Fans of Bravo’s hit show Shahs Of Sunset have watched Mike Shouhed, 41, fall in love, get married and then divorced to ex Jessica Parido, 31, on the show, but the former playboy is now happily taken by girlfriend Paulina Ben-Cohen! While the pair are going strong, he’s still nervous about the idea of walking down the aisle again. “I still have some fears of marriage,” Mike told HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY on Feb. 6 when discussing the series’ upcoming eighth season. “We’ve discussed it. My first one didn’t work out the way I would have hoped it would,” he admitted.
With age comes knowledge, and Mike was quick to realize why things didn’t workout the first time around with Jessica — who was heavily featured on earlier seasons of the show. “A lot of things changed after we said our I dos,” Mike revealed. “I have a feeling that marriage changes people, sometimes for the better, a lot of times for the worse. And I’m kind of happy with the way things are going now. So I don’t know if I want to switch into being a married couple necessarily, because we have a respect for each other, we love each other. Our relationship is amazing and I don’t think we need a title like married to signify the love we have for each other,” he gushed.
Though Mike can openly admit his fears, he is also confident in the man he is today versus the one he was years ago. “I’m not the same person I was the first time around,” Mike added. “And there’s a different maturity level with Paulina than there was with Jessica. When we were getting married, she was in her early twenties, we had issues going into the relationship and we thought if we get married, that’ll fix it. And it just magnified the problems. With this relationship, we both knew what we don’t want, what we do want because we’re both divorced, so it’s completely different.”
Mike and Paulina appear extremely in love as she clearly hints in the premiere episode that she is ready for a ring on her finger, so even though afraid, Mike isn’t letting the pressure get to him. “I really don’t know,” Mike said when asked if an engagement is on the horizon. “I can’t predict the future. I’m happy with where I am right now. I love Paulina, I love her kids. They give me life, they give me energy. ‘m just enjoying it one day at a time.”
Shahs Of Sunset premieres on Feb. 9 and will continue to air Sundays at 9pm EST on Bravo.