The Ultimatum's Madlyn Discusses Why She Was Scared To Marry Colby - Exclusive
If you're a fan of "The Bachelor," "Temptation Island," or "Love Is Blind," Netflix's latest reality dating show is the perfect guilty pleasure to dive into next. The first season was recently released for streaming and follows the journey of six couples considering engagement. But while one partner feels ready to make that commitment, the other isn't sure if they're prepared for marriage.
The couples come on the show to explore those feelings and reach a final decision. After they've all met, the original couples "break up" for a time and partner with someone from one of the other five couples. The hope is that by living with and dating someone else, the participants can get a clearer idea of what marriage might be like and whether their original partner is who they'd really want to be with. By the end, each cast member must decide if they're going to get engaged to the person they came in with, leave with the person they met on the show, or leave alone.
Throughout Season 1, all the couples struggled with this choice and the emotional turmoil and possible heartbreak that came with it. One of the couples on the show was Madlyn Riley Ballatori and Colby Kissinger. During an exclusive interview with The List, they explained what brought them on "The Ultimatum," and Madlyn shared what had scared her about marriage.
Madlyn explains where her fear of marriage came from
Madlyn Riley Ballatori and her boyfriend, Colby Kissinger, came onto "The Ultimatum: Marry or Move On" after Kissinger issued an ultimatum to Ballatori. Kissinger was ready to get engaged and told The List that he "knew within the first few months that she was the one." However, Ballatori wasn't as sure about moving their relationship forward. Kissinger wanted to go through "The Ultimatum" experience because he "needed to see where she stood."
The pair came in with very different mindsets, and in the beginning, Ballatori was scared by the prospect of marriage. As she told her partner in Episode 1, "The only thing scarier than losing you right now would be to marry you." Talking about that initial fear, Ballatori explained she was "struggling with thinking that giving in to Colby's love would be taking something away from myself instead of adding to it."
While going through the show's experience, she said she was able to get more perspectives on what getting engaged might be like. "Hearing other people's perspectives and experiences and spending that time really opened my eyes and made it possible to be where we are now," Ballatori said.
What is Madlyn's perspective after The Ultimatum?
Watching "The Ultimatum: Marry or Move On," it's easy to see how much Madlyn Ballatori struggled with her decision. She came on the show with her boyfriend Colby Kissinger, but throughout the season, she dated Randall Griffin, whom she also had strong feelings for. Many times, she was very conflicted by the situation, and it was hard to predict where Ballatori would land. Talking about her and Kissinger's difficult time on the show, she said, "I don't think either one of us can say we're 100% percent proud of every single moment, but all in all, it was a really crazy experience. We did the best we could."
Looking back on that emotional journey, Ballatori had some interesting thoughts to share on whether giving an ultimatum can be healthy for a relationship. She told The List, "There's no one right way for everybody. As s****y [as] an ultimatum can be, whenever you do take things to the extremes and really weigh out what your loss would be versus your gain in either direction, it's pretty crazy. It can be wonderful."
All episodes of "The Ultimatum: Marry or Move On" are now available on Netflix.