TRUST FALL

‘The Ultimatum’: Roxanne and Antonio Break Down That Explosive Fight

When Alex told Antonio that his girlfriend Roxanne “doesn’t respect” him, he ignited Antonio’s “deepest insecurities.”

When asked if he felt vindicated when The Pentagon released a declassified video of a UFO earlier this year, The Ultimatum Season 2 star Antonio’s eyes lit up.

“Oh my God, so much,” Antonio, who is outspoken in his belief in such aerial phenomena, told The Daily Beast’s Obsessed in an interview. “Honestly, I’m just sitting back. I’m watching other people get excited about it like, ‘I told you this whole time!’ They’re here. They’re probably your neighbors. I don’t know.”

On The Ultimatum, five couples trade partners to find out if they want to get engaged, leave with a new partner, or walk away single. In each couple, one person demands that the other decide once and for all if they want to get engaged.

Antonio joined the Netflix series this season with his girlfriend, Roxanne, who spends much of the season talking about her business and insisting that she doesn’t believe in marriage. She’s not a big fan of Antonio’s “conspiracy” fascinations (like the UFOs), and as they both repeatedly state, she’s got a list of things she’d like Antonio to improve about himself before they get engaged.

As the partner-swapping stage ramps up, Roxanne and Antonio’s relationship becomes one of the most stressful. The powder keg explodes in Episode 5, when Roxanne’s trial husband Alex tells Antonio, point blank, “She doesn’t respect you.”

Alex provided a number of reasons (paraphrased, and in his own words) to back up his assertion that Antonio was Roxanne’s “whipping boy,” based on his own conversations with her. Speaking with Obsessed, Roxanne said that moment was “probably the one time that I felt the most betrayed” on the show.

“I don't even care if it was Alex, man—it could have been a chick,” she said. “I was sharing my life with Alex for three weeks. That was an intimate thing. I felt like I was sharing all these things about Antonio with him, and he betrayed that trust.”

Whatever Alex’s motivation, things unravel fast from there. Antonio, convinced that Alex is trying to steal Roxanne, goes home seething. When he gets back to the apartment, his trial wife—Alex’s girlfriend, Kat—tells him that Alex’s parents also got the impression that Roxanne didn’t like him. Eventually, Antonio calls Roxanne to confront her before eventually meeting up with her in person.

When asked how he felt about Alex’s remarks, Antonio echoed Roxanne’s reasoning—that “she was talking about the worst parts of her relationship” in the hopes of improving it.

“Obviously, there are some things that we needed to work out,” Antonio said. “He heard all about what those things were, and he formed his opinion.” At the same time, he added, “I think that he just maybe put a little bit too much emphasis on Roxanne just being genuine. I also think that the reason I blew up so much is because those were my deepest insecurities.”

Although Antonio didn’t like hearing what Alex had to say, he also tells Obsessed that he doesn’t “see him as a scheming, ‘let me see if I can get a rise out of somebody’”-type person.

“I think he’s just very much like, he makes his opinions quickly, and then he sticks with it, and he has no problem expressing his opinions.”

After eight episodes of emotional upheaval, it remains to be seen which couples will come out of this season engaged. For that, unfortunately, we’ll have to wait for the Aug. 30 finale and reunion. May the dating gods help us all.

Laura BradleySenior Entertainment Reporter

Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.