Viewers of The Ultimatum: Marry or Move On are used to couples quitting during the high-stakes choice ceremony that takes place a few episodes into each season. As is tradition, every participant of The Ultimatum Season 3 chooses a new partner for a trial marriage. However, a couple of those trial marriages fell apart quickly — and couples quit. Episode 4, "Ghosted," revealed this update with text on the screen.
"Earlier in the day, Dave [Adams], Vanessa [Hattaway], Micah [Hardeman], and Chanel [Watkins] secretly met off camera. That evening, surveillance cameras captured them packing."
Footage then showed the cast members taking their things out of the apartments. Micah's trial wife Mariah Zernick lived alone after his sudden exit. Vanessa's trial husband, Nick Tramontin, continued the process single. Chanel chose Dave as her trial husband, who also left. What happened and where do those cast members go? Here is everything we know about the shocking turn.
What happened to Vanessa and Dave after The Ultimatum?
Vanessa issued Dave an ultimatum claiming she wanted a partner who was fully committed to her. Dave said marriage wasn’t necessary for him to prove his commitment to her. The couple is on Instagram (@vanessanhattaway, @halfcubandave) and it looks like they continued their relationship after the show. Her last picture with Dave was posted on April 4, 2023. However, he has liked her Instagram posts about traveling to Italy and Joshua Tree this past summer, as well as posts as recent as November.
Viewers commented on Vanessa’s posts about her decision to leave Nick. "I hope you didn’t leave because your ex told you to ... we will see," one person wrote under one of her posts. Dave asked Vanessa to leave before the choice ceremony and she refused in an earlier episode. "I make my own choices," Vanessa replied. E! News reported that she wrote to a fan that her exit was for her health. "I know I just had to do what was best for my mental health," she reportedly commented. "You’re only seeing 1%."
Some people felt bad for Nick who had to move forward in the process alone as his original partner, Sandy Gallagher, was still in a trial marriage with J.R. Warren. Vanessa replied to a fan who said she needed to apologize to Nick. "You don't know what happened behind [the] scenes. I have nothing to apologize for," Vanessa replied. Another person wrote he or she was rooting for Vanessa and Nick. Vanessa responded, "Yikes."
What happened to Micah and Chanel after The Ultimatum?
Chanel gave Micah the ultimatum because he didn’t think it was the right time to get married. She said Micah already called her his wife. He reminded her that she recently got an exciting job and marriage and children could change that. Chanel chose Dave as her trial husband; both left the experiment (see: above). Micah matched with Mariah, who continued alone after Micah and Chanel left.
Unlike Vanessa and Dave, Micah and Chanel don't have Instagram accounts. Chanel is active on TikTok and it looks like she's still with Micah. She posted a video with him on Dec. 8 lip syncing to Kendrick Lamar’s "Peekaboo."
Chanel also posted another TikTok with pictures of the couple together.
A fan commented, "I love how you were getting 'fresh air' [and] Dave was like, 'I gotta make sure you're safe.' Then all 4 of yall got fresh air." She replied, "I love it! Everyone needs a little fresh air," with a laughing emoji.
"When he said you was his best friend I think he truly realized he don't ever need anyone but you," someone else commented. "Clock it," Chanel replied.Â
We have to wait to find out if any of the exiting couples got engaged after they left. Season 2 showed Lisa Horne and Brian Okoye leaving the show early. She gave birth to their baby boy and they got engaged in May 2024. Season 1 showed Hunter Parr proposing to Alexis Maloney early and leaving. They got married in 2022. The Ultimatum showrunner Chris Coelen talked to People about this trend continuing into season 3.
"This was just an unexpected twist that we never could have foreseen, and I don't know that they could have foreseen or [predicted] it was going to go down for them in this particular way," said Coelen. "But I think for the people who do embrace it, they ultimately find it really rewarding and worthwhile, even though it's very, very difficult at times." The showrunner claimed he was OK with participants changing their mind about filming. "Seeing it through the lens of the other participants, I can certainly see why it would make the other participants upset, or frustrated, or betrayed, even," he said. "But we are always supportive of people's choices."
Coelen claimed he spoke on the phone with all the cast members who left except for Micah. The showrunner said he gave Nick and Mariah multiple options to move forward with filming. Episode 5 ended with the men going out together to talk about their trial marriage and the women did the same. Episodes 6 to 8 of The Ultimatum will be released on Netflix on Wednesday, Dec. 11. The trial marriages will end and the original couples will reunite for their trial marriage. The season ends with everyone deciding if they’ll marry their original partner or move on.
