Married at First Sight star Iris Caldwell has revealed what she learned she needed to work on from a relationship standpoint after starring on Season 9 of the show.

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Iris' marriage to Keith Manley on Married at First Sight, which was set in North Carolina and aired last year, ended with Keith wanting a divorce when Iris was hoping to work out their issues and stay married.

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Iris was devastated by Keith's unexpected decision, but she has said time and time again it was an experience that made her stronger and allowed her to grow.

During a recent Instagram Live session with fellow Married at First Sight alum Tristan Thompson and his fiancee Rachel White, Iris opened up about how she changed herself for the better after leaving Married at First Sight a single woman again.

"For me personally, what I needed to work on just from watching the show was that... I feel like I am absolutely a very emotional person, like, I will cry on a topic on the flip of a dime, like, 'I don't want to do this anymore!'" Iris shared.

"I'm dramatic; I know this. I am the only child as well, so there are some things where I'm like, 'If I don't get my way, I'm upset about it.' And I think it really pulled out a lot of self-reflection because I had not been in a lot of relationships previous to that."

Iris recalled watching her behavior in her marriage to Keith on TV and her family and friends essentially making excuses for her such as, "Well -- you're you!"

"But when you hear it and you see it for yourself, you're like, 'Oh, shoot! I can actually work on that,'" Iris admitted.

"And no matter the editing, no matter whatever, I still know myself and there are things I need to work on in that kind of case and knowing that, 'Hey, I can take a second to debrief the situation before I react."

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Iris called herself "a very reactive person" in the Instagram Live session with her followers.

"And so for me, it was like if something were to happen or something doesn't go my way or something doesn't go the way I think it should go, for the betterment of the relationship, I can be like, 'Well, wait, let me think this through before I react and before I say something," Iris explained.

"Because if I hear something I don't want to hear, I think for anybody the first reaction is, 'Well I'm going to say this back.' But you need to sit back and rationalize it and what's going on and then be able to have an effective conversation about it."

Iris reiterated, "That's one thing I know I absolutely needed to work on, is when it comes to just listening to the other person."

Iris confessed, "I was always a listener, I guess you could say, but I don't think I was an active listener."

Iris insisted there's a big difference between listening and being an "active listener."

"There's actually a difference in listening and then actually internalizing it and being able to speak and now talk about it vs. [saying] like, 'Yeah.' It's different," Iris acknowledged.

Iris and Keith tied the knot in March 2019 and Keith's choice to divorce Iris on "Decision Day" shocked many Married at First Sight viewers because they seemed to have a healthy relationship during the show.

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

Keith told the cameras on Married at First Sight 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, seemed to think during filming that Keith simply had an issue with the fact she was a virgin.

The topic of reconciliation for Keith and Iris came up during Married at First Sight's ninth-season reunion special, which aired on Lifetime in September 2019.

Iris noted 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.

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.

Back in February, Iris admitted she and Keith were not officially divorced yet because in North Carolina, there is a one-year waiting period from when a couple separates and stops living together that they must wait before filing the divorce paperwork.

Given Iris and Keith wed in March 2019 and lived together for about two months after their wedding, it's likely they're getting the ball rolling on their divorce paperwork now.

Lifetime recently wrapped Married at First Sight's tenth season and premiered a new spinoff, Married at First Sight: Couples Cam, on May 20.

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

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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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