Hiccorohee Confesses Past Romance "Beaten Up by Ex-Boyfriend" / "I Don't Want to Pay Rent..." Stay-at-Home Wife Hopeful & Foreign IT Worker Boyfriend Clash Over Cohabitation | "Sayonara Propose via Australia" Episode 5

The new future of TV, "ABEMA," broadcasted Episode 5 of the "ABEMA" original marriage-decision reality show "Sayonara Propose via Australia" at 9:00 PM on Thursday, April 2, 2026, and began offering free catch-up streaming immediately after the broadcast.

■ What is "Sayonara Propose via Australia"?
This work is the most bittersweet and love-filled marriage-decision reality show, where couples who have been dating but cannot quite commit to marriage go on a 7-day overseas trip and must definitely decide to either "marry" or "break up" on the final day. Amidst the diversifying values regarding marriage in recent years, the show peeks into the realistic misunderstandings and true feelings glimpsed from couples facing "marriage" or a "breakup," and watches over their growth and decisions.

In the latest installment, "Sayonara Propose via Australia," set against the backdrop of Australia's magnificent nature and sense of liberation, three couples—the most in the series' history—will participate. Appearing in the new season are three couples: 29-year-old Naoki, who works at a foreign IT company and expects his partner to be independent, and his 28-year-old girlfriend Rino, who hopes to be a stay-at-home wife in the future; 39-year-old Kenshi, a company manager who has experienced two divorces and lost his desire to marry, and his 31-year-old girlfriend Sachie, who can no longer trust him due to his past actions; and 30-year-old Yuki, who cannot commit to marriage, and his 29-year-old girlfriend Luna, who desires to marry by the time she turns 30. Serving as studio observers are Sayaka's Niiyama, Hiccorohee, Miki Fujimoto, Dori Sakurada, and Yuchami.

■ 39-Year-Old Boyfriend with 2 Divorces and Children: Studio Holds Breath as He Makes a Decision Regarding His Relationship with His Girlfriend Amidst Continuing Misunderstandings
39-year-old Kenshi, a company manager who is cautious about marriage after experiencing two divorces and not wanting to fail the next time, and 31-year-old Sachie, who cannot fully trust him due to past trauma.

In Episode 5, broadcast on Thursday, April 2, the couple reaches the day of the "midterm decision" to decide whether to continue the journey or break up, and the two discuss their future by the river. Sachie, who says she spent a sleepless night without reaching a conclusion, hopes to continue, saying, "I hadn't quite conveyed my feelings enough, so I want to continue the journey." On the other hand, Kenshi touches upon the fact that they had another fierce argument during dinner the previous night between the "emotional Sachie" and the "logically discussing Kenshi," and frankly reveals his inner thoughts: "It's not that your feelings of being there for me never happened, but I'm still very anxious. If things stay like this, I can't find the resolve to get married." In the tense atmosphere foreshadowing a breakup, studio observers like Yuchami and Miki Fujimoto watch with bated breath, reacting with, "Wait!? Which one?" and "You have to talk everything out first..."

However, Kenshi proposes to continue, saying, "It's been 10 years since we met, and I want to move on to the next step a little more and face Sachie more properly." Sachie nods, and the two decide to proceed to the next destination together, meaning all three couples will continue the journey together. Voices of relief saying, "Oh! Thank goodness," rose from the studio.

In a subsequent interview, Kenshi confesses his severe resolve precisely because the next will be his third marriage: "The areas that are problems haven't changed at all. If we can't accept each other, I think breaking up is really the only option." Sachie also renews her determination, saying, "I know his feelings are quite severe right now, so I have anxieties, but nothing will start unless we face each other. Since this will be his third marriage, I want to have discussions where we can think forward together."

■ "I Don't Want to Pay Rent..." Stay-at-Home Wife Hopeful and Foreign IT Worker Boyfriend Clash Over Cohabitation
The couple consisting of Naoki, who works at a foreign IT company, and Rino, who hopes to be a stay-at-home wife in the future, face real issues regarding their future vision and "money" head-on over dinner. To Rino, who reveals, "I had vaguely imagined a future where I'd become a stay-at-home wife," Naoki, who ideals a married life where both are independent, expresses his anxieties about marriage due to Rino's spendthrift tendencies and her remark about cohabiting: "I don't really want to pay rent." Rino, on the other hand, clashes with her true feelings, saying she wasn't convinced about splitting the rent because she was moving into Naoki's owned home, stating, "I thought it would be fine if I took on the share of doing housework and laundry instead."

Regarding this difference in values surrounding money and independence, studio observer Yuchami sympathizes with Rino, saying, "If it was a rental, I'd pay, but if it's a mortgage (for the boyfriend's house), I absolutely don't want to pay." When Hiccorohee plays the role of the boyfriend and simulates cohabitation by asking, "Give me 100,000 yen," Yuchami draws laughter from the studio by saying, "I might say, 'Aren't a mortgage and a rental different?'" Meanwhile, Dori Sakurada calmly analyzed Naoki's true intentions, saying, "What Naoki wants is sincerity, and perhaps he has a desire for her to be independent without relying on him."

■ Hiccorohee Confesses Past Romance "Beaten Up by Ex-Boyfriend"
Furthermore, during the studio talk, there was a moment where studio observer Hiccorohee candidly confessed a past romance episode. On the topic of having lost a partner's trust in the past, Hiccorohee revealed, "When I was about 20, my boyfriend at the time told me 'mahjong parlors are banned,' but I lied and went to one." One dawn, when she came out of the mahjong parlor, her boyfriend was apparently waiting for her with his arms crossed, and she shocked the studio by stating, "Along with the dazzling morning sun and the chirping of sparrows, I was beaten up by my boyfriend in front of the mahjong parlor." While admitting her own fault, Hiccorohee recounted, "He told me a lot then. Things like, 'Because there's no trust.' So ever since then, I just did exactly what I was told," drawing voices of surprise from studio members like Yuchami and Miki Fujimoto.