Relationships are hard work — something Jamie Otis and Doug Hehner have freely admitted throughout their marriage.
The couple were matched and married during the first season of Married at First Sight in 2014. Otis had previously searched for love during season 16 of The Bachelor in 2012 and on season 3 of Bachelor Pad.
Throughout the couple’s relationship, they weathered ups and downs. In August 2021, Otis described “a heated call” she and Hehner had with their couple’s counselor, which “ended [with] us holding each other & trying to figure out our next steps TOGETHER.”
After eight years of marriage — and plenty of challenges along the way — the duo agreed they were “not giving up on each other,” she wrote via Instagram.
“I will fight for my family! I mean, sometimes more than they even want me to…,” Otis added at the time. “But right now, I’m fighting for my marriage. For my children. For ME..”
The reality TV couple share daughter Henley Grace, son Hendrix Douglas and twins Huxley and Hawkins. Their road to parenthood wasn’t easy, however, with Otis suffering multiple miscarriages over the years.
Scroll down for a timeline of Otis and Hehner’s relationship highs and lows:
March 2014
The twosome tied the knot after meeting on season 1 of Married at First Sight and were later featured on the spinoff Married at First Sight: The First Year.
July 2016
Shortly after announcing that she was pregnant, Otis experienced a miscarriage at 17 weeks. She reflected on the loss of her son Johnathan three years later, recalling the “excruciating pain” of the loss in an Instagram tribute. “It was a pain my SOUL felt,” she wrote.
August 2017
Baby girl Henley Grace joined the duo’s family six months after Otis’ pregnancy reveal.
September 2018
Following a “very bizarre positive pregnancy test,” the registered nurse shared that she’d suffered an early miscarriage. “My midwife confirmed I had a chemical pregnancy,” Otis explained in an Instagram post. “I don’t know why some people have it seemingly SO easy to get preggers & carry their babies to term and others struggle?”
September 2019
Otis and Hehner tried to give their daughter a little sibling for a long time — and got one step closer after visiting a fertility specialist. “I cannot even believe it! …after 18 long, painful months, two losses and negative after negative on the pregnancy tests we are *finally* pregnant again!” she gushed via Instagram, adding that she wanted to “hold onto hope” this time around.
May 2020
Their rainbow baby, a son, arrived. Originally named Hayes, Otis wanted to change the little one’s moniker to Hendrix “the minute he came out,” she joked via Instagram Live.
July 2020
The reality star was diagnosed with postpartum depression soon after her son’s birth, which she was “terrified to admit out loud.” She told her Instagram followers at the time, “I’m scared of looking weak. … When I think of the person I want to be, it isn’t a depressed Debbie-downer. I want to be the happy one always encouraging others and making them smile.”
September 2020
“I don’t feel sexy, I don’t feel hot; I’m anxious, I’m insecure,” Otis said during an episode of her and Hehner’s “Hot Marriage, Cool Parents” podcast, revealing the reason their sex life hit a snag. “It’s not that I don’t love my husband immensely and it’s not that I’m not attracted to my husband. It’s that I’m not attracted to myself and that I’m depressed.”
At the time, she noted that her husband was “the most patient man in the world” as she healed.
May 2021
The couple described going through a “rough patch” in their relationship while speaking with Dr. Gertrude Lyons on their podcast. At the time, Otis admitted that she had a “hard time trusting” Hehner after she’d “caught him in lies” in the past. “Needless to say, we’re obviously working on our marriage. I’m just at a loss. I feel completely deflated,” she said.
August 2021
“We’re not giving up on each other — not now, not ever,” Otis captioned a tearful Instagram post after a vulnerable therapy session with her husband. “It started w anger, yelling, blaming..but ended w us holding each other & trying to figure out our next steps TOGETHER🙏😭…gosh, a good therapist is everything!” she wrote.
August 2021
After asserting that she was going to keep “fighting” for her marriage, Otis shared a helpful piece of advice she and Hehner received from their counselor. “Our couples therapist told us a good way to avoid divorce is by having FUN *together*❤️ … [so] we are gonna spend more time doing the things that made us fall in love—after we got married.😜😂🥰,” she wrote via Instagram.
August 2021
The couple “turned a corner” after celebrating their daughter’s 4th birthday. “Expecting one person to be your EVERYTHING is obvs silly. Thank God for quality therapists!” Otis wrote via Instagram after the bash. “Ours helped us see that we’ve been relying on each other to ‘check all of our boxes’ to meet all of our needs. … Thankful I married a man willing to put in the work when things get tough — not just up and leave or want a divorce — BC LOOK AT THIS BEAUTIFUL FAMILY WE’VE CREATED!”
August 2021
The couple put conceiving baby No. 3 “on the back burner” while fighting for their marriage, Otis told her Instagram followers. “Mama and daddy are going back to what made us strong in the beginning of our crazy blind marriage,” she captioned PDA pics at the time. “SPOONING on the couch and watching murder mysteries.”
August 2021
“A lot of people don’t see the work put in behind the scenes. I personally can’t imagine a life without Jamie, without this family and I know how great it is and how great it can be and how much we can grow,” Hehner told E! News, noting that the pair “think it’s inspiring” to openly share their struggles with their fans.
September 2021
Otis admitted in a candid Instagram post that she and her husband “have always kept divorce on the table as an option,” but they haven’t needed to go down that road yet. “I’m beyond thankful & blessed they arranged me to be married to @doughehner 7.5 years ago ,” she added. “Not only did I get everything I asked for, but he doesn’t give up easily, he’s willing to listen AND he began couples therapy w me. … We are CHOOSING each other. We are choosing to stay married….and not just for the kids. For us…”
September 2021
The pair took a break from trying to conceive baby No. 3, Otis wrote via Instagram, explaining, “Our life is crazy chaotic, and I want to slow down and build up our marriage first. But don’t wanna wait too long because it took us 18 months to get this little guy and 12 for Gracie.”
October 2021
Us broke the news that Otis and Hehner planned to move into an RV while they worked on their relationship. “We are hoping that by decluttering & simplifying our lives we will be able to strengthen our marriage & focus on what’s most important in life: family & love,” she wrote via Instagram at the time.
December 2021
Otis revealed exclusively to Us that she thought Hehner was cheating on her after finding women’s underwear in her closet that did not belong to her. “It put me over the edge ‘cause I was like, ‘What?’ And I traveled a lot for work and whatnot and so, I was like, ‘Is this something?’” she explained. “But I mean, I had just been on a girls’ trip and we all shared the same laundry.” She ultimately decided that her husband or their nanny likely put the undergarment there “while I was away for work not realizing that it wasn’t mine.” However, Otis indicated that her assumptions hurt Hehner. “I mean, imagine being told that your wife thinks you’re cheating and you haven’t done that. … That’s a tough thing that we’re still kind of working through,” she added.
January 2022
“We decided that we’re going to do the RV thing for a little while and see if we like that. Once we got in the RV, we realized that it wasn’t set up in a way that was suitable for us with kids,” Otis said during an Instagram Q&A, revealing that she and Hehner were on the hunt for a new home in Florida after living in an RV for three months. She further explained that the couple plan to sell their current Florida house in order to find a “forever home that has enough bedrooms for our babies (and our future babies too).”
December 2022
The married couple posed for a silly selfie with Henley and Hendrix.
April 2023
Otis and Hehner celebrated their ninth wedding anniversary on April 5.
“We’ve been married for 9 years.🤯 NINE full years.🙌🏼That’s nearly a full decade!🎉 I kinda can’t even believe it — feels like it was just yesterday I was hunched over in my wedding dress having a panic attack before our wedding reception,” she wrote via Instagram. “The BEST thing about marriage is that you have a life-long partner who stays by your side through thick and thin. You ride every high TOGETHER. And you hold *each other* at every low.”
September 2024
Otis and Hehner welcomed twin sons Huxley and Hawkins on September 20. “This still feels like a dream,” Otis wrote via her Instagram Story. “I genuinely have identical twins!! I literally prayed for this.”
