'Married at First Sight' recap: Kirsten demands a house and calls Shaquille "crazy," Jasmine's attraction to Airris is "dying," and Nicole fears Chris breaking her heart!

Married at First Sight featured Kirsten Grimes demanding a house from Shaquille Dillon and accusing him of "acting crazy," Jasmine Secrest admitting her attraction to Airris Williams was "dying," Shaquille and Jasmine bonding, and Nicole Lilienthal worrying about Chris Thielk breaking her heart during the Season 16 episode that aired Wednesday night on Lifetime.


The remaining four Nashville-based couples on Married at First Sight for Season 16 are Airris and Jasmine, Kirsten and Shaquille, Nicole and Chris, and Gina Micheletti and Clint Webb.

Domynique Kloss and Mackinley Gilbert decided to get a divorce on Day 12 of the process and were not featured in the latest episode.

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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 with Kirsten, a real estate agent, showing Shaquille a beautiful home that was listed for over $2 million with 21 days to go until Decision Day.

Kirsten was in her element and wanted to share a piece of her life with Shaquille, and Shaquille said that her passion for her career was "sexy."


"She could be my realtor one day when we purchase a home together!" Shaquille gushed.

Kirsten asked Shaquille if he could envision himself in the house, and then the pair talked about having kids running through the house and enjoying game nights.

"I'm definitely feeling some chemistry with Shaquille," Kirsten noted.

Kirsten asked Shaquille if he could see himself buying a house soon, and Shaquille said that was definitely something to think about in the future.

"I wouldn't want us staying in apartments and renting houses, just throwing money away," Kirsten explained. "[The market is right] right now! But we can wait until your lease comes to an end."


Shaquille pointed out how that was only three months away and he needed a little more time to make such a big move. After all, the pair had just met and gotten married, and Shaquille said that he was still paying for his degree.

Shaquille wanted to make sure he was financially stable enough to afford that type of lifestyle.

"As long as we continue this marriage, you have to get us a house. You have to buy us a house," Kirsten explained.

"I will have to buy it?" Shaquille asked.

"Mhmm, so I can say, 'My husband bought me a house,'" Kirsten replied.


When Shaquille asked Kirsten if she wanted any part of buying the house with him, she said she'd be on the deed with him. Kirsten said she knew of other marriages in which the husbands had bought their wives a house and a car.

Kirsten told Shaquille that this is what she needed, especially if she was going to be "pushing out kids."

Shaquille seemed shocked and rubbed the wrong way, but Kirsten admitted, "This is who I am. Let's keep thinking!"

Meanwhile, Jasmine had a visitor over her house, her friend Nikki. Jasmine admitted married life had been a roller coaster and she wasn't used to being so vulnerable and expressing her feelings to a man. Jasmine had become accustomed to avoiding conflict or hard conversations because she's not confrontational.

"It's just me trying to navigate my feelings, and I didn't think it would be as hard," Jasmine said.


Jasmine explained to Nikki that she just needed a "cute" man in order to be attracted to him.

"But now I'm in a place of that [attraction is] dying and I'm losing that because I'm not feeling secure and I'm not feeling wanted," Jasmine explained. "He's not making me feel liked, the way I want to feel to be attracted to somebody. I feel like if we don't find the common ground and start building, it's going to fade faster for me."

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Nikki was upset to hear that because she said Jasmine had always dreamed of being married. Nikki asked her friend not to shut down, and then Jasmine acknowledged she and Airris were "well matched" and "compatible."

Jasmine acknowledged both she and Airris needed to put in more work, especially her husband.

Each couple was then asked to dig into their past and share a bit of history with their partner at a location that held significance or some type of memory.


Nicole took Chris to a deli since food was often involved in her family's best times, and she opened up about how her parents hadn't set many ground rules for her in high school and so she was partying, cutting school and staying out late. Nicole admitted that she acted out to be cool and fit in with people who weren't even worthy of her attention.

"I don't know if I would be able to marry the woman that Nicole was when she was younger because honestly, that reminds me a lot of some of my exes, who I don't like. And that's not something I want in my life," Chris told the cameras.

Nicole asked Chris to figure out if she was the right person for him because she didn't want something to come out about herself months later and then have Chris decide that he wanted out and they couldn't come back from it.

With 20 days to go until Decision Day, Clint took Gina to a soccer field and explained how he never had natural ability in the sport and needed to work so hard. He said soccer taught him to persevere and be persistent.

Even when he hated the sport, he wanted to get better -- and Clint said soccer ignited a competitive spirit in him. Gina said she and Clint had a similar mentality to not give up on things, and she had hope their marriage could work out.

Airris was then shown bringing Jasmine to a card shop because he used to collect baseball cards. He hoped that by opening up to Jasmine, he would provide a safe space for her to be more vulnerable with him in return.


Airris shared how his family moved a lot and he was always the new kid in class, which helped him to adapt and become independent. But at the same time, Airris tended to just "get up and go" since he never really stood still. Airris said this pattern of behavior even bled into his relationships and carried into adulthood.

"Wow, Airris, I ain't got nothing to say," Jasmine responded, before telling the cameras, "I'm scared about his willingness to see this through when it's so easy for him to cut and run."

Meanwhile, Kirsten showed Shaquille her humble childhood home, which represented her family's happy times together. Kirsten explained how her father was a great provider and made sure her and her siblings always had everything they needed, including amazing Christmas holidays.

But then Kirsten's parents split up when she was eight years old, which left her pretty devastated. Kirsten wished her parents had found a way to work through things, but she said that situation taught her how to be strong and overcome obstacles in life.

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Because of how her father provided for her family, Kirsten told Shaquille that's probably why he thought she had high expectations of him.


"That's probably why that's something I want out of my husband," Kirsten explained.

"As a man should be. He should always be willing to provide, especially without being forced to provide... I understand this is supposed to happen, but allow me to make it happen the way I know it can happen -- without anybody forcing me to do it," Shaquille told his wife.

Kirsten was still feeling hesitant and nervous to introduce Shaquille to her father, who was having a tough time processing her appearance on Married at First Sight.

Kirsten said she wanted to know this was going to be a solid marriage and Shaquille planned to stick around for a lifetime before bringing him around her dad.

"Kirsten is definitely holding me to the standard of what her father was for her, but I never met the guy and so I don't even know how to be like him," Shaquille said in a confessional. "For me, it's kind of like I need to have a conversation with her dad if I'm going to understand why you feel the way that you do."

With 19 days to go until Decision Day, Gina showed Clint the hair school where her career as a salon owner and hairstylist began. Gina had already gone through college and was working in broadcasting until she thought that she wanted to do hair.


Gina therefore made "a crazy decision" to try something new -- something she had been thinking about since age 18. Gina said she'd eventually like to build an educational platform and maybe she'll own a hair school one day.

"She's definitely got some risk-taking characteristics to completely change professions," Clint gushed of his wife.

"She's adaptable, she's moldable, she's able to make that mental pivot, and she changed the trajectory of her life. It reminds me of the transition that I had to make from becoming a pilot to going into tech, so I've really come to having more patience for her salon and her business. It's a heck of an accomplishment."

Married at First Sight's experts then asked each spouse to write a letter to his or her younger self and share it. Everyone wrote something along the lines of remaining optimistic, feeling worthy of love and respect, not letting others get you down, and being patient for adversity to pass.

Chris opened up about how his beloved mother had dated "a really bad guy" and an alleged alcoholic who was verbally abusive and broke stuff in his home. Chris said the man even threatened to kill his dog when it went into someone else's yard.

Nicole said she and Chris' mother had something in common: that they had the best intentions when picking partners but didn't always make the best choices.


Nicole admitted to Chris that her first relationship burned her to her "core" and she still lived with some of that shame. A part of Nicole was worried to get her heart broken again, and she told the cameras she'll never feel 100 percent confident a man won't hurt her.

"Every day I like him a little more... and that risk of heartbreak grows a little more. I don't know what will happen in our future, but what I do know is the risk of heartbreak is nothing compared to the happiness and joy I feel every day," Nicole said of Chris.

"And so if heartbreak is the end result, I'll take it because of all the happy days before then."

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In Jasmine's letter, she revealed she had been bullied in middle school because people thought she was "too proper" for Memphis, TN. Airris complimented Jasmine for mentoring little girls and instilling confidence in them, which is what she needed as a young girl.

"I'm ready to let it all out. I think that's the best way for this marriage to have success," Airris noted.


Later on, Shaquille and Kirsten went out to lunch with her godmother and godsister, who had traveled from Mississippi and Georgia to spend Mardi Gras with them. The women shared with Kirsten how Shaquille coordinated family events and kept them together, and Kirsten liked hearing about how her husband was a family-oriented and organized leader.

Kirsten said she loved how Shaquille was the man who held his family together, and the women told Kirsten that Shaquille was going to take care of her and so she needed to take care of him in return.

After Gina was shown inviting several of her co-workers over for a lasagna dinner with Clint and the ladies gushed about Gina's organizational and leadership skills, Chris took Nicole to a paint store and shared how his father had owned a painting business and Chris used to work for him.

Chris explained how growing up was tough because he only got to see his father every other weekend. Chris said things were strained sometimes due to his father's harsh words and so he was missing a male role model. Chris admitted he didn't like working for his dad, an alleged perfectionist.

Nicole was getting a better sense of why Chris always sought out to make other people feel happy, special and loved. Chris was trying to be the man he believed his father couldn't be.

Chris, however, said he and his dad were building trust again and they were in a better place. Chris was also happy because he said his father thought the world of Nicole and admired her.


With 18 days to go until Decision Day, Shaquille, Kirsten, Airris and Jasmine played a game at Nashville Airsoft, and the two couples had a great time.

Shaquille then sat down with Jasmine to get a female perspective on his marriage, and Airris and Kirsten were also able to talk in private about things.

Jasmine shared how it sometimes felt like Airris was counting down the days until Decision Day, and Shaquille told her, "I'm not trying to come onto you or anything, I've got my own wife. But you are beautiful inside and out. Just continue to be yourself."

Jasmine agreed she's a "bad b-tch," and Shaquille reminded her that she's a Black Queen.

Shaquille then expressed how Kirsten had high expectations of him and she had shown him a $2.9 million house. Shaquille admitted it bothered him that Kirsten had yet to introduce him to her beloved father.

Meanwhile, Kirsten told Airris that her attraction to Shaquille was growing but they sometimes struggled to communicate, even when they were on the same page and didn't really know it.


After Nicole and Chris were shown painting in their apartment on a Saturday night, Airris read Jasmine a letter his father had written his mother, sharing his story. Airris was trying to take the lead on being emotional and vulnerable.

Airris' father took responsibility for his faults and mistakes and also promised to be a better father in the letter. Airris said he read this letter often in memory of his dad, who tragically died.

Jasmine said it felt good to have Airris dig deep and open up to her, and it gave her a little more hope their marriage may last.

The episode concluded with Shaquille confronting Kirsten about her house comments while she was eating dinner.

Kirsten told Shaquille that she didn't think her expectations were too high, and when she joked about him replacing her Mercedes with a Lamborghini, Shaquille said he could buy her a Honda.

The conversation took a serious turn, but then Kirsten insisted she was just playing around with him.


"Kirsten, you're not joking," Shaquille snapped.

"I am, about the car situation," Kirsten clarified. "I know people whose husbands buy them cars and houses and stuff, so."

"Okay, so you want to be married to them?" Shaquille complained.

"That's not what I said. Don't blow [up] my words. Don't blow things out of proportion and get acting crazy right now," Kirsten responded.

Shaquille said while that worked for some marriages, she couldn't compare them to what they had going on personally. Kirsten didn't want to have a serious conversation about this, and then Shaquille accused her of being scared to talk about it.

"You don't want to talk about?... Okay, I do," Shaquille said.


Kirsten attempted to respond, and then Shaquille asked her to chew before talking.

"Here you go acting crazy, I'm not going to act crazy with you tonight!" Kirsten said.

"I think if you don't get what you want, then you think it's a failure," Shaquille explained.

Kirsten reiterated how she was just joking with Shaquille, who pointed out how Kirsten used to get mad at him for making jokes and making light of serious situations. Shaquille said it seemed like buying Kirsten a house was really her expectation and what she wanted.

"Once we make it to that level in our marriage, we can talk about buying a house and whatever we get approved for," Kirsten said.

"For $3 million?... But at that point, when you said it, it wasn't a 'we' thing," Shaquille countered.


"It had nothing to do with Kirsten. It was, 'Shaquille, this is what you need to do.' And to hear now, 'I was just joking'... that was not the expectation of what you first said."

Kirsten told the cameras that she had just made "a little comment" and Shaquille was "overreacting." She joked about him needing to pump the brakes and calm down.

Kirsten then asked her husband not to put too much pressure on himself because they were going to be "fine" and "great."

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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski