Iyanla Vanzant‘s season 5 premiere for “Fix My Life” was a doozie last night!

It’s been a while since Neffeteria “Neffe” Pugh and Shelby “Soullow” Lowery graced our television screens but the former reality stars, best known for their stint on BET’s “Frankie & Neffe” have returned on a much somber note.

A few weeks back, I posted the teaser video of Neffe & Soullow’s appearance on “Iyanla: Fix My Life” that (click HERE if you missed that)

In part one of the 2-part season premiere, Iyanla travels to Atlanta to visit couple, who are now living in a hotel with their 5 kids and on the brink of divorce.

Recap + watch part 1 of Neffe & Soullow’s appearance on “Iyanla: Fix My Life” below…

VIDEO: Iyanla Fix My Life: Neffe & Soullow (Part 1)

Neffe and Soullow have clearly been suffering financially since their reality tv checks ran out and Soullow, 43, is recovering from a heart attack after being overwhelmed by family drama.

In part 1 of the 2 part episode, Iyanla helps Shelby find the courage to confront Neffe about her alcohol abuse and combative ways in hopes of building a solid future for their family.

Iyanla describes the situation as a “story about reality stars who are not in touch with their own reality”

Neffe and Soullow are living in a hotel room with their 5 kids after losing their home and Soullow revealed that on top of that… Neffe has a drinking problem, spending over $150 dollars a week on booze!

Soullow has chosen to be the sole bread winner in the household, but the demands of their financial obligations and the drama in their marriage has brought the baggage of his past back to the surface.

For the record, both Soullow and Neffe have been THROUGH IT prior to their connection.  While Soullow admits he loved Neffe because she “reminded him of home,” it’s soon revealed that his home life was troubled.

Iyanla notes the couple’s baggage is so similar, that they’re more like room-mates than soul mates.

She notes that “both suffered the trauma of losing children, both were victims of abuse as a child, and neither knows what a functional relationship looks like so they enable each other in being dysfunctional.”

The spiritual life coach also touches on a key factor in their drama filled relationship… the differences in their perceptions of their love story.

Soullow says he loved Neffe when he first saw her (even though she was 7 months pregnant with another man’s child), while Neffe reveals that she fell in love with how kind he was and the way he treated her (or as Iyanlya pointed out, Neffe fell in love with what he did for her).

While it seems that Iyanlya was making some headway with the couple, the episode ended with a cliffhanger of Shelby being in “crisis”. A preview of next week shows him solemnly declaring that he doesn’t want to proceed with their counseling but he apparently stays long enough for Neffe to be called a ‘guttersnipe,’ which will be revealed on part 2).

What did you think of Part 1 of Neffe & Soullow’s appearance on ‘Iyanla: Fix My Life’?