Married at First Sight star Domynique Kloss has slammed Mackinley Gilbert, saying he spun their divorce narrative his own way and played the victim.
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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.
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The couple had high hopes for their relationship after their wedding day, but things started going downhill during the honeymoon, and then Domynique decided on Day 12 of marriage that she wanted a divorce.
During the March 1 broadcast of Married at First Sight: Afterparty on Lifetime, Domynique watched back a Season 16 clip of Mackinley sharing the news of their divorce with the rest of the cast.
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"Me and Dom have made the decision to get divorced," Mackinley announces at the group gathering in their apartment building.
When asked what happened, Domynique explains of her husband, "He had made a few comments that made me feel like he was not happy."
"I don't fully agree with that," Mackinley counters. "I was 100 percent blindsided that you asked for a divorce."
Fellow Married at First Sight star Nicole Lilienthal then admits to Domynique, "I say this out of love, but you are going to regret this."
Afterparty host Keshia Knight Pulliam asked Domynique how she felt listening to Mackinley's announcement about the end of their marriage.
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"I mean, I can't cuss right? That was a load of sh-t! It's a load of sh-t," Domynique insisted.
Keshia praised Domynique for being honest, and so Domynique continued, "Once again, he is saying something to other people that is the opposite of what he has told me."
"I sent him a text after the meeting with Pastor Cal [when I had asked for a divorce] saying, 'Hey, let me think about it. I'm not completely closed off to continuing on with the process. But in the moment, there's just so much pressure,'" she recalled.
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Domynique claimed that Mackinley responded to her text with a message that read, "I'm good. I don't want anything to do with this. Good luck."
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Domynique said she and Mackinley had talked about how they were going to tell their friends about their split ahead of the group gathering.
"Prior to the group setting, we had a conversation and he says, 'Let's go into this and make it seem like it was mutual,' which I felt like it was but I was the one that voiced it," Domynique alleged.
Domynique said once the cast was reunited and it was time to share relationship updates, Mackinley presented the divorce like "it wasn't a [mutual] decision anymore" and he "started throwing darts."
Domynique insisted that Mackinley was "1,000 percent" playing the victim at that point.
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 the same way.
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In fact, Nicole and Jasmine acknowledged they would have changed their position on the divorce 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."
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."
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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 said.
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.
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."
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When the sparring spouses gathered with their fellow cast members, 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 simply wasn't ready for marriage.
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