Reality TV World

'Married at First Sight' star Iris Caldwell: I get so much hate and feel misjudged, when did virginity become a bad thing?!

By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 11/18/2019

Married at First Sight star Iris Caldwell feels she has been unfairly labeled and misjudged based on what viewers saw of her on Married at First Sight's latest season on Lifetime.

Iris starred on Season 9 of Married at First Sight with Keith Manley, and only glimpses were shown of their eight-week marriage before Keith decided to go ahead with a divorce on "Decision Day" against Iris' wishes.

RELATED: 'MARRIED AT FIRST SIGHT' COUPLES NOW: WHAT COUPLES ARE STILL TOGETHER? WHO BROKE UP? WHERE ARE THEY NOW? (PHOTOS)

Iris, who got married as a virgin on the show and was accused of lacking emotional maturity, opened up during a recent Q&A session she did with her Instagram followers via Instagram Stories videos about all the hate she received after the show and how it's affected her.

When asked if she felt misjudged by Married at First Sight viewers, Iris replied, "So absolutely this was not the 'Keith and Iris show' at all. This was four couples altogether that you watched. Me and Keith really only got 15 minutes, maybe more than that each episode."

"So what you saw on TV... you only saw a little bit of our lives. It's just weird how people really, like, attacked me for my virginity. Like that to me -- when in society did we start looking at virginity as being a bad thing?!"

Iris said it's been "crazy" that people are trying to make her feel bad about saving herself.

"That to me was crazy, not to mention you guys are judging me off a TV show. You don't know me!" Iris vented.

In fact, Iris admitted she does not do her Q&A sessions live on Instagram Live because of the trolls out there.

"Honestly, the reason I'm not doing these live and why I'm highly considering not going live is because I get so much hate. Like, so much hate," Iris revealed.

RELATED: '90 DAY FIANCE' COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER? WHO HAS SPLIT? WHERE ARE THEY NOW? (PHOTOS)

"Y'all don't understand. I get hate in my email box. I get hate in my DMs. I get hate on Facebook. I don't want that to spew over into this channel. Overall, with you guys watching, I don't want all of that hate to be conveyed through here."

Iris explained that going live can have some unpredictable results.

"I don't know what will be said or what people will say and all of that kind of stuff. On here, I don't really want to harvest all that kind of emotion on a page. That's not for me. I don't want to harvest that," Iris shared.

Keith choosing to file for divorce from Iris shocked many Married at First Sight viewers because they seemed to have a very healthy relationship during the show.

The pair rarely fought during their short-lived marriage, and Keith and Iris supported each other during tough times -- including the death of Keith's beloved grandmother.

Keith told the cameras he wanted to split from Iris because of her alleged lack of emotional maturity due to her lack of sexual and relationship experience.

Iris, however, argued she's not immature at all. She seemed to think during filming that Keith simply had an issue with the fact she was a virgin and viewed it as a burden rather than a gift.

RELATED LINK: 'DANCING WITH THE STARS' PROS AND THEIR SIGNIFICANT OTHERS: WHO'S DATING OR MARRIED TO WHOM!? (PHOTOS)

"I struggled... previous to the show about when to tell someone about my virginity," Iris said in her Q&A.

"Honestly, once you tell them, the person will either be onboard or not onboard. They will either love you through it and say, 'Hey, I'm going to be with you regardless of this because I really, really, really want to get to know you,' or not."

"If it's a 'no' or a 'naw,' honey, get to stepping," Iris continued.

"Don't waste your time on people because they will show their true colors regardless, and if they don't have the patience or the time or want to work through that with you, don't waste your time for nobody."

But Iris revealed she doesn't have to worry about that right now since she's not dating anyone at the moment. However, she's excited about what the future might hold and dating when she's ready.

"No, I'm not dating, but if the right person were to come into my inbox, 'Hey, boo!'" Iris exclaimed.

"But no. I'm definitely working all on Iris. 2020 is a developmental year for me. Let's do this!"

Until then, Iris revealed she's "actually considering getting a furbaby" for herself next year.

"I think I may foster [a dog] first and then go ahead and leap into that big mommy role of being with the puppy," Iris noted.

The topic of reconciliation came up during the reunion special for Keith and Iris. Iris said at the time she'd be willing to give Keith another chance if he'd be up for marriage counseling, but he expressed there was probably no hope of them getting back together.

RELATED LINK: 'BIG BROTHER' SHOWMANCES NOW: WHO'S STILL TOGETHER? WHICH COUPLES HAVE SPLIT UP?? (PHOTOS)

Keith confessed he really wasn't ready for a wife, and he believed at the time Iris wasn't ready to be a wife either.

Although Keith crushed Iris on Married at First Sight, Iris established lasting friendships and insisted the show had made her stronger, wiser and more confident than ever.

The tenth season of Married at First Sight is set to premiere January 1 on Lifetime and feature couples who live in the Washington, D.C area.

The series has also been picked up for an eleventh edition, which will also air next year and likely be filmed in New Orleans, LA, based on a recent casting call.

Married at First Sight features experts matching up pairs of strangers based on their compatibility, goals, physical type, hobbies, religion, views of marriage and gender roles, and more.

Last season's experts were sociologist Dr. Pepper, marriage counselor Pastor Calvin Roberson, and newcomer Dr. Viviana Coles, a psychotherapist who replaced Dr. Jessica Griffin.

After meeting for the first time on their big day, each couple gets married and the next six to eight weeks of their lives are documented -- beginning with their wedding ceremony, reception and honeymoon, and continuing with the joys and struggles of daily life as they move in together and adjust to their new life as newlyweds.