Married at First Sight alum Amber Bowles has announced that she is engaged after her divorce from Matthew Gwynne.
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Amber, 31, took to Instagram on Wednesday, November 15 and posted a carousel of photos from her recent vacation with her boyfriend Kevin, one of which showed off her diamond engagement ring.
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"Love you forever, @k_lal," Amber captioned the post.
Congratulatory messages poured in from the Married at First Sight family.
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"Congrats Amber!!!" wrote Mindy Shiben.
Iris Caldwell commented, "My girl my girl my girl! I love this for you and have told you this from the beginning that everything happens how it's suppose to happen and I am so blessed to see this in action and am so happy for you both. Love ya girl..since day 1."
Noi Phommasak added, "Omg. Congratulations. So happy for you."
And Dr. Viviana Coles, a Married at First Sight expert, gushed, "So happy for y'all!"
Kevin, for his part, posted a similar photo with Amber on the beach and wrote, "I can't wait to marry my best friend! I love you."
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Amber, who starred on Season 9 of Married at First Sight in 2019, replied to Kevin's post, "I love you!!"
Amber and Kevin got engaged during a trip to Grenada, according to Us Weekly.
"On the first date, he asked me my favorite place I've traveled [to] and I said Grenada, and ironically that's his favorite place too!" Amber shared with Us.
"He went to med school there! And we recently planned what I thought was a chill getaway to our favorite place and he proposed on our favorite beach."
She added, "I'm very, very excited and super in shock! I had no idea!"
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Amber said she and Kevin had met on the dating app Hinge and dated for eight months before Kevin popped the question. And Kevin reportedly asked Amber's father for his permission to propose.
The couple's first date was to Amber's favorite pizza spot.
Amber confirmed she was finally divorced from her Married at First Sight stranger husband, Matt, in late 2020.
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Amber, a grade school English teacher, and Matt, a former professional basketball player, were matched by Married at First Sight experts Dr. Viviana, Dr. Pepper Schwartz, and Pastor Calvin Roberson to wed on Season 9 of the show, which was based in Charlotte, NC.
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Amber and Matt's marriage turned out to be disaster, with Amber accusing Matt of cheating on her with multiple women and abandoning her, and so Amber took it upon herself to ask for a divorce on "Decision Day," which aired in September 2019 on Lifetime.
Matt, however, allegedly dragged his feet on signing the divorce papers until the following year.
Amber took to Instagram shortly before the holidays in 2020 to post a Christmas card with her dog Lenny, and an Instagram user asked, "Did that a-hole let you get a divorce yet?!"
"Yes finally!!!" Amber replied in the comments section of her post.
During an April 2020 broadcast of Married at First Sight: Where Are They Now?, Amber revealed that Matt had yet to sign their separation papers and so she wasn't able to proceed with their divorce.
Amber insisted Matt's reluctance to sign was "out of spite and laziness," and she called him a "narcissist sociopath" and "Level 100" douchebag.
However, Amber had said in a subsequent Instagram Q&A session she and her lawyer were going through with the divorce sans Matt's signature and cooperation.
"So Matt actually never signed the divorce papers, but that's okay," Amber shared in her Instagram Stories back in May 2020.
"My lawyers [and I] are just going to pursue an absolute divorce and it's actually easier. I don't need a signature or anything."
Amber said on Married at First Sight: Where Are They Now?, which served as a big reunion for many former MAFS cast members, she had sent three sets of papers to the mailing address Matt had provided for her, all of which went unanswered.
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Matt, who insisted he didn't want to stay married to Amber, then rejected the idea of providing his signature on the spot, claiming he wanted to handle the legal aspect of their separation in a "professional" manner and involve his lawyer.
"I don't want anything from you, I just want a divorce... Just let me move on with my life! That's all I want," Amber vented in frustration at the reunion.
"I'm not trying to be professional; I'm trying to get divorced... We have no cordiality. I'm not friends with you, so I want a f-cking divorce now... He's stupid! He's an ignorant liar!"
When Matt and Amber appeared on the reunion special together, they apparently hadn't spoken to each other in seven months.
Married at First Sight: Where Are They Now? host Kevin Frazier asked Matt what he would've done differently looking back on his Married at First Sight experience, and Matt responded, "I would've been honest from the beginning and said that I just really wasn't into it. I would've walked away earlier."
Amber began dating a new guy whom she had also met on Hinge in late 2019 or early 2020 and the pair went Instagram official in early March 2020. Amber and the man had discussed marriage, but they eventually split.
On Married at First Sight's ninth season, Amber was incredibly attracted to Matt upon first seeing him at the altar on their wedding day, but their chemistry quickly fizzled as Matt lost interest and attraction to his wife.
After the couple enjoyed a romantic and intimate honeymoon and returned to their shared apartment in Charlotte, Matt apparently checked out of his marriage to Amber and began staying out all night and disappearing, sometimes for 24 hours.
Amber never stopped fighting for her marriage, although her efforts were met with rejection and disappointment, until rumors swirled Matt had been unfaithful with more than one woman.
Something that surprised Amber was when she heard Matt call her "clingy" during the Married at First Sight season.
Although she has struggled with abandonment issues due to her mother leaving at a young age, Amber appeared very understanding and patient when Matt would tell her that he needed time alone or with his friends.
Amber said on the "Hey Frase Podcast" in Summer 2020 that Matt totally lacked substance and didn't bring much personality to the table. She even alleged that Matt would only speak to the show's producers when he was drunk.
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Amber also revealed Matt had blocked her on social media after the show wrapped filming.
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