Married at First Sight star Domynique Kloss has expressed how she felt "judged" by the show's experts and cast for her age after deciding to divorce her husband Mackinley Gilbert.
ADVERTISEMENT
Domynique, 25, and Mackinley, 34, were matched to wed as strangers by Married at First Sight experts Pastor Calvin Roberson and Dr. Pepper Schwartz on the Lifetime reality series' sixteenth season.
RELATED: 'MARRIED AT FIRST SIGHT' COUPLES NOW: WHERE ARE THEY NOW? WHO IS STILL TOGETHER? WHO HAS RE-MARRIED? (PHOTOS)
The couple had high hopes for their relationship after their wedding day, but things started going downhill during the honeymoon. Domynique then refused to move in with Mackinley and felt like his "scapegoat," and she decided on Day 12 that she wanted a divorce.
During the March 1 episode of Married at First Sight: Afterparty, Domynique watched back a Season 16 clip of Mackinley announcing to their fellow cast members how he and Domynique had decided to split.
ADVERTISEMENT
"Me and Dom have made the decision to get divorced," Mackinley declares in the clip.
When Kirsten Grimes asks why they're getting divorced, Domynique replies of Mackinley, "He had made a few comments, you know, that made me feel like he was not happy."
"I don't fully agree with that," Mackinley counters. "I was 100 percent blindsided that [Dom] asked for a divorce."
MAFS star Nicole Lilienthal proceeds to tell Domynique, "I say this out of love, but you are going to regret this."
Nicole wasn't the only MAFS cast member upset about Domynique and Mackinley's choice to throw in the towel and give up. They pleaded with the couple to try again and attempt to work things out.
ADVERTISEMENT
When Afterparty host Keshia Knight Pulliam asked Domynique how she felt about her co-stars' response to the divorce news, Domynique admitted, "It hurt."
"I cried after our group session. I did. And it was my birthday weekend, so it was [tough]," Domynique said.
"I'm feeling very judged based off of my age and not because of how I analyze things or how I live my life -- nothing like that."
RELATED: '90 DAY FIANCE' COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER? WHO HAS SPLIT? WHERE ARE THEY NOW? (PHOTOS)
Domynique said she felt judged "solely off of my age," adding, "I feel like I'm not being taken seriously, you know?"
ADVERTISEMENT
Domynique insisted that, even at 25-years-old, she was definitely ready to marry a stranger.
"Honestly, every relationship that I've ever been in, I have gone into it with the intention of being married," Domynique noted.
Domynique also told Keshia that she thought the divorce was mutual, although Mackinley had led their co-stars to believe otherwise.
Domynique, who admittedly voiced wanting a divorce first during the couple's therapy session with Pastor Cal, claimed that after the discussion, she was unsure about whether to follow through with her divorce threat and so she texted Mackinley in private and asked for some time to think about things.
When Domynique expressed how she wasn't entirely closed off to the idea of continuing on with the process, Mackinley allegedly said he was "good" and wanted nothing to do with their relationship.
ADVERTISEMENT
Nicole and fellow MAFS star Jasmine Secrest, who both appeared on the Afterparty episode with Domynique, admitted that had they known the whole story, they wouldn't have reacted so harshly to the divorce announcement.
In fact, Nicole and Jasmine acknowledged they would have changed their position on the breakup and supported Domynique's choice to part ways with Mackinley.
"I was basing my opinion on what I knew at the moment," Nicole confessed.
"I pushed Dom way harder than I should have. I am very emotionally invested in everyone's relationship because they're my friends and I just want everyone to be happy and live on a cloud of rainbows."
And Jasmine added, "I'm glad that now, while we're watching the episodes, I can see both sides. Because I completely understand why she did what she did, and she's definitely validated for that."
RELATED: 'THE BACHELOR' COUPLES NOW: WHO DID 'THE BACHELOR' STARS AND THEIR BACHELORETTE PICKS ACTUALLY END UP MARRYING? (PHOTOS)
When Domynique told Mackinley that she wanted a divorce on Married at First Sight's latest episode, Mackinley noted that it was "tough to hear" and he felt "let down" and "embarrassed."
And Pastor Cal suggested that Domynique wasn't ready to get married at age 25.
Pastor Cal insisted that he wasn't trying to be mean but a person who is ready for marriage is prepared to fight for it and not quit -- which he said takes time, patience, strength and grit.
"What you're doing is choosing to quit after the first real bump," Pastor Cal scolded Domynique.
Even Domynique's mother Toya didn't think Domynique had given Mackinley enough time to change, better himself, or prove that he could be a great husband.
ADVERTISEMENT
But Domynique felt she had been as patient as possible, and she said she wanted to end their negative relationship before it became very "toxic."
When the sparring spouses gathered with their fellow cast members to deliver the bad news, they were asked if there was any hope for reconciliation.
"Maybe," Domynique replied.
But Domynique later confirmed with Mackinley that she had just said "maybe" due to peer pressure and didn't mean it.
"[That's] a young woman's game, and that's what Dom plays," Mackinley vented to the cameras.
Domynique then told Mackinley that although things didn't work out, they could remain friends. But Mackinley snapped that he didn't need another friend in his life.
Mackinley said while he and Domynique weren't a perfect match, he had been prepared to give their marriage time and effort -- which were two things he didn't receive from Domynique. He believed Domynique was simply too young and not ready for marriage.
RELATED: 'MARRIED AT FIRST SIGHT' COUPLES NOW: WHERE ARE THEY NOW? WHO IS STILL TOGETHER? WHO HAS RE-MARRIED? (PHOTOS)
Interested in more Married at First Sight news? Join our Married at First Sight Facebook Group or click here to view our Married at First Sight newspage!
And click here for more updates on former Married at First Sight cast members and info on where they are now!