MAFS: Michael Worries New Wife Chloe Doesn’t ‘Want to Be with Me’ After She Asks for Time Apart (Exclusive)

Michael is feeling some newlywed nerves.

In PEOPLE’s exclusive sneak peek at this week’s episode of Married at First Sight, the 38-year-old starts getting worried about his new wife, Chloe, after she admits to needing some time on her own.

“So what I was thinking about was taking just the next few days to be at home with [my animals],” Chloe, a 39-year-old Senior Director of Development, says. “It has been go, go, go. I feel like everything is moving so quickly, we don’t actually have an opportunity to just process.”

“That’s true,” Michael says, agreeing with his wife, as she continues to explain the reasoning behind her decision.

“Being together all the time – we don’t have a chance to think. We don’t have a chance to feel,” Chloe says. “And I’m this deeply introverted person who needs a lot of alone time and a lot of silence to feel like I am listening to my own needs.”

She believes they “need that time” apart to “give us a chance to kind of take a deep breath” — but Michael has his doubts.

“I am a little surprised that Chloe’s gonna go home and spend time with her animals,” Michael, who was left at the altar by an unidentified bride who got cold feet earlier this season, admits in a confessional.

“I do want her to know, though, that I support whatever she feels is best for her, but I can’t help but wonder if there’s something that’s bothering Chloe,” he continues. “Like, ‘Oh well, wait a minute. Do you not wanna hang out with me? Do you not want to be with me?’ All of those things creep into my mind.”

Chloe’s desire for time apart from her husband comes after she admitted last week that Michael’s sense of style is giving her the ick.

She told her costars Lauren, Clare and Emily that it’s “fun to watch” his fashion choices, “but when it comes to the sexual attraction, having that flair and that really fashion-forward personality has been a challenge for me, which is hard.”

She struggled to decide how to let Michael know he was “triggering” her, particularly after the events of the prior episode, where he had revealed his extensive skirt collection to her — and tried on some of her jewelry.

“Before I was a married woman, I never romantically entertained a man that leans into his feminine side,” she admitted. “I’m definitely not sure how I feel about it yet. I’m taking it one day at a time.”

Despite not being totally sure how she feels about being “married to a man who owns more skirts than I do,” Chloe told Pastor Calvin Roberson that she’s committed to giving their relationship a try.

“What you’ve given me is a man I never would have chosen for myself, truthfully,” she said. “We are not two people coming together where I’d say, ‘I would’ve picked you out in a bar,’ and truthfully, I asked for that man who has a heart of gold and that’s the man you gave me.”

She continued, “It’s just, he’s vastly different from any other man I’ve ever been in a relationship with, dated, or interacted with romantically in any way, shape and form, truthfully. And so, a man who leans so heavily into his feminine side, it’s just new territory for me to navigate… It just takes time.”

Despite being left at the altar once, Michael has been more than keen on the idea from the start. Ahead of his wedding to Chloe, he told PEOPLE, “I am definitely thankful and excited for this second chance at being married at first sight. I am optimistic that everything will work out beautifully but that optimism is lined with caution.”

He added, “I know what the worst case scenario feels like and it would be disingenuous of me to not acknowledge that.”

Chloe on the other hand was feeling “super anxious and a little scared” in the lead-up to their wedding.

“The idea of legally marrying a man I’ve never met is wild, but I believe in the process and I know the experts have matched me with someone they believe in, too.”