First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes…
But Madlyn stepped all the way back in after Colby proposed on the season finale.
What’s the latest with the ever-expanding family?
Colby Kissinger and Madlyn Ballatori on ‘The Ultimatum’.Netflix
What made Madlyn say yestwice?And what was it like watching it all play back on TV?
(Also check out ourfinale/reunion interview with Shanique and Randall.)
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: First off, congratulations on the baby!
Colby Kissinger on ‘The Ultimatum’.Netflix
COLBY KISSINGER:Thank you.
Yeah, it’s been crazy with everything.
You did not waste any time.
Randall Griffin and Madlyn Ballatori on ‘The Ultimatum’.Netflix
Give me the timeline.
When is the baby due?
So this time last year, we’re kind of wrapping things up with everything during filming.
Colby Kissinger and Madlyn Ballatori on ‘The Ultimatum’.Netflix
I always say we, right?
How do you feel about that?
It’s a little nerve-racking.
The closer we get to the date, the more real it gets.
So let’s talk about the show.
From what we saw during the process, Madlyn did not always seem sold on you.
So what was your feeling going into Ultimatum day?
Did you wake up knowing she was going to say yes, or hoping, or not knowing?
It’s good for showbiz and everything.
And no one really sees that throughout the show.
They’re complete opposites, doesn’t make sense.
And those moments that they show were the only moments that ever happened.
Welcome to reality TV.
So it’s pretty crazy.
We had some heart-to-hearts, and even the other people in the cast were helping us through this.
I think I was still 50-50 going into that day.
Her biggest issue, obviously, was me admitting my wrongs.
What she’s been wanting from me, I’m now willing to give and am ready for.
And I want to start this journey.
I wanted to start it a year ago, butThe Ultimatumis where it had to happen.
So you were 50-50 on whether she’d say yes to the engagement.
What about the immediate marriage?
How were you feeling that was going to come out?
[Laughs]That was going out on a limb, I’m not going to lie to you.
The engagement, we knew we were going to get engaged.
I was very confident in that.
The whole marriage thing, I was like, “Look, we got a stage.
We got a platform here.
Let’s use it.
And thank the Lord she said “yes.”
Tell me about the experience of watching the show play back.
Did you guys watch all the episodes together?
So originally, we didn’t get to watch it together.
All couples were actually isolated, I believe.
And that’s when we went into the reunion to talk about things.
The show was actually an individual experience, to be honest.
Me and Madlyn, like I said, had a good communication base.
So although we talked about it, seeing it was a completely different thing.
Hearing it from the horse’s mouth is what my family has always said.
And that’s one thing that I have stayed true to, especially with Madlyn.
So they basically sequestered you each before the reunion taped, and you each binged the season by yourself.
So yeah, it is an interesting way to do it.
But from the reunion, you saw why they did that.
[Laughs]Pretty crazy.
They know what they’re doing.
So, you and April kind of ended upstuck with each otherin your trial marriage.
But at the very end, we saw you making out in the bed together.
However, that was never really addressed on the show after that.
So what exactly happened there?
Was there any aftermath with that?
So a lot of that was, we obviously had the energy.
Our energy is matched.
We had very similar personalities, very outgoing, kind of out-there personalities.
Not to a deep level, but it was definitely a match of some sort.
More friendship than anything.
But we were wanting to say, “All right.
And so that’s what we did.
You’re an awesome person.
Thank you for the experience.
We’ve both grown from each other, but there’s obviously nothing more than that.”
What about for the flip side with Madlyn?
Do you think she was ever seriously in any way considering a path with Randall?
Or was that just sort of a nice relationship holiday for her?
Yeah, I think that’s a good way to put it.
Madlyn’s just a different breed.
I don’t think there was ever any real passion, any real love behind it all.
So I think she got the experience.
She was really working it.
I was just trying to stay as honest and true to myself that I possibly could.
And in the end, truth always will kind of prevail itself.
So in the end, I really had no sweat.
No, that was fresh.
That was fresh for everybody, even forNickandVanessa [Lachey].
It was kind of crazy.
I do know that after the reunion, they gave us the little gift that you saw.
And me walking in there, “This is what I did.
I did this.”
I was too happy to tell everybody.
I think things became pretty clear midway through the show.
You could really start seeing the gravitational pull between couples and the ones choosing to go opposite ways.
That was the last thing I heard.
I was like, “What?”
I was like, “Y’all did a whole ‘nother show without us?
“[Laughs]like, what the heck?
I’m just as shocked as y’all.
What did you make of all that drama between Rae and Zay at the reunion?
You all were sitting in between them.
Madlyn started crying right next to me because it was getting so heated.
I mean, it got to the point where it got pretty aggressive.
Things had to shut down for a minute to where people could have a cool off break.
And we kind of saw that coming.
I think Rae has been wanting to express that for a long time.
She was just waiting for the right moment to kind of speak her end where she felt most comfortable.
We will be those people for you.”
I went to make it very clear to everybody this is who I am now.”
I’m happy the way she handled it.
Okay, I saved the most important question for last: How many robes do you own, exactly?
[Laughs]Yeah, robes or hats, that’s the question.
I’ve always been a big fan of robes.
It’s always been something that me and my family do every Christmas.
We always attempt to get a robe or matching pair of pajamas, stuff like that.
It’s just a fun family thing that we have between the group.
But to give you a number… [holds up three fingers].
This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
All nine episodes, plus the reunion, ofThe Ultimatumare streaming now on Netflix.
