Married at First Sight star Clara Berghaus has opened up about why she decided to take a huge risk in marrying a stranger on a reality show.
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Clara claims to have had a string of failed relationships and unfortunate dating experiences prior to being matched with Ryan Oubre on Married at First Sight's currently-airing twelfth season.
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During the January 20 episode of Married at First Sight: Unfiltered, Clara watched back a Season 12 clip in which she was shown complaining to friends about what her dating life was like before signing up for the extreme experiment.
"I feel like I've been getting dumped a little left and right over the last six months. I am done with, like, douchebag guys," Clara explained in the clip.
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"I have not been able to catch a break! It's been rough. I've just had crap. I mean, I literally had a guy Venmo me last week $100 as his way of asking permission to take my best friend on a date -- even though he and I [had hooked up]. It's been a long 2020!"
On Unfiltered, host Jamie Otis -- who starred on Season 1 of Married at First Sight -- commented with a laugh, "I can't believe that happened to you. Tell us more."
"I definitely went through a solid six months of, like, just crappy guys," Clara revealed.
"I think in the dating world of 2020 and dating apps, it's more of a hookup culture."
"Really?!" Jamie asked with surprise.
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"Oh yeah," Clara confirmed. "When you're looking for something more serious, I think a lot of men are scared off by that or they don't want 'more serious.'"
Jamie, who has been married to Doug Hehner for nearly seven years and given birth to two children, therefore asked Clara what dating was like in 2020.
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"[There were] a lot of first dates and nothing else," Clara revealed. "And that's been on my end too. I definitely went on a lot of really, really rough first dates."
Jamie therefore suggested Married at First Sight must have been a blessing for Clara.
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"How does it feel knowing that meeting your husband on your wedding day might be your last first date?" Jamie asked.
"Ohh man, that's the dream right?!" Clara gushed. "That is the dream right there, for sure. Yeah, that's what I'm looking for!"
The 27-year-old flight attendant first revealed on the Married at First Sight: Matchmaking Special she had been on "a lot of really, really awful first dates" with guys in her quest for self-fulfillment and happiness with a partner.
"I went on a date one time with a guy that kept bringing up how well endowed he was. I bailed," Clara shared.
"Probably the worst first date was the guy shows up drunk, first of all, then decides to take a shot of tequila, vomits, and then comes back and makes me sit through a 50-page photo album of his ex-girlfriend's dog."
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Clara said she didn't want to casually date anymore because the guys she went out with tended to be "losers."
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One week before Clara was matched to marry a stranger, she told Married at First Sight expert Pastor Calvin Roberson that she had an ex-boyfriend suddenly "show up."
"I had not heard anything from him in eight months and then last week, out of nowhere, 'Hey, what are you doing? Let's grab drinks and catch up.' I needed to figure out if there was anything there and see how I felt about that, so I went to dinner with him -- and felt nothing," Clara disclosed.
"Nothing," Clara reiterated. "I was expecting to feel conflicted... I was expecting to have some sort of residual feelings for him, [but nothing]."
Clara told Pastor Cal that she was "a booty call" for the guy but at least got a free dinner out of the evening.
Pastor Cal asked Clara if there was any hope of a follow-up date with Mr. Booty Call, and Clara replied, "No, and he's asked twice, even though I already told him about all of this."
Clara assured Pastor Cal that the Married at First Sight experts had "nothing" to worry about and she was totally single and looking forward to the future. With that being said, she decided to block her ex-boyfriend's phone number.
Luckily for Clara, she was immediately attracted to Ryan on her wedding day, both on a physical and emotional level.
Clara gushed in a confessional, "He's very handsome. He's very cute. Like, y'all did good!... [He's] very charismatic, very charming and good looking."
Ryan, in turn, said he looked forward to getting to know his bubbly and outgoing wife better.
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In the latest episode of Married at First Sight that aired on Wednesday night, Clara shared how her relationship with Ryan seemed "meant to be" and she was feeling very optimistic about their future together.
On the wedding night, Clara said laying in bed with her husband felt good and she figured sparks and chemistry would come easy for the both of them.
"If sex happens, it happens. But maybe we'll keep that to ourselves -- we'll see!" Clara told the cameras with a laugh.
As Clare also revealed on last week's Unfiltered broadcast, she'd be willing to try anything once in the bedroom to make her husband happy!
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