Another season of The Ultimatum: Marry or Move On later and Netflix has served its newest lovestruck cast members up on a delicious platter of genuinely lovable characters seasoned with toxicity.
Perhaps messier than any other season, Season 3 gave us six couples (that wittled down to four) to key into as the chaos unfolded. But the chaos begins in the show’s premise: Netflix invites already strained-relationships to enter into “trial marriages” with someone else after one member of the relationship issues an ultimatum.
The reasons for the ultimatum disagreements range from age gaps, differences in life stages, general uncertainty about one’s partner, and more. So naturally, breaking them up and sticking both partners in a trial marriage with someone else should fix their relationship, right? Wrong! But it does make for great television. So we’ve decided to rank the Season 3 cast, who all chose to go on television to “fix their relationships,” from least to most toxic.
Zaina entered with J.R. and left a strong independent woman without J.R. holding her back. Throughout the show, she communicated her needs clearly, was reasonable and secure, and is honestly such a catch. She gave J.R. the ultimatum after three years together, a pretty reasonable amount of time when you’re dating in your 30s. However, when J.R. was so excited to play husband to Sandy, Zaina easily realized that J.R. just wasn’t in love with her enough and that the relationship had no future.
Throughout The Ultimatum, Aria is a kind and joyous presence and the fact that Scotty gave her the ultimatum seemed unfair considering her age at just 25 years old. As the series goes on, it’s clear that Scotty is manipulative, controlling, and insecure, so it makes sense he would want to lock Aria in legally. Her submissiveness is a sign of her own insecurities, but by the end of the show, she comes out on top after she realizes what a mistake it was to get engaged to Scotty.
Of course the three least toxic people on The Ultimatum are women, because women know how to communicate! However, Mariah clearly struggles with anxious attachment, and while that doesn’t make her toxic per se, it does make her act out in ways that a securely attached person might not. Immediately when she and Caleb are back together, she tries to discuss their issues while Caleb just wants to enjoy time with Mariah. The way she pushes to find a sense of security isn’t the healthiest, but she and Caleb clearly love each other, so the end to their story is a satisfying one.
While some might place Nick higher on the list of toxicity because of his unhealthy reaction to Sandy and J.R.’s relationship, he was put in an unimaginable situation. He saw his girlfriend, who he gave an ultimatum to, start falling for someone else while he was alone after Vanessa left the experiment. He definitely has some therapy to do, but one can see that at his heart, he just wants to be loved. He’s an artist, so he’s passionate and emotional, and sometimes that comes out in seemingly “toxic” ways, but his intentions are always good. But perhaps his biggest problem was picking someone who wasn’t right for him to begin with.
Caleb is an interesting case because during his trial marriage with Aria, we were all stanning the two of them as a pair. But that was because Aria was clearly in an unhappy situation with Scotty, not because Caleb had a bad relationship. Mariah may have given an ultimatum when they’re a little too young, but Caleb’s avoidance is what caused her to feel insecure. He continues not to communicate when Aria calls him out for lurking on her Instagram, and he denies any feelings or connection he had to Aria. Like Nick, he’s not malicious in any way, but he refuses to learn to communicate, which makes him pretty toxic.
Now we’re getting into the leaders of toxicity. Scotty constantly blames the people around him for his insecurities, gaslights his partners into thinking they’re the ones messing up, and manipulates them into comforting him when he’s in the wrong. It’s classic narcissistic behavior, although like everyone on the show, he just wants to be loved. However, he goes about it in a way that Zaina shut down and clocked immediately, while Aria was a little more malleable to his manipulations. Luckily, Aria shut down their relationship, realizing that Scotty isn’t the right guy for her.
While Sandy is a toxic queen, we can almost surely expect to see her back on our screens in Perfect Match or even Too Hot to Handle. However, she is the epitome of a gaslighting girly after she holds information from Nick, who she’s supposed to be considering marrying. Clearly, Nick genuinely wanted a marriage and healthy relationship with Sandy while Sandy wasn’t as serious about him. Understandably at 27 years old, she wasn’t ready to get married, but she could’ve just broken up with Nick off-screen instead of going on television and making a physical connection with someone else.
J.R. is easily the most toxic from The Ultimatum Season 3. As rumors traveled about him going on the show for a “hall pass” and matching up with the most sexually open woman for his trial marriage, he continued to deny things he had actually said several times. If that’s not gaslighting, what is? He told Zaina he wasn’t ready for marriage but easily falls into step with Sandy, calling her his “wifey” immediately. While Zaina stays level-headed throughout the experience despite J.R.’s inappropriate actions, J.R. continues to deny the truth as he attempts to defend his character. Unfortunately for him, however, Zaina had receipts, proving he was as toxic as he seemed.
