Married at First Sight star Shaquille Dillon has claimed Kirsten Grimes' words and actions did not line up and it was frustrating for him to read her alleged mixed signals.
ADVERTISEMENT
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.
RELATED: 'MARRIED AT FIRST SIGHT' COUPLES NOW: WHERE ARE THEY NOW? WHO IS STILL TOGETHER? WHO HAS RE-MARRIED? (PHOTOS)
Kirsten wasn't attracted to Shaquille at the start of the experiment, but once she found herself liking Shaquille's personality and wanting to grow closer to him, Shaquille became frustrated with Kirsten's lack of vulnerability and confusing expectations of him.
During the March 16 episode of Married at First Sight: Afterparty, Shaquille watched back a Season 16 clip of Kirsten -- who initially didn't want Shaquille to touch or kiss her -- telling her friend, "I want him to hold me and talk to me and really connect with me. That would make me feel comfortable."
ADVERTISEMENT
Kirsten adds of Shaquille in the footage, "When you walk in this house, you need to hug me or kiss me! You can't just walk in and be like, 'Oh, hey!' If you're pulling back and holding back now, that's not going to help our chemistry grow. It's not going to help our marriage."
Shaquille told Afterparty host Keshia Knight Pulliam that he had no idea Kirsten wanted him to be affectionate once he got home from work or running errands.
"I don't know any of these things, and honestly, I don't know what to do," Shaquille admitted.
Shaquille acknowledged that if viewers think Kirsten was closed off and then suddenly wanted him to be all over her, "It's the truth."
Shaquille claimed, however, he was "testing the waters" with Kirsten by snuggling up to her in conversation.
ADVERTISEMENT
"Are her words and her actions in alignment?" Keshia asked.
"It's two different things," Shaquille insisted.
RELATED: '90 DAY FIANCE' COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER? WHO HAS SPLIT? WHERE ARE THEY NOW? (PHOTOS)
Shaquille said that Kirsten would discuss an intimacy timeline with him only after chatting with her girlfriends.
"It's always coming back from what the girls say. 'The girls say that you're not doing this and you need to do this,'" Shaquille said.
ADVERTISEMENT
During the couple's one-month anniversary roller-skating date, Shaquille told his wife that he was interested in learning about her across the board. Kirsten therefore suggested that, in order to open up, they needed to have more intentional conversations, with Shaquille spending more time with her.
"Quality time for me is supporting each other. We spend so much time together at the apartment. It seems like Kirsten's quality time is, 'Let's sit on the sofa. Tell me about yourself. How do you feel in this moment?'" Shaquille recalled.
"And for me, it's about going out and enjoying each other, like, let me learn something about you that I didn't know."
Shaquille claimed Kirsten would often initiate the conversations about their feelings but she would remain guarded and keep information about herself close to her chest.
"It ends up being me talking about my feelings," Shaquille noted.
ADVERTISEMENT
This wasn't the first time Shaquille complained about Kirsten sending him mixed signals.
During the February 1 episode of Afterparty, Shaquille explained, "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."
"But then it's like when we get in front of the cameras, [she changes]."
Shaquille continued at the time, "She was like, 'I want you to kiss me.' And I'm like, 'What?!' So I was so confused. I was like, 'What are we talking about right now?'"
Shaquille insisted, however, Kirsten's initial lack of attraction to him did not affect his self-esteem.
"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 quipped.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)
Based on the latest sixteenth-season Married at First Sight episode, the disconnect seemed to be that Kirsten believed she could take her time and had "a lifetime" to share things about herself and divulge details about her past.
Shaquille, on the other hand, was thinking about Decision Day. He apparently didn't want to say "yes" to staying married to a woman whom he barely knew.
Kirsten admitted in a confessional that she didn't want her family and friends to get attached to Shaquille if he was going to split on Decision Day and be "one foot in" the marriage "and one foot out."
Kirsten wanted to feel secure in knowing that Shaquille was committed to her, regardless of the circumstances or timeline for the show.
ADVERTISEMENT
Shaquille also got upset when Kirsten told their fellow cast members that they only had "a little bit of a connection" and "a little bit" of chemistry.
"When we get with everybody else, I'm left blindsided, like, 'Damn, she couldn't tell me this at the house? She couldn't tell me when we got home later? She can't tell me how she honestly feels?'" Shaquille vented to his wife.
Shaquille complained how everything was "on Kirsten time," adding, "It's always on your time, of what you've wanted, and for me, that ain't gonna fly!"
Kirsten told Shaquille to just ask how she's feeling and work on having deep and intentional conversation, but Shaquille replied, "I don't know if I want to be with somebody who just continues to have a guard up with somebody who actually wants to be in this marriage with them."
RELATED: 'MARRIED AT FIRST SIGHT' COUPLES NOW: WHERE ARE THEY NOW? WHO IS STILL TOGETHER? WHO HAS RE-MARRIED? (PHOTOS)
Interested in more Married at First Sight news? Join our Married at First Sight Facebook Group or click here to view our Married at First Sight newspage!
And click here for more updates on former Married at First Sight cast members and info on where they are now!