Married at First Sight star Mackinley Gilbert has revealed his mother offered him $50,000 to quit the show and not follow through with marrying a stranger.
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Mackinley, 34, was matched to marry Domynique, 25, by Married at First Sight experts Pastor Calvin Roberson and Dr. Pepper Schwartz on the Lifetime reality series' sixteenth season.
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Mackinley's mother made it known on the show that she wasn't happy with her son's "crazy" decision to wed a complete stranger. She said she'd prefer to see Mackinley date a woman for two years, get to know her, and then make an educated and well-informed decision to tie the knot.
But according to Mackinley, his mother was actually desperate to put a stop to her son's risky arranged marriage.
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During Wednesday night's broadcast of Married at First Sight: Afterparty on Lifetime, Mackinley revealed to host Keshia Knight Pulliam that his mother had attempted to bribe him before his wedding.
"My mom may have offered me 50 grand like the day before [the wedding]," Mackinley shared on Afterparty.
"She offered you 50 grand not to do it?!" Keshia asked for clarification.
"[Yes], the day before," Mackinley said.
But Mackinley insisted his mother's bribe "came from a place of love."
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"She doesn't want me to get embarrassed or go through a bad experience," Mackinley explained, defending his mother's protective and shocking actions.
"It had nothing or anything to do with Domynique. She didn't even know Dom at that point."
Mackinley admitted that he "considered" taking the money "for a second."
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While Mackinley's mother was extremely hesitant and skeptical of her son's choice to participate in this extreme marriage experiment, Mackinley thought his mom's conversation with Domynique at the wedding was positive overall.
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Mackinley -- who assured Keshia that his mother wasn't bothered by his interracial union at all -- said his mother even asked for Domynique's phone number by the end of the night.
Mackinley explained how he's "very family-oriented" and his mother has had a good relationship with all of the women he's dated in the past.
"She takes their side more than mine in relationships," Mackinley noted.
Mackinley revealed on the first Afterparty episode, which aired earlier this month, that he almost backed out of the doing the show because he was seeing another woman.
"I had a girl that I was talking to," Mackinley admitted. "But I don't know that we were on the same path as far as marriage, and that's something I'm looking for."
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Keshia asked at the time if there was a scenario in which Mackinley may have opted out of marrying a stranger, and he replied, "One hundred percent. I was unsure that I was going to do it and, like, follow through."
Mackinley said he was unsure whether to commit to the extreme experiment because he and this pre-show mystery woman "had a really good connection."
"But yeah, I went in the opposite direction," he confirmed.
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The Married at First Sight experts dubbed Domynique "The Old Soul" and Mackinley "The Introverted Dreamer."
Domynique was looking for an emotionally mature man who would be ready to commit to her, and Mackinley was hoping to find a woman with whom to settle down in Nashville and start a family.
Mackinley had been in a serious relationship before that ended with the woman getting engaged to another man -- whom the woman had been cheating with -- behind Mackinley's back.
Mackinley and Domynique's wedding just aired on Wednesday night's Season 16 episode of Married at First Sight.
Mackinley told his bride that she looked "gorgeous" at first sight, and Domynique determined that Mackinley is a "handsome" man with a nice smile.
Domynique's loved ones told Mackinley that he had a fierce but caring, outgoing, and selfless woman on his hands. Mackinley learned Domynique is a bubbly woman and Tomboy at heart who loves dancing, fishing and playing volleyball.
Mackinley's family and friends advised Domynique to buckle up because her husband enjoys driving fast cars and taking adventures. While he's a thrill-seeker at heart, Domynique was assured that her husband would like to stay home sometimes and just sit on the couch with her and watch movies.
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Mackinley was optimistic he and Domynique would fall in love and they'd have "a bunch of babies" together and "live happily ever after."
While Mackinley and Domynique got off to a great start, Married at First Sight previews suggest their relationship is going to crash and burn.
"I was one hundred percent blindsided," Mackinley tells his friends in tears. "I was not whom she was looking for."
Domynique is then shown walking down the hallway of her apartment complex with a big box of her things and tears in her eyes.
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