Rae Says She’s ‘Not Proud’ of Punching Zay

• The seventh episode of Netflix’s “The Ultimatum” features a physical altercation between one couple.

• The new reality dating show stars couples deciding whether to marry or break up as they date others.
• Rae Williams, who issued an ultimatum to her boyfriend Zay Wilson, told Insider she’s “not proud” of hitting him.

Rae Williams, one of the stars of

Netflix

‘s new reality dating show “The Ultimatum,” said she’s “not proud” of hitting her boyfriend, Zay Wilson, while the two were arguing during filming.

“The Ultimatum” follows six couples where one person knows they want to get married and the other is unsure. During the series, the participants choose a new partner from one of the other couples to have a “trial marriage” and live with that person. After three weeks with their new partner, they are reunited with their original partner for a second “trial marriage,” where they ultimately decide if they are better off with their original partner, in a new relationship with their trial partner, or alone.

In the first episode, Rae issued an ultimatum to Zay, demanding that he put a ring on her finger or lose her forever. But during the course of the season — and after an unexpected connection with her trial marriage partner, Jake Cunningham, who was given an ultimatum by his girlfriend, April Marie — Rae realized she was not prepared to marry Zay after all.

Once they were reunited after their trial marriages with others, tension escalated between Rae and Zay when she told him she was “not ready to be engaged.” In response, Zay stayed out all night, and when he returned the following morning, she told him, “I don’t want to be with you any more.”

Rae explained her decision to dump Zay in episode seven in an interview with Insider earlier this month.

“When he didn’t come home, I immediately knew, ‘This is not the man for me,'” she said. “To do that in privacy would’ve been awful. To do that in the situation that we were in, with all that was going on — he just should have came home.”

Rae also disagreed with her partner’s belief that she “should have just not reacted” to his choice to stay out all night after their argument. “I literally couldn’t hold back my reaction,” she told Insider. “I think if I stayed out all night and came home that Zay would literally never speak to me again. That would not be okay.”

Rae added: “Why should I accept it? If I know that he wouldn’t accept that behavior from me.”

Rae and Zay’s argument continued off-camera and, according to Rae, turned physical

In the episode, Zay attempted to continue the conversation after Rae dumped him, but Rae told him she was “done.” He can be seen trying to stop her from leaving on camera before the two walk out of frame. The majority of the argument is then presented to the audience through audio and captions while the two aren’t visible on-screen.

Rae told Insider she “punched” Zay shortly after they moved off camera and also alleged that Zay shoved her.

Representatives for Zay at Netflix didn’t immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.

“I’m very upset about that. I’m not proud of my behavior,” she said. “I regret us shoving each other. I regret putting my hands on him. I punched him in the shoulder, and it didn’t leave a mark or anything. It didn’t injure him like that, but I shouldn’t have done it. Nobody should ever put their hands on someone else.”

Earlier in the season, Zay participated in another heated altercation with his trial marriage partner, cast member Shanique Brown, when she critiqued his communication skills and asked him to not to raise his voice at her, though that argument didn’t turn physical.

During the aftermath of his argument with Rae, Zay sat on the floor and told the camera, “I was out all night. I was wrong. Whatever.”

“But what do you expect when I’m getting shut out,” he continued.

“When you guys watch the show, just know that you’re seeing everybody at their absolute lowest point,” Rae told Insider. “Stress is high. Tension’s high. Everything is being captured 24/7. You are connecting with somebody else very quickly, at the same time while worrying about the person that you came with connecting with somebody else.”

“I was really having a hard time,” she added.

Rae said she wishes she would have been more receptive in some of their discussions: “I should have fought to continue to be more open with him even when it was difficult. I wish that I had pushed through and continued having those hard conversations, even though I didn’t appreciate the way he would respond to me sometimes.”

The first eight episodes of “The Ultimatum” are currently

streaming

on Netflix. Episodes nine and ten premiere on April 13.