'Married at First Sight' recap: Airris lies to Jasmine, Chris has a breakdown, Mackinley stands up to Domynique, and Clint apologizes

Married at First Sight featured Airris Williams lying to Jasmine Secrest when rating their marriage and feeling just a friend vibe, Chris Thielk having a breakdown, Domynique Kloss accusing Mackinley Gilbert of lacking initiative, and Clint Webb apologizing to Gina Micheletti during the Season 16 episode that aired Wednesday night on Lifetime.


The five Nashville-based Married at First Sight couples for Season 16 are Gina and Clint, Kirsten Grimes and Shaquille Dillon, Airris and Jasmine, Domynique and Mackinley, and Chris and Nicole Lilienthal.

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Married at First Sight experts Pastor Calvin Roberson and Dr. Pepper Schwartz matched the five couples for matrimony in Tennessee.

The show features strangers meeting at the wedding altar and then spending the next eight weeks embarking on a honeymoon, moving in together, and navigating the joys and struggles of daily life together.


And at the end of the experiment, Married at First Sight's Season 16 couples will reach "Decision Day" and have to decide whether to remain married or decide to end their marriages and divorce.

According to Pastor Cal, this is going to be the "most intense season of Married at First Sight yet."

The Married at First Sight broadcast began one week into marriage with Gina recalling her "terrible" conversation with Clint in which he had suggested she's not athletic or slender enough for him in contrast to the women he's dated in his past.

Gina said she and Clint tried to talk through that but Clint didn't really see anything wrong with his statement.

"We've been talking in circles. To me, I'm honestly just disgusted at this point. I feel like it's a pretty nasty thing to say. And to not know that you've said anything wrong is a huge red flag," Gina lamented to her Diary Cam.


Meanwhile, Clint met up with his friends Airris and Chris. Clint said Gina "went after" him and accused him of calling her thick or fat. Clint insisted that wasn't his intent and he was just trying to give her a point of reference of whom he typically dated.

"I apologized but she was like, 'It's unforgivable,'" Clint complained. "And she's called me 'ginger,' 'redhead' and 'light-skinned'... That's not a term of endearment!"

Airris advised Clint to acknowledge his wife's concerns and how she had interpreted the comment, given that topic may be an insecurity or trigger for her. Clint said he was type-casted as a man who doesn't like "bigger women" and that's just not him.

Clint admitted he could've been more poignant or spoken his mind more eloquently, especially because several people had also been taken aback and offended by his remark.

"This is not the way it was supposed to go... Everything has gone sideways and it's insane!" Clint complained in a confessional.


Two hours later, Clint apologized to Gina in their hotel room off-camera, and Gina said that her husband seemed understanding and had also given her an opportunity to clarify why it upset her so much and would be hurtful to other women in the room as well.

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That evening, the cast gathered together for an outdoor dinner, and Clint stood up at the table and explained how he always tried to be real with everyone and sometimes made ridiculous off-the-cuff comments.

"You came out swinging -- strong and wrong!" Kirsten joked.

Clint wanted to focus on "the wrong part," and so he announced how his remark was never intended to disparage anyone. Clint said he had chosen the wrong choice of words.


But Nicole was still disgusted by what Clint had done, and she called him "a lot."

Gina then addressed the table and revealed how Clint had whole-heartedly apologized to her and assured her that she's a very attractive woman. Gina pointed out how everyone has probably said something they don't mean in the past.

"I'm a runner... if someone offends me or makes me feel that way, so it was actually healthy that we weren't able to do that. We had to approach it head-on," Gina shared.

Nicole told Clint that she'd be willing to give him a second chance, as long as Gina was going to stick with it, and the cast should offer him a clean slate and a re-do. Nicole, however, thought Gina and Clint were going to have a long road ahead of them.

Gina then asked each couple to rate their marriage from 1-10 when combining physical and emotional elements of a relationship at the end of the honeymoon stage.


Mackinley and Domynique gave each other a 7.5 after a week of speed bumps, which included Mackinley's tendency to joke his way through things. Mackinley said he needed to better convey his feelings and communicate more efficiently.

Chris and Nicole rated each other an 8.2. Chris said he was "blown away" by Nicole and they were having an "amazing" time together. Nicole would've rated her first week of marriage a 10, but she realistically dropped a couple of points since she and Chris had yet to move in together in Nashville.

Nicole predicted that she and Chris were going to have some battles when combining their two busy lives together.

"Nicole is a hard-hitting New York woman... and Chris is a little bit passive. So I think she's going to take him for a ride. I do," Clint said of Nicole. "I don't know about a sexual ride, but it could maybe be [that].

Kirsten rated her marriage a 7, revealing that things had come naturally to them but she had to ask Shaquille to tone down his sense of humor a little bit. Shaquille agreed and noted how he was happy with the 7.

Gina announced she and Clint were at "a solid 5" and she was feeling "a good halfsies" in her heart. Clint actually felt relieved to hear that since they had just come out of a very tough situation. Clint then said he had arrived at a 5.5 and felt good about that.


Jasmine then shared how she was having fun with Airris but she was concerned about how he had never been in love before. She gave their marriage a 7.5, and then Airris rated their marriage a 7.

"I feel like some people are lying," Mackinley told the cameras after the dinner.

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Old footage then played of Airris rating his marriage "a 4 or 5" when speaking to his boys about his relationship.

Airris said he was hopeful he and Jasmine could eventually get to a 10, and then Chris asked if he could envision himself falling in love with Jasmine. Airris said that's exactly what he had signed up for and it had only been a week so far.

On Day 8 of marriage, Airris told the Diary Cam how he was attracted to Jasmine but their attraction levels to each other weren't on the same level yet. He was suggesting that Jasmine was more into him that he was into her.


Meanwhile, Mackinley thanked Domynique for dealing with him, and Domynique explained how she wanted Mackinley to want to do activities without her having to nudge or push him into doing them.

"But that's just not who I am. I can't apologize for not being excited to go sailing or ride horses," Mackinley explained, adding how his "complaining" was actually an attempt to let Domynique know that he was pushing himself out of his comfort zone and trying new things for her and to make her happy.

Mackinley said he needed to "hype" himself up sometimes, like he does with his brother, and then Domynique snapped, "I'm not your brother."

Mackinley explained how he wasn't trying to make Domynique be one of his boys but she also needed to give him some room to be himself. Domynique insisted she was trying to be supportive and optimistic and felt like "a coach" in their marriage.

"I feel the opposite. I feel like I've been pretty critiqued since we've gotten here. I feel like the further we're getting into this, the less growth I'm having and the more [worried I become] to piss you off and I don't want to ruin your time," Mackinley explained.

In the spirit of being fully transparent, Mackinley said he had given Domynique the benefit of the doubt and he didn't feel that was being reciprocated.


"It's your way or the highway," Mackinley said.

Mackinley then told the cameras that he felt "conflicted" about Domynique and had probably set his expectations too high after his first couple of days with his wife.

"I had expressed how things were so natural, comfortable and not awkward. Well, it's getting awkward now," Mackinley confessed to the cameras.

Domynique told Mackinley that she understood where he was coming from and she needed to recognize that he has a good heart and was coming from the right place in his actions. Domynique admitted dating in Nashville had made her "hard" and she didn't want him to feel like he was being attacked.

Domynique pointed out how a man's attitude is simply part of her emotional and physical attraction towards somebody.

Over at Chris and Nicole's hotel room, Chris was crying on the patio. Nicole asked him what was wrong in a comforting manner, and Chris explained how their new apartment back in Nashville has a two-dog restriction or limit. Chris has two dogs and Nicole has one dog.


"I can't abandon them," Chris cried. "They mean everything to me. I can't have them barely involved in my life for eight weeks."

Nicole assured Chris that wouldn't even be an option and they'd figure out a solution together. Nicole hugged her husband, and Chris was thankful for Nicole's support and positivity.

Nicole told Chris that if they had to be apart a little bit to make it work, they could do that and didn't need to be on top of each other all day long. Nicole asked Chris to trust her, and so Chris promised that he trusted Nicole to help him work something out.

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With that being said, Nicole FaceTimed with her father from Jamaica. She asked her dad if he'd be willing to help with her dog Charlie if she and Chris could swap out dogs in their apartment for seven weeks.

Nicole's father offered to take Charlie to Florida with him, but the idea of that made Nicole cry because she would miss her furbaby so much. However, she considered it to make Chris happy, and her dad said that he would help them out in any way possible.


"This just shows me that she's willing to do whatever it takes to make this work, and I think that's amazing because that's what I think marriage is about -- compromise, trying to help each other out, and making sacrifices," Chris told the cameras.

While Airris and Jasmine enjoyed breakfast in bed together, Airris -- who had a little "me time" that morning -- admitted that he felt a "shift" in their dynamic once they had given the cast their different ratings for their marriage.

Airris told his wife that he had been beating himself up over what he could do better, and Jasmine shared how she was giving him grace because their feelings for each other seemed to be different.

"I wanted you to be aware of where my head is. It's been kind of stressing me out. I'm just, like, 'Damn!' Because right now, I feel more of a friendly vibe, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. If I had an accident tomorrow, I have 100 percent confidence you'd be right there in the hospital bed," Airris explained.

"I've already figured that out in one week. So I feel like the other stuff, for me, I just need time to get there. I'm just hoping... you'll continue to [have patience]."

Jasmine then vented in a confessional about how she's not trying to be anybody's friend.


"I'm trying to be a wife out here in these streets! So, I guess I just didn't want to hear the 'friend' word from my husband," Jasmine complained.

After Chris and Nicole talked to the show's executive producers about their dog options, the couple determined Charlie will still be a part of their family and their lives. However, Charlie would be living at Nicole's apartment for a few weeks with one of her family members.

Nicole said after the show, she and Chris would find a place to fit all three of their dogs and have a big yard for them all to play in together.

The five couples then packed up their bags, and Airris and Jasmine were a little nervous since he had never lived with a woman before. They all traveled back to Nashville and were prepared to get back to normal life and their everyday routines.

Each couple then moved into their "neutral living space" for the remainder of the show.

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Gina said while the honeymoon had set her marriage back, she knows that marriage takes work and love can grow over time. Clint was also excited to have a dog, Hank, in his life and host a party. He also looked forward to getting to know Gina "on that next scale."

Kirsten was also looking forward to living with Shaquille. They were in a good space, but she knew she had to make Shaquille feel "wanted" and potentially make some moves to show him that.

Meanwhile, Nicole asked Chris if he loved her, and he said, "Not right now, not yet." Nicole agreed and told Chris that she liked him but didn't love him yet, and they both laughed about it.

Before going to bed on Day 8 of marriage, Chris thanked Nicole for her support and for being so wonderful about the "emotional" dog challenge. He was thrilled to have a plan and rotate the dogs evenly, and Nicole felt they were making the best of a sticky situation.

Over at Mackinley and Domynique's new apartment, Mackinley said he had a sense of what it's like to live with somebody but he had never signed a lease with a woman before. Mackinley also told Domynique that he didn't mind cleaning and organizing their place, although he's not the best cook.

When Jasmine and Airris moved in together, Jasmine discovered her husband is "really bossy."


Airris made "a whole lot of executive decisions," according to Jasmine, including how they must take off their shoes in the house and not allow any of the dogs to sleep in the bed with them. Airris was also very particular about things, such as which drawers in a dresser were going to belong to him.

On Day 9 of marriage, each pair of spouses checked out their old apartments.

Jasmine saw Airris' home gym and realized his morning workouts in Jamaica weren't excuses to get away from her, and she also noticed he needs his "me time" when taking a look at his mancave. She was also impressed by his shoe collection and said she'd be willing to give up some closet space for them.

Jasmine also saw a picture of Airris' father, and he talked about the funeral and how that time in his life was very difficult and tense. Jasmine appreciated her husband's willingness to open up and be vulnerable with her.

Domynique then got to see where Mackinley was living before the show.

Mackinley was living in the basement of his friend's family's home, and Domynique found his lack of stability "a little unsettling." She didn't feel security with him, and she was also afraid he'd pick up and leave Nashville -- where he had only been living for five months -- at any time.


Mackinley told the cameras that he's always had his own place and even had two apartments at once before, which was a mistake.

Domynique was disappointed there wasn't "more" of Mackinley in the apartment. The small basement had clearly been decorated by the house owners, and Domynique said she was used to dating "more established" men who own their own home.

"For me, it's kind of lack of initiative, I guess. So yeah, I'm a little nervous right now," Domynique said in a confessional.

Domynique told Mackinley that she didn't want to move away from Nashville and so she wasn't thrilled about him not having any real ties to the city.

Mackinley explained how he was apprehensive about signing a lease considering he had just moved to Nashville, but Domynique pointed out the irony or hypocrisy of that line of thinking considering he jumped right into a marriage once he moved to the area.

"Now [my living situation] is a big deal to her. I don't know where things go from here," Mackinley noted.


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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski