Married at First Sight star Zach Justice has denied wife Mindy Shiben's belief Zach didn't want to be married to her.
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Zach, who's currently starring on Season 10 of the Lifetime reality series, watched back a clip on Married at First Sight: Unfiltered of Mindy talking to Pastor Calvin Roberson about how Zach had allegedly mentioned several times after their wedding he wasn't attracted to her and so she felt alone in her marriage.
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"She is right. We had discussions a few times on my lack of chemistry, lack of attraction that was just not there from the start," Zach admitted to host Jamie Otis on Unfiltered.
"Regardless of the context of it, someone telling you they're not attracted to you is kind of what sticks in that context that comes with it, right? And I think that's what she's hurt by and that's what she feels."
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Zach, however, insisted his candid and honest conversations with Mindy weren't supposed to imply he had already given up on their relationship and couldn't see things changing in the near future.
"It wasn't meant to be like, 'Sorry, I'm not attracted to you. This is over,'" Zach said.
Jamie pointed out how Mindy also expressed to Pastor Cal in the clip how she didn't believe Zach wanted to be in their marriage.
"Is that true?" Jamie asked.
"No, that's not the case," Zach confirmed.
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"I mean, yeah, I've been in situations where you've had nothing from the beginning and then attraction evolved if you get to know somebody."
"And again, I've been on the opposite side of the spectrum where I've been blinded by chemistry and it just never would have worked at all," the personal trainer added.
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Zach noted he at least tried to "stay open-minded" about his relationship with Mindy, even though their honeymoon in Panama was a little strained and uncomfortable.
However, once Mindy and Zach returned home to Washington, D.C. and were supposed to move into a neutral apartment together the show had provided for them, Zach chose to sleep alone at his own place.
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When asked how he could see the marriage working out, Zach replied on Unfiltered, "From a couple points, me not moving in kind of damages my credibility for my commitment, you know, in anybody's eyes for sure."
Jamie agreed, "Yeah," and then Zach continued, "We don't have a lot of attraction or chemistry going [for] us, so I think you have to zoom out a little bit and say, from a friendship standpoint, 'What can I do?'"
Zach said he figured the answer was to "spend valuable time" with Mindy "at every chance."
Two of Zach and Mindy's Married at First Sight co-stars on Season 10, Taylor Dunklin and Michael Watson, joined Zach on the Unfiltered broadcast and provided their thoughts on Mindy's clip with Pastor Cal.
"It's hard as a woman -- or anyone, honestly -- just to hear somebody say [there's no attraction] and then take that with, like, 'This is the person I want to spend the rest of my life with,' who says that to you," Taylor explained.
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"I can understand how she took it really hard. But in another way, I can understand how you [Zach] can be in a situation and not know how to go about it."
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Zach said he never anticipated Mindy would take his feelings so personally and straight to her heart.
"I can't assume everyone has a thick skin and can handle that crucial conversation so easily," Zach said.
"And obviously Mindy is the complete opposite of that when it comes to these type of interpretations for sure."
In the latest tenth-season episode of Married at First Sight, Zach was shown making an effort by meeting Mindy and her friends at a game bar.
He also showed up for a wine night at what was supposed to be his new, shared apartment with Mindy.
Zach claimed he was hoping he would miss Mindy and want to spend more time with her if they were living apart. He basically viewed the idea of distance making the heart grow fonder as a potential way to build attraction to his wife.
Married at First Sight's tenth season also stars Taylor's husband Brandon Reid, Michael's wife Meka Jones, Katie Conrad, Derek Sherman, Jessica Studer and Austin Hurd.
Married at First Sight currently airs on Wednesday nights at 8PM ET/PT on Lifetime.
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