Married at First Sight alum Meka Jones has provided fans with an update on her love life following her divorce from Michael Watson.
|
ADVERTISEMENT
|
RELATED LINK: 'MARRIED AT FIRST SIGHT' COUPLES NOW: WHERE ARE THEY NOW? WHAT COUPLES ARE STILL TOGETHER? WHO BROKE UP? (PHOTOS)
Meka provided commentary on Married at First Sight's Season 14 couples and also shared an update on her current dating life.
"I'm in a new city and state. I live in North Carolina, so that's been good," Meka revealed.
"And [I've got] a new job -- self-care and focusing on me."
When asked if there are any new men in her life, Meka replied coyly, "Maybe!"
Meka's face allowed viewers to believe there is a guy in the picture but she doesn't want to identify him or confirm the relationship.
Meka touched upon problems she had with Michael during their marriage when comparing herself to Season 14 star Noi Phommasak, who wished her husband Steve Moy would get a full-time job and better support her financially.
"I kind of feel like I relate to Noi, because I'm fine with us splitting the bills, but I do want my husband to make more [money] than me. For me, I never wanted to feel like I'm putting so much into this relationship -- I'm pouring so much into this man and I'm paying all the bills, I'm cooking, I'm cleaning. What is he bringing to me?" Meka explained.
"And I think that's where Noi is at. And I think Steve is like, 'It just feels like I'm doing all the chores and when are you going to help?' But I see what she's saying!"
Meka added, "We didn't have a lot of money, so for me, that's terrifying. I worked so hard to get to where I am. I take care of myself."
Meka also reflected back on her own Decision Day, when she opted for a divorce but Michael had asked to stay married.
FOLLOW REALITY TV WORLD ON THE ALL-NEW GOOGLE NEWS!
Reality TV World is now available on the all-new Google News app and website. Click here to visit our Google News page, and then click FOLLOW to add us as a news source!
RELATED LINK: 'MARRIED AT FIRST SIGHT' STAR MICHAEL SEEKING ANNULMENT FROM MEKA CLAIMING SHOW DEFRAUDED HIM INTO MARRIAGE (EXCLUSIVE)
Meka admitted she felt "super nervous" about Decision Day although she had felt "confident" in her choice to divorce Michael after the tumultuous eight-week experiment.
"I was just nervous to have to be mean to somebody and have to hurt their feelings and have to say, 'I don't want to be with you.' That's not an easy conversation to have with somebody," Meka said.
"And then I also had to realize, 'I failed at this thing,' and that was a very hard internal struggle I went through."
Married at First Sight's tenth season filmed in the Washington, D.C. area in 2019 and aired in early 2020.
Meka and Michael's marriage got off to a great start because they were both well-intentioned and attracted to each other, but things came crashing down on Meka quickly when Michael allegedly gave her an ultimatum they needed to have sex on their honeymoon or else he'd want out.
As the season progressed, Meka accused Michael of constantly lying about his job, finances and more. She therefore wanted to end their marriage at the end of the process.
"I still don't know who he is as a person. And honestly, I don't know how much of what he's told me is true and how much of it is not true. So for that reason, I do want a divorce," Meka said during the couple's final meeting with the show's experts.
ADVERTISEMENT
Meka felt like she didn't even know the real Michael at that point. She wasn't sure she could trust her husband and also blamed Michael for not taking accountability for his actions or being considerate of her feelings and needs. She also feared Michael would never change.
On the Season 10 reunion special, Meka had trouble coming up with a single thing she liked about her husband during their relationship.
"I think the reason my marriage didn't work out was because it was built on lies," Meka told E! News in April 2020.
"Michael wasn't honest about who he was and that affected the marriage in a huge way. We had other struggles, of course, but everything else I think we could've overcome."
RELATED LINK: 'MARRIED AT FIRST SIGHT' STAR BRANDON CLAIMS TAYLOR COMMITTED ADULTERY DURING MARRIAGE, ONLY DID SHOW FOR PUBLICITY (EXCLUSIVE)
Michael filed for annulment from Meka on January 21, 2020 claiming he had been defrauded into marriage by Married at First Sight's experts and producers.
According to Michael's court complaint -- which requested an "annulment, or, in the alternative, limited divorce" -- he had been led to believe Married at First Sight's experts intended to match him with someone who would be "compatible with him in order to establish a committed and lasting marriage."
However, the complaint stated Michael now believes he was defrauded by Married at First Sight and the "actual goal" was to put him into a marriage that would create "drama and excitement for television ratings."
If had he been aware of the alleged "actual goal," Michael would not have agreed to participate in Married at First Sight and marry Meka, the filing claimed.
Michael and Meka got married on August 5, 2019 according to his court filing, and "officially separated" on October 1 of that year.
In addition to alleging he was defrauded by the show, Michael's January complaint also claimed he had learned Meka's legal name was actually Kwaneja Jones at the time of their marriage and throughout the Married at First Sight season's production.
Meka had allegedly filed to legally change her name to Meka Jones in May 2019, but the court order finalizing her name change wasn't issued until January 17, 2020.
ADVERTISEMENT
Meka captioned an Instagram video of herself at the time, "MY MARRIAGE IS ANNULLED. Finallyyyyyyyy."
RELATED LINK: '90 DAY FIANCE' COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER? WHO HAS SPLIT? WHERE ARE THEY KNOW? (PHOTOS)
Meka recalled in the video how she had told the judge during the court hearing, "The show put us together because they thought we would be good together because Michael lied about who he is."
"I was like, 'Honestly judge, I don't know if you've ever seen the show, but on the show, it comes out that he's a pathological liar and he lied during our whole marriage. He lied about everything. So the only person that's defrauded in the situation is me, because I was under the impression that this man was the things that he said he was -- and he's none of those things.'"
Meka claimed Michael had lied about his job as a yoga instructor, his salary and income, and things he had said to her family.
"I was like, 'Your Honor, he is convincing. He convinced the producers, he convinced my family, he convinced my friends, he convinced America. And honestly, he just convinced his lawyer that I'm running from charges in another state and that's why I changed my name... If I had open charges, I wouldn't be able to change my name,'" Meka shared in her Instagram video.
"[I said], 'So for them to say that [I'm running from something] when I've never been arrested... and that's why I changed my name, like, don't ever put an allegation like that on me. That is something serious. That could mess up my reputation.'"
Meka also said Michael claimed that he had been recruited to appear on Married at First Sight and "didn't know what he was signing up for."
"[Michael said] none of it was real and he had never watched the show and so he had no idea what was happening," Meka shared with her followers, flashing a look of skepticism on her face.
Meka apparently argued in court their wedding looked real on TV because it was real and not just for drama and ratings.
"I was like, 'Look, I will take whatever I can get at this point. I just want to be done with this situation. So if we get an annulment, great," she said at the time.
ADVERTISEMENT
"At the end of it, the judge was like, 'I am going to give you an annulment.'"
RELATED: 'MARRIED AT FIRST SIGHT' COUPLES NOW: WHERE ARE THEY NOW? WHO IS STILL TOGETHER? WHO HAS RE-MARRIED? (PHOTOS)
Interested in more Married at First Sight news? Join our Married at First Sight Facebook Group!
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
