- I'm Monique. - And I'm Sammy.
And we're getting married.
SAMMY: And we've been together for six years now.
MONIQUE: We are restaurateurs.
He was the executive chef.
He hired me as a general manager.
I was just like, wow, I can really
make Monique into something.
You are absolutely nuts.
It's a product of me.
MONIQUE: He was the only person I knew that worked as hard,
if not harder, than I did.
I never met anybody that had the same work ethic.
I knew I had somebody that wouldn't quit on me.
And I think I fell in love with that.
What are you nervous about?
You.
You and Connie are the two.
I don't feel accepted by Monique's family.
I don't force my own family to--
Right.
--to like me and [INAUDIBLE] with me.
So I'm not going to force-- definitely not going
to force somebody else family.
Yeah.
I think there's a lot of people
think that their behavior is justified, and it's just not.
My hope for the next few days is that there's
some understanding.
But maybe we'll get some results.
You never know. - I pray.
That's my prayer.
Maybe this lady can work magic and take
our brains out and throw them away and put new brains in.
Wow, look at this. This is amazing.
MONIQUE: Nice [INAUDIBLE].
SAMMY: I feel like we've made it.
Wow.
Hello. MONIQUE: Amazing.
Hi!
[INAUDIBLE] new family [INAUDIBLE] fiance.
MONIQUE: How you doing? - Lovely house.
TRACY MCMILLAN: How are you guys?
[INAUDIBLE] TRACY MCMILLAN: It's all yours.
Oh wow, thank you. I appreciate it.
TRACY MCMILLAN: How's it been so far?
- It's been. - Yeah.
- OK. - It's been.
- We're ready to work. - We've seen better.
TRACY MCMILLAN: You're ready to work.
Go in, take a look around.
Get used to your surroundings.
You can meet me in my office and we'll get started.
- Yes, ma'am. - All right.
Let's do it.
Oh wow.
SAMMY: This is dope.
Look at that kitchen, Sam. SAMMY: Yeah.
MONIQUE: Can't wait for you to cook us some stuff.
Oh my gosh, I will kill this kitchen.
MONIQUE: Gorgeous.
SAMMY: [INAUDIBLE] my love. - Thank you.
TRACY MCMILLAN: Come on in. - Thank you.
Have a seat.
So first of all, I just want to say congratulations
on your engagement. - Thank you.
Thank you.
TRACY MCMILLAN: Big move, putting two families together.
What did you tell her?
TRACY MCMILLAN: Or not.
Trying to.
So how long did you date before the engagement?
Three years. TRACY MCMILLAN: OK, long time.
Mm-hmm.
And now you guys have a professional
and a personal relationship.
MONIQUE: Yeah.
What's that like to have--
It's mostly professional.
That's the problem, yeah.
Tell me what that means. That means--
SAMMY: We talk more business. - --you don't have sex enough?
No.
No, we don't have sex enough, and we've
done a bad job about focusing on us as a couple--
TRACY MCMILLAN: Mm-hmm.
--instead of us as business owners.
Even my family friends like, why do you work like that?
Is that part of the problems with the families now?
SAMMY: Yes.
I think her family needs her.
TRACY MCMILLAN: Hmm.
I need them.
OK. What's wrong with that?
Oh, it feels like we're playing tug of war
with somebody. - It doesn't make sense to him--
TRACY MCMILLAN: Right.
--because he grew up without a family,
had a horrible childhood.
So there's a disconnect there.
Why don't you tell me a little bit more about your childhood?
[INAUDIBLE] - We were just beat.
TRACY MCMILLAN: You were physically abused.
We got the crap beat out of us,
and we wasn't really given food.
I had a really bad upbringing, really abusive home.
I hit the streets at an early age,
and I was just a really, really bad lost young man.
TRACY MCMILLAN: That's a lot to come through.
But you come through it, though.
Sort of.
And then it's still there.
MONIQUE: Yeah.
TRACY MCMILLAN: But without dealing
with things from the past, they come into the marriage.
I'd like to hear who's coming.
SAMMY: You didn't tell your side.
On my side, my daughter Kiara is coming--
Alexia, my daughter-- and my sister, Dee Dee.
I'm a little anxious to see--
I'm nervous to see--
- --everybody. - Yeah.
It's been a minute since everybody's
been in the same room.
Kiara is just crazy in the head.
She's my daughter, but I call it like I see it.
She is not satisfied to see me with anybody.
What's her specific problems with Monique?
SAMMY: With Monique? - I don't know.
SAMMY: We don't know.
And I kind of would like to get to the bottom of it.
TRACY MCMILLAN: OK.
Like, why do I have a lack of relationship with Kiara?
Because I have a, I feel, pretty decent
relationship with Alexia. SAMMY: Oh.
MONIQUE: Yeah.
So who's coming from your family?
From my family is my mother, my son
Jaemin, and my sister Connie.
I'm worried that, you know, some people may not
respond well to other people.
[INAUDIBLE]
Like, somebody might just say how they honestly feel.
And then somebody might take it the wrong way.
SAMMY: My mother-- her issue is just my happiness and my son.
Same thing--
They don't think you're going to be happy here?
I-- I don't know.
- Who's your third person? - My sister Connie.
She never liked Sammy from the beginning,
and Sammy never liked her.
And it's another relationship that Sammy doesn't understand.
The closer that we got, the less access that she
thinks she's going to have-- - That's interesting.
SAMMY: --to make.
That's all in your mind too.
TRACY MCMILLAN: I'm starting to understand.
So what would you want to get out of this?
I would like some unity.
Like, that would feel good to me.
Mm-hmm.
How about you, Sammy?
Just to know if I'm the problem.
TRACY MCMILLAN: Here's what I find in this process.
The families usually have a problem with you guys
because there's something in there
they see that needs to get worked
on because they're a mirror.
Here's what's going to happen. Families are going to arrive.
Then you're going to have a family meeting.
And that's going to be the first time you're going
to hear what their issues are.
Then you're going to do your tasks working out the issues
that need to be addressed.
We will meet here each morning, unpack how things went.
I'll give you some new tasks.
Ugh.
TRACY MCMILLAN: And hopefully at the end of the three days,
you'll get six blessings.
Can we get to the last day?
TRACY MCMILLAN: Yeah.
I'm going to give you your task first, Monique.
You're going to do something called
cocktails and conversations--
SAMMY: OK.
--with Sammy's family.
You're going to make drinks.
They're going to write down their concerns,
and you guys are going to talk it out.
OK.
Sammy, your task is to play a game
called What If with Monique's family.
They're going to write down what if scenarios,
and then you're going to answer.
You can put questions on cards as well.
What I love about this is that you're
going to be forced to go into things that maybe
you've been trying to avoid.
MONIQUE: Hmm.
SAMMY: Hmm.
So your families are on the way.
SAMMY: Hmm. You mean right now?
Yes, they are.
It's going to be a great day.
All right.
[GROAN]
Six burner stove with a griddle to die for.
[INAUDIBLE] you make a good dinner.
Yeah, if I'm cooking, I don't have to talk.
I'd rather hear what Connie's issue is and--
you know when me and Connie get to-- like, if it goes south,
it really goes south, and you know that.
[DOORBELL]
Hello.
Hello!
There's people in this life who
I just generally don't like.
But she's family, though.
You keep pushing that envelope,
and I keep pushing it right back to you.
Are they here?
Well, they're-- they're expecting us.
So--
SAMMY: Because it's not just y'all two [INAUDIBLE]..
Everybody around sees it too.
[DOORBELL]
Make it real.
The only problem that I have is when you--
Someone's at the door?
Oh, what happened?
[DOORBELL] SAMMY: Oh.
[INAUDIBLE]
SAMMY: Who's supposed to answer the door?
- Us. - [INAUDIBLE]
Hello.
[KNOCKING]
Hi.
[INAUDIBLE] hey.
- How are you? - How you doing?
Come on in. Come on in.
Haven't seen you in days.
Welcome to my new home.
CONNIE: The first time I met Sammy,
he said hey and walked away.
Yeah, that sounds about right.
Mm-hmm.
You could sunbathe out here, mom.
My main concern is just my mother's happiness.
But I don't want to fake and shake.
If we're going to be-- - Yeah.
--if we're going to be--
Be able to talk--
--a family-- yeah, let's be family.
Jaemin thought you guys were already married.
How did [INAUDIBLE] Jaemin!
BARBARA: That's what we said.
SAMMY: Did you miss the wedding, [INAUDIBLE]??
[INAUDIBLE] I had it all mixed up.
[DOORBELL] The whole thing.
Oh, we got more people here.
The princesses are here.
[INAUDIBLE] here.
[INAUDIBLE]
Hello!
[INTERPOSING VOICES]
I am a daddy's girl, definitely.
I'm spoiled rotten.
He gives me everything I want.
So my first impression of Monique was, like,
what is she doing here?
What's that back there?
Toilet.
Oh.
- That's where I'll be. - Exactly.
I thought--
That's where Sammy spend most of his time.
It was weird because it started
more so as a work relationship.
I don't know if there is enough definition
between their relationship and the business.
Now let's talk about the creatures
back here because you know--
SAMMY: [INAUDIBLE]
See, there goes one right there.
It's too close to home. SAMMY: Where?
I can't. SAMMY: Where?
Right there on the steps.
I don't got time for them.
Well, oh, well. Hey, guys.
How are you guys doing?
[INAUDIBLE]
Thanks for coming out here.
As you all know, Mo and I are getting married.
And we thought you all had some concerns.
And so we wanted to give you guys
a chance to speak your piece and address some issues.
So Lex, what are some issues you might have?
I would like to address the fairness with the family
across the board, just make sure everybody's treated
and respected the same way no matter who they are
or what role they play in each of your lives.
Dee Dee, what issues might you have?
I have some concerns about what seems
to be a lack of boundaries.
It's not a clear definition of business
versus your intimate relationship.
Kiara, what issues might you have?
That since you've been focusing on your relationship
with Monique, I'm just not able to have a regular conversation
with you.
I want to be able to have a genuine conversation
without it being a sense of fakeness, you know?
SAMMY: Me and Kiara, we were really, really close.
But at 16, we were just like this.
Right.
And our love for each other wasn't the same.
It was like somebody snatched my heart.
OK.
Jaemin, what are your issues?
Before y'all get married, keep wherever y'all go
through issues, arguments, whatever it
may be just between y'all two.
OK.
Mother?
What are your issues?
I understand that you all are trying to build something.
I would hope that you learn to separate business from family.
MONIQUE: OK.
Miss Connie, what are your concerns?
One of my concerns is that you don't
lose yourself in your relationship, business
and personal.
And then another concern is I just want to know like where
I stand with your partner.
One minute, we're, like, having a good time.
And then if, you know, we have a disagreement
or I say or do something that he doesn't like,
then it's like, we're not speaking.
You know, it's becoming uncomfortable because I
don't know where I stand.
SAMMY: Connie is just somebody who I don't care for.
I don't desire to have a relationship with her.
Yeah, but you could at least be cordial
when you're around here.
Yeah, I don't know.
She just-- I don't know.
Hmm.
OK.