Married at First Sight alum Stacia Karcher has revealed the real reason why she thinks her marriage to Nate Barnes failed and what she's been up to ever since the divorce.
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Stacia was a 37-year-old accountant and Nate was a 34-year-old day trader when they tied the knot on Married at First Sight's fifteenth season last year.
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The pair chose to stay married on "Decision Day," but Stacia revealed on the Married at First Sight: Kicking Off Nashville special, which aired in December, that Nate was "no longer around" and she was "divorced."
During Wednesday night's episode of Married at First Sight: Afterparty, host Keshia Knight Pulliam asked Stacia what happened with Nate and why she's single again.
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"I think the demise of our relationship, or our marriage, was the maturity level," Stacia claimed.
"The things I was constantly asking about, like, 'Are you willing to have kids in the two years?' It was a lot of mixed signals. It was a lot of, 'I don't want to talk about it.' And I think that that's a clear decision to me."
Keshia pointed out how Nate just isn't Stacia's "person," and Stacia agreed.
As for her current dating life, Stacia revealed how her DMs on Instagram "are full" but just "not full of anything that I'm interested in."
Stacia also said there's "a lot of stuff" on a personal level that she's "going through" right now.
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"I'm looking for my dad," Stacia said of her biological father, whom she's never met.
"I'm going to be writing a book, and I'm thinking about doing my own sex-toy line. So it's a lot of stuff!"
Stacia also said she's "in the process" of freezing her eggs to ensure she can have children in the future.
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On the Kicking Off Nashville special late last year, Stacia explained that Nate had told her what she wanted to hear without putting action behind those words.
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Stacia alleged, for example, that Nate never fully moved into her new house with her.
"I gave it time, I waited, I was patient. I lived with him [in a downtown San Diego apartment] to give him more time and to let him know that I was committed," Stacia explained at the time.
Stacia also suggested that Nate wasn't okay with the fact she made more money than him.
"I don't think he had a problem with me making the money that I made; I just think that he wanted to feel like he was on that same level with me," Stacia said.
But Stacia noted she still wanted "to be friends" with Nate, adding, "I have no ill will toward him. I always will, like love him."
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Stacia, however, confirmed that she no longer felt "romantic love" for Nate and also implied that there's no hope for reconciliation between the former spouses.
"It's friendship-love," Stacia said, adding, "[I closed that door] and I won't go back."
Stacia announced her marriage was over after fans had been speculating about her marriage to Nate for weeks. The pair hadn't posted anything about each other on Instagram since November 17, and even then, they just uploaded the same cast photo from their Married at First Sight season.
On December 20, Nate posted an eyebrow-raising photo of himself dining with another woman on Instagram.
"I'm working on something for all of you. Stay tuned for an announcement. Right place right time, cheers to alignment and abundance," Nate captioned the image.
It's unclear whether Nate's relationship with this woman was strictly business.
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Nate is currently working as a social-media influencer, creating content on investments and buying stocks, exercise, nutrition and more.
Stacia and Nate had a strong physical connection when they wed as strangers on Season 15 of Married at First Sight, which aired in Spring 2022, but Stacia desired more communication and vulnerability from her guarded husband, who often felt like he wasn't enough for her.
Stacia and Nate were still an item by the time they filmed the reunion show weeks after Decision Day.
On the reunion show, Nate and Stacia said they were going back and forth between Nate's city apartment, where he had a lease for eight more months, and Stacia's house in the suburbs. The couple said it was healthy for them to make their own rules.
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Nate gushed about how Stacia was nurturing, independent and responsible. Nate said he loved Stacia and told her that every single day, and Stacia wasted no time in changing her last name from Karcher to Barnes.
However, Nate admitted Stacia needed "a lot of attention," and Stacia complained of her husband, "I want more emotional and mental stimulation... He can't shut down on me."
On the topic of kids, Stacia said "maybe in a year," but Nate apparently wanted to wait two more years.
The Married at First Sight: Where Are They Now? special for Season 15 filmed five months after "Decision Day" but only two weeks after the San Diego reunion special.
Nate and Stacia, who had been together almost every day for six months, said they had stopped seeing each other for two weeks.
Stacia revealed to her mother that she and Nate separated after the reunion special and he was no longer living with her.
"I asked Nate for a separation," Stacia revealed, "or a divorce, I guess."
Stacia explained how she wasn't sure if she was done with Nate or not. She had wanted to move at a faster pace and claimed Nate wanted to slow down after the experiment.
Stacia's mom pointed out how Stacia's pace wasn't normal for most couples, but Stacia said she had done everything possible to make Nate feel comfortable.
Nate was still wearing his wedding ring on the Where Are They Now? special, but he recognized his relationship had broken down over a lack of communication.
"I think it's over. I'm clear-headed, but now I feel like I've lost my wife," Nate lamented.
But Nate surprised Stacia with a DIY yourself project at her home and asked if they could just take their relationship one day at a time, which Stacia found extremely annoying. Stacia said they seemed to fight every time they were together, but she was willing to give Nate another chance.
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