Married at First Sight star Shaquille Dillon has claimed Kirsten Grimes was telling him different things off-camera compared to when cameras were rolling.
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Shaquille, 31, and Kirsten, 32, were matched for matrimony on Married at First Sight's sixteenth season, which filmed in Nashville, TN, by show experts Pastor Calvin Roberson and Dr. Pepper Schwartz.
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During the February 1 episode of Married at First Sight: Afterparty, Shaquille watched back a Season 16 clip of Kirsten opening up to him during their honeymoon in Lucea, Jamaica.
"You're definitely growing on me," Kirsten shares in the clip.
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"Growing? What?!" Shaquille asks in surprise.
"Most women say this about their husbands," Kirsten says.
"What? You weren't attracted to me at first?" Shaquille questions.
"At first, I wasn't really attracted to you, to your bald head," Kirsten admits. "But once I continued to spend time with you, I definitely feel a little bit more attracted to you."
Afterparty host Keshia Knight Pulliam told Shaquille that she was beginning to see "a little chemistry" between the spouses in that footage.
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"That was your moment to give her a kiss on the forehead!" Keshia exclaimed.
Shaquille's MAFS co-star Gina Micheletti, who also appeared on the Afterparty special as a guest, agreed that Kirsten seemed ready to make out with Shaquille in that moment.
"It's a thing with Kirsten to where it's like you're telling me you're not attracted to me and then you tell me you don't want to touch me right now, like, behind the scenes -- you don't want to touch me," Shaquille explained.
"But then it's like when we get in front of the cameras, [she changes]."
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Keshia asked Shaquille if he was seeing "something different" when cameras were filming them.
"She was like, 'I want you to kiss me.' And I'm like, 'What?!' So I was so confused," Shaquille claimed. "I was like, 'What are we talking about right now?'"
Shaquille therefore admitted he felt like he was holding back with his new wife during their honeymoon.
"I'm such a gentleman to where I'm, like, waiting for her. But as a man, it's like, I should take the next step. I should be the leader and take the next step," Shaquille said.
Shaquille also revealed that Kirsten's initial lack of attraction to him "didn't really affect [his] self-esteem."
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"I know who I am. This is who I am. I'm not going to get a toupee just to get my wife to be attracted to me or whatever," Shaquille said.
"Maybe Gina can go do [some extensions on me]," he joked of the hair salon owner.
When Kirsten and Shaquille tied the knot, Kirsten refused to kiss Shaquille at the altar. After they exchanged vows, Kirsten only allowed him to kiss her on the cheek.
Kirsten told her bridesmaids at the wedding reception, however, she would've been open to a smooch had Shaquille asked for permission to kiss her in front of their loved ones at the ceremony.
Kirsten admitted during the matchmaking process that she tends to be very picky in all aspects of her life, including her dating life.
"I definitely pick over men, too," Kirsten confessed.
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When Shaquille saw his bride for the first time, he thought she was "beautiful" and definitely his "type," but Kirsten complained to the cameras about how her husband already had two strikes against him -- a bald head she didn't like and the fact he's younger than her in age.
But Kirsten quickly discovered they had important things in common, such as the value they put on family, religion and education.
"He has pretty teeth and his personality definitely outweighs his exterior look," Kirsten conceded.
Kirsten and Shaquille continued getting to know each other better after their wedding, and they both agreed it was obvious why the experts had matched them -- and that the experts had done a good job in doing so.
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On the latest episode of Married at First Sight, Shaquille came out of his shell for Kirsten during an adventurous ATV ride in Jamaica.
Kirsten also explained to Shaquille that he shouldn't take her reluctance to kiss him personally.
"I can be affectionate, but I've never been big on kissing," Kirsten said. "We're working on all of that. It takes baby steps with me sometimes, so we're taking baby steps."
Baby steps included holding hands for Kirsten, and she told her husband that she likes physical touch.
Kirsten later asked Shaquille to relax more in their relationship and stop trying to be perfect all the time, which Shaquille seemed to understand and appreciate.
Married at First Sight currently airs on Wednesday nights at 8PM ET/PT on Lifetime.
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