Listening to Ashley talk about this problem, and her reactions to David's pressure, show that she simply can't cope well.

"And this all begs the question of why Cilona's testing showed none of this (these?) problem(s)? At this point I don't see her as uncooperative but as a person with significant problems. In short, she shouldn't have made it through the selection process because she doesn't appear to be emotionally ready for the intense emotional intimacy of marriage."

The preview business about the "I got a message"... "another woman for drinks". A cheatin' David makes almost no sense. Either this is the rumored bad idea (make Ashley think I'm cheating and use that to get her to really talk) to get Ashley off dead center, an innocent act misunderstood, or someone being malicious (either a lie or deliberate distortion). I guess we'll find out in E10...

I am still astounded at Ashley's delivery of "I got a message". No fireworks? No confrontation when David returns from work? Whatever the truth is about David - good or bad - I cannot get over Ashley's apparent equanimity.

Finally (for this post - LOL), I'm surprised at the general SM reaction to this couple. Even Ryan and Jessica or Jamie didn't seem (AFAIK but what do IK?) to get the same level of ...what?... vitriol, particularly Ashley's gotten. And David is associated with debt, violence, court orders, unemployment.

Barbarossa wrote:Well I might as well weigh in. Wife and I have watched this since season 1.
Are they a "bad match?" Is he faking? I have no idea. He's not being portrayed as a creep or a fake, but who knows?

But I am sure of a couple of things: he is not hideous. He seems to be trying. He is clearly afraid to even try to touch her.

I realize some people on here have a visceral reaction to him and that's fine. But I can't see a single thing the guy has done wrong? If it's all fake--the hurt in his face, the obvious anger when she shuts him out, the guy is a good actor.

Even if you meet someone of only decent attractiveness, it hurts nothing to hold their hand or give then a kiss. Maybe he's Lucifer and she knows it, but she has been an absolute dial tone. And yes, I feel sorry for the guy.

I don't think David is a bad guy either. I really don't see that he's done anything wrong. He just seems like your average guy. I don't think Ashley is a "bad guy" either, but it's obvious she is only in this for the paycheck. She could at least collect the paycheck AND try. Otherwise, I don't care to watch. She knew what she was signing up for so I don't get why she's there.

I've gotten past "in it for the check". I think she got in for many of the reasons people apply for MAFS. But a) I think she didn't anticipate what a strain things would be, and b) the screening process missed how she does (or doesn't) deal with being intimate (in the emotional sense).

Remember how she said she was stressed and exhausted - this is something Sam and Neil have talked about. Having cameras in your face, staying up until all hours doing the produced drop-ins (commentary) and diary-cam stuff. Put that on top of nursing school. And then add being married to a total stranger. For Ashley, being challenged to "open up", something that's obviously at the top of her skill - no wonder she seems to be a basket case.

Please understand that I think she should have had a better sense of where she was headed. The producers and experts fell down on the job. Ashley didn't know herself well enough. There's plenty of blame to share. But I now think "in it for the money" just isn't there.

On the Father's Day episode didn't David say the last time he saw his father he cracked a beer open with him and then on another episode say he was 7 when his dad died? Straighten me out please.

David said he cracked a beer at the grave.