‘Married at First Sight’ Star Austin ‘Nervous’ Going Into Decision Day With Bride Jessica (Exclusive)

Married at First Sight‘s Jessica Studer and Austin Hurd may be a fan favorite couple this season, but the pressure of saying ‘I love you’ ahead of Decision Day was really weighing heavily on the newlyweds’ relationship. Prior to Wednesday’s season finale of the Lifetime reality show (produced by Kinetic Content), Austin admitted to PopCulture he was feeling “nervous” about the state of his marriage going into the big day.

“Going into Decision Day, I was nervous,” he revealed. “Mostly about what she is going to say based off me not saying ‘I love you’ and the fight we just had. But also nervous because I wanted to tell her that I love her. I waited to say it at our last dinner, but she brought it up to which I wasn’t then going to say it. So my mindset was nervous on how to say ‘I love you.’ I definitely was overthinking it but I just wanted it to be authentic and from the heart. I didn’t want it to just be me saying ‘I love you too.’ I wanted Jess to know my true emotions.”

Watching back this season, Austin explained there wasn’t much he didn’t know about his relationship already that played out on screen, but noted he at first didn’t want to see himself back on television at first for fear that something “negative” was said in an interview he wouldn’t have known without tuning in.

Throughout his relationship with Jessica, Austin added he was pushed to communicate better, something he knew he had struggled with in the past. “I have never been the best with communicating my feelings,” he told PopCulture. “Throughout this process I had to do that, it brought it out in me. It showed me that I can do it, and it’s OK to be open and communicative.”

Will that lesson be too little too late for Austin and Jessica, or will they make it through Decision Day together? Don’t miss the conclusion of the couple’s Married at First Sight journey! The Married at First Sight season finale (produced by Kinetic Content) airs Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET on Lifetime. For more on Married at First Sight from PopCulture, click here.