'Married at First Sight: Denver Reunion' features explosive accusations and cheating claims

Married at First Sight: Denver Reunion Part 1 featured explosive accusations and shocking confessions, including almost the entire cast of couples admitting they had faked storylines for TV during the Season 17 episode that aired Wednesday night on Lifetime.


Married at First Sight's seventeenth season was filmed in Denver, CO, and the show stars Emily and Brennan, Clare and Cameron, Austin and Becca, Lauren and Orion, and Michael and Chloe.

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The couples were matched by Married at First Sight experts Dr. Pia, Pastor Calvin Roberson, and Dr. Pepper Schwartz.

Orion and Lauren chose to divorce early in the process, and then Michael and Chloe got married much later into the process than the other four couples.


On "Decision Day," three couples -- Clare and Cameron, Emily and Brennan, and Michael and Chloe -- chose to divorce. Becca and Austin opted to stay together on Decision Day, however, they split the very next day after a big argument.

The Married at First Sight reunion was hosted by Kevin Frazier, and he called this season "the most contentious" one ever. The couples even refused to sit with one another on the stage.

All of the ladies, except for Chloe, wore pink in solidarity and to show their strength and bond. They all claimed their husbands cared more about the "optics" of how they'd look on TV instead of their marriages.

"At the end of the day, I feel like we just got a bad batch of men," Lauren announced at the reunion.

Emily added, "I think we're happy that we didn't [have sex]... They didn't deserve it."


Below is what happened on Part 1 of the Married at First Sight: Denver Reunion.

THE WOMEN BLAME THE MEN FOR CREATING FAKE STORYLINES

Emily -- who was finally out of her cast and healing after plastic surgery -- accused Brennan and Cameron of running away and hiding from their problems.

Emily claimed Cameron had checked out of his marriage once he determined he wasn't attracted to Clare, which left her in a very vulnerable spot.

"Did you pull [Clare] aside and say, 'I'm not attracted to you?'" Kevin asked Cameron.

"Absolutely not," Cameron replied.


"Yes you did," Emily and Clare argued in sync.

Lauren announced how there were "liars and truth tellers" in the group, and then Becca claimed the women had been "perpetually lied to multiple times" and only they knew the truth.

Emily also said the men had silenced the women, and she cited an example of Brennan asking her to delete one of her Diary Cams. She felt Brennan had been controlling in their marriage, but Brennan insisted he had asked -- rather than told -- Emily to delete a Diary Cam in which she was bashing him.

"We talked about how there were things we wanted on-camera and things we don't. We all [did that]. None of us have ever been on a reality show. We had no idea what to expect, so we thought, 'Let's all band together. Let's not give the producers the control to spin the narrative however they want,'" Brennan explained.

"We were like, 'Let's take control for ourselves and tell the story how we want to. Our goals, collectively, was to get through this... Was it wrong [to come up with a plan]? Maybe. But we all agreed."


Brennan admitted while the men had brought up the idea to essentially put on a fake show, the women went along with it -- and so he believed they were equally to blame for the mess they were all in.

"All of a sudden it's all of our faults? You can't have your cake and eat it too," Brennan announced.

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Becca said each marriage should have taken priority over the strategy, and she explained how the men were concerned with looking good and getting Instagram followings or business advantages after the show.

Orion declared that he had joined the show to get married, but Lauren disagreed, claiming Orion had confessed to signing up for the show for "selfish reasons." Orion had allegedly told Lauren that he wanted to highlight his community and his indigenous people, and Lauren felt like his "consolation prize."


Orion said he had called Married at First Sight "a platform" but all he meant by that was he wanted to create a beautiful love story with his wife. Austin also insisted he didn't care about being on TV or having social-media followers.

Kevin pointed out how all this plotting and planning "screwed up" the experiment for them all.

"When you try to deceive the process, you end up getting screwed!" Kevin scolded the cast.

Emily revealed Cameron was "the initiator" of all the scheming and plotting, and Lauren said she would back up that allegation based on what Cameron had said when he approached her privately off-camera. Cameron allegedly pitched a way to "get out of this" scot-free for Lauren.

Clare acknowledged she had followed Cameron's lead and gone along with it because she wanted to please him and do right by him.

"You were the master and I was the puppet," Clare alleged.


"I was the puppet," Cameron countered. "This is my first experience with being gaslit like this, in my entire life. 'Please take the lead, Cameron, I don't know how to do this on my own.'"

CAMERON ACCUSES CLARE OF HAVING A BOYFRIEND DURING FILMING

Clare insisted she had been "manipulated" by Cameron, but Cameron claimed he had gotten what he wanted in a match and Clare didn't.

"Things were rocky from Day 1, but things took a turn pretty badly and pretty quickly," Cameron shared.

"The second night after the honeymoon and hours of crying, Clare shared that she was in love with her boyfriend. And I say 'boyfriend' because my understanding was that it was active. You were f-cking someone else!"

Clare cupped her hands over her mouth and appeared absolutely shocked. She pointed at Cameron and announced, "You are lying! You are making things up!"

"You told me you had sex with him right before the wedding, and not only that, that you were in love. Those were your words," Cameron said.


Clare insisted she didn't have a boyfriend during filming and this man was in her life a full year before filming.

Clare went on to explain, in her opinion, what happened the night after the wedding.

"[Cameron] was talking on and on about how no one got what they wanted with their matches. Brennan didn't get this, Austin didn't get that, on and on, and [he] didn't get what he wanted... He said, 'I asked Pastor Cal for someone tall and slender,'" Clare recalled, adding how she didn't think she fit that description.

"That is offensive... That should've never been a conversation brought up. And then on the way out of the honeymoon, he sends me a text and says, 'I know a way out of this. We can act like this never happened, if you want that to be the case.'"

Cameron said he was giving Clare an out if she wanted it but that he truly wanted to be married to her. Cameron argued that Clare wasn't attracted to him at all, but Clare announced, "I was!"

"That's the first time she ever said that," Cameron told Kevin.


Cameron said Clare asked him how they could admit to the cameras they weren't attracted to each other in a way that made sense. Cameron claimed Clare was "scared of the optics" and listed reasons why he couldn't tell the truth about her and their relationship.

"Sorry, that's exactly what you did to her," Becca interjected.

"Now do you understand gaslighting?" Cameron snapped at Becca. "I went along with it, and we were in it together."

Kevin asked for clarification from the group, "What we saw was never authentic?"

"It was not, and that's the saddest part of it," Clare responded.

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Clare told Kevin that she went along with fulfilling a narrative that Cameron wanted because he wanted to leave, but then Cameron noted how he didn't know what to do because he was in a marriage with someone who hated and "despised" him.

Michael and Chloe apparently had the only authentic relationship given they had gotten married after the cast's "strategy session."

CAMERON AND CLARE'S RELATIONSHIP WAS ALL AN ACT

Cameron and Clare then filmed a segment with Kevin alone.

Clare shared how she was very happy with her match on her wedding day. Clare said she was attracted to Cameron but once he made that "slender" comment on Day 2, she began to put up walls and pull away from him in order to protect herself.

Clare said there were other passive aggressive comments that bothered her as well and he made her feel "invisible" at times.

Cameron told Clare that telling the truth would've been easier, and then he claimed he had told Clare multiple times -- from Day 1 -- that he was attracted to her. Clare, however, disagreed and recalled Cameron only telling her one time, "I like your ass," which didn't exactly make her swoon.


The pair then fought about whether or not Clare had visited Cameron following his heart surgery. Cameron said Clare canceled on him multiple times, but Clare argued that Cameron wanted nothing to do with her and didn't answer her phone calls.

"I was dealing with two different human beings -- the one that was strategizing and the one that was executing. I still don't know who you are. I don't. I really don't," Clare announced.

CAMERON ASKS CLARE FOR A SECOND CHANCE

Cameron recalled there being "a glimpse of what could've been" about halfway through the process, and he admitted he wondered if they had thrown something away when they could've had a great relationship.

"Why don't we have a chance?" Cameron asked Clare.

"So you're saying you want to give it a try now?" Kevin interjected.

"There were a lot of things that had to happen for me to marry Clare, that were serendipitous. It was a one-in-a-billion chance, and... if marrying Clare was good luck, it does seem pretty dumb to just be like, 'Fine, it's over. It's done,'" Cameron explained.


Cameron admitted he wanted to "start fresh" with the "opportunity to try again," but Clare clearly wasn't interested.

Clare said if Cameron had been truthful that day and took accountability for things, maybe she'd be up for trying again. However, she said he had not done those things.

"I don't know who you are outside of the lies, the manipulation, and the control," Clare told her estranged husband.

"Six weeks ago, you asked to get back together, but moments before, you called me a sociopath... and then five minutes later, you say, 'I'm still in love with you.'"

Clare questioned if Cameron was ever really in love with her, adding, "If he loved me, he would have treated me so differently. Had strategizing not been a part of our story, we could've made this work."

Kevin asked the pair to put all the crap in the past, but Clare said she just couldn't trust Cameron again. Cameron asked Clare if he could earn that trust back, but she responded, "You haven't shown me that you're deserving. And you convincing me to stay with you is part of your manipulation tactics."


Clare claimed that she felt manipulated by Cameron in every single conversation that they had, and she added how he was "condescending."

Clare said if Cameron really cared about her, he would show her that off-camera. Clare was ready to put this relationship behind her; she didn't want to put herself back into a toxic situation.

Cameron said he understood where Clare was coming from but it sucked how she had been dragging him along for weeks.

On a happier note, Clare was about to graduate from her Master's program, and she announced how she was dating someone new and things were going very well and she was happy.

Cameron shared how he was working a new job in finance and wished the best for Clare, even if that meant being removed from him. And Clare thanked him for that.

BECCA DIDN'T KNOW THE REAL AUSTIN

Becca shared how she didn't know what was real with Austin as a result of the storylines they had concocted and she really regretted not being herself and letting things unfold in a genuine way during the experiment.


Becca said she did whatever Austin had told her to do, but Austin pointed out how he thought they were a team during the show and were maneuvering in a way they both felt comfortable.

"I was in this 100 percent. I wanted a wife," Austin insisted.

"With me?" Becca asked.

"Yes," Austin confirmed. "[And] I was attracted to Becca. I'm not still attracted to her, but I was."

Becca said she and Austin had a pack at the beginning of the show that it would be them against everything else, but then the teamwork started to misalign when Austin "was lying to me."

Becca confirmed she and Austin did have real moments but Austin struggled to express how he felt about her and it took a lot of effort on his part to act "lovey" with her.


Austin explained how filming took a lot of time and energy out of him and he found it exhausting, which affected how he treated and interacted with Becca.

Becca said Austin would talk on-camera about progressing their intimacy but then nothing would happen off-camera. Becca admitted she felt like she was living in a fantasy and it started to break her along the way.

Becca recalled that at one point, she started to be honest on-camera and talk about her fights with the experts instead of pretending that things were fine and normal all the time. But by that time, she didn't know where Austin stood with her.

On the topic of intimacy, Austin claimed he was never intentionally avoiding it. Austin said once he and Becca kept talking about how sex was an issue, it added pressure and anxiety to something he had been hoping would happen organically.

Austin said on Married at First Sight: Afterparty that he typically waited six months into a relationship before having sex, and Becca said she wished Austin had told her that. Becca allegedly asked Austin that question multiple times and never got a straightforward answer.

"On-camera, you were telling me you want to work for it and do these things, then off-camera, you weren't. What you feel like was pressure was me following the carrot that you were dangling," Becca told Austin.


"[You once] pushed me off of you and called me 'a horny girl,' and I even asked after a hot tub one night if we could shower with our bathing suits on, and you said, 'No.' It wasn't about sex, it was about intimacy... also emotional [intimacy]."

Austin apologized to Becca for not giving her what she needed, but he felt they had emotional intimacy and were "physically into each other." Becca, however, said she led those discussions and moments while he avoided them.

Austin said once he felt ready to have sex, a wedge was slammed between them -- and it was all the talk of being more physically intimate.

"To me, the wedge was you going out with that producer and lying about it," Becca said.

"Fair," Austin noted.

When asked why he didn't invite Becca to the outing with the producer, Austin said it was a stupid move on his part. Austin claimed he never viewed the outing as a celebration, something his wife should've been a part of, but he owned up to making a mistake.


Becca admitted she had suffered through her marriage, and she noted how they were never the right partner for each other. Becca told Austin that he still had growing to do and he wasn't ready to be married to someone like her. She wants a man who will desire her and be honest with her.

Becca confirmed there was no chance of reconciling with Austin, who acknowledged that it was okay for them to go their separate ways.

Austin said he had gone on dates after Married at First Sight, but Becca wasn't dating at all yet.

Becca confessed it would probably take two or three years for her and Austin to have a good conversation and potentially become friends again.

"I feel there was a little bit of honesty here... and that's too bad," Kevin concluded.

"I'm being honest, you're questioning my honesty, which is offensive," Austin countered to the host.


"I know you think that I've just got a bunch of cards in my hand and that I don't know what's happening, but I'm part of this process," Kevin told Austin in reply.

Once the pair left the stage, Austin thanked Becca offstage for not going even harder on him. Becca, Clare and Emily agreed that Austin is a good person.

MICHAEL EXPLAINS WHY HE DIVORCED CHLOE

Michael and Chloe had a wonderful first impression of each other, and Chloe said there was nothing -- other than maybe being matched with "a monster" -- that was going to deter her from saying "yes" to her partner on Decision Day.

Chloe said she had decided to fully commit herself to this process and to her husband.

When Chloe left the filming process for a few days and went back to her own apartment after her honeymoon with Michael, she admitted that she wished Michael would have asked her to stay.

"I was not feeling, up to that point, that Michael was actually invested in this marriage. I feel like Michael had his own reasons coming in, but they weren't to be married to me," Chloe alleged.


Chloe cited a couple of examples of Michael's questionable intentions. She said not only did Michael's mother not know about his marriage, but Michael also told her that there would be no reason to change her last name.

Michael explained that he just didn't care what name Chloe chose for herself and that he didn't want to involve his mother until the end, given she had her concerns and worries about Married at First Sight to begin with and his first match jilted him at the altar.

Kevin flat out asked Michael why he didn't want to remain married to Chloe, and Chloe gave Michael the floor to say what's on his mind.

"You're not going to hurt my feelings. Just say it!" Chloe told Michael.

"I didn't have a list of things I could pinpoint to Chloe specifically... It's not because of her. That's the problem," Michael said.

Kevin asked Michael if he just didn't want to be married, and Chloe nodded her head "yes." Michael, however, claimed that wasn't true.


"I didn't think we built a strong enough foundation to stay married after Decision Day," Michael said.

"Michael wasn't committed enough to say, 'We're going to give this 100 percent until we decide we're not right for each other,'" Chloe explained.

Michael admitted he should've been more transparent about his struggles with Chloe throughout the process.

"I regret saying no on Decision Day," Michael confessed to Kevin. "I wish I was in a place where I felt more comfortable saying yes... I regret that's how I felt. I do regret not giving it a try."

Chloe, however, said she doesn't want a second chance with Michael because what is meant for her will never pass her. Chloe said Michael saying "no" to her on Decision Day proved that he's "not it" for her and she has no regret there.

Chloe hadn't met another man yet, but she said she's hoping to find her soul mate in the future -- and that person isn't Michael, who was also not dating someone at the moment.


But the couple was still on good terms, and Chloe thanked Michael for a wonderful journey and for teaching her what she needs and deserves in her future marriage. Chloe found this to be a transformative experience, and she noted that she would do it all again.

BRENNAN ADMITS HE FELT "SLIGHTED" BY THE EXPERTS

Emily clarified how she didn't ask Brennan to leave their apartment over his alleged desire to go on a double date with Cameron.

"I found out he was texting Clare's friends and he was trying to hook up with my best friend," Emily told Kevin of Brennan.

"It was about him not being a part of the process from the beginning."

Brennan then announced how he and Emily simply "weren't a match" for one another.

"There were just differences in our lifestyles and differences in what we wanted," Brennan said. "So when I felt the experts didn't match me correctly, I did not start to trust the process... I felt slighted by the experts."


"You felt slighted by getting me, Brennan?" Emily asked.

"You just weren't for me, and that's okay," Brennan replied.

Emily said she didn't feel like she could speak her mind throughout the process because Brennan would complain or get angry at her if she didn't have positive things to say. Emily claimed Brennan would also reward her when she spoke highly of him.

Emily wished Brennan had just told her why he wasn't attracted to her and didn't like her, but Brennan explained how this was his first time in therapy and he didn't want to throw her under the bus or make her look bad to the public.

Emily called Brennan "controlling," and he apologized for not expressing himself in a way that would have been conducive to them ending or staying together. Brennan said he was trying to protect Emily and do right by her, but Emily believed he had treated her poorly and done her "dirty."

Emily thought Brennan was only trying to protect himself throughout the experiment, and she announced, "You manipulated me."


Brennan said he and Emily were in a great place leading right up to Emily's accident, when "a malicious rumor" tore them apart for reasons he couldn't explain.

Brennan confirmed he was talking about supposedly asking Cameron to go on a double date with him.

"It was such a random, unsubstantiated rumor that made no sense," Brennan declared.

"Rumors, plural... [There was more than one]," Emily countered.

"What other rumors were there?" Kevin asked Emily.

The episode then ended on a cliffhanger.


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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski