Married at First Sight: Where Are They Now? featured Clint Webb and Gina Micheletti in new exclusive relationships, Shaquille Dillon feeling a "spark" with Kirsten Grimes but not acting on it, Mackinley Gilbert expressing regret over losing Gina, and Domynique Kloss feeling left out during the Season 16 episode that aired Wednesday night on Lifetime.
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On Decision Day, Nicole Lilienthal and Chris Thielk were the only couple who chose to stay married. Clint and Gina mutually decided to get a divorce, as did Jasmine Secrest and Airris Williams.
Kirsten had been hoping to stay married, but Shaquille shocked his wife and asked for a divorce.
As for Domynique and Mackinley, they chose to split and end their marriage only 12 days into the experiment.
Although the cameras had stopped rolling after Decision Day and its two-part reunion shortly afterward, their lives moved on.
The Married at First Sight: Where Are They Now? special began with the cast gathering together for one last retreat in Nashville.
The five women of Season 16 kicked things off with a relaxing sound bath in the woods, and then three of their spouses -- Clint, Shaquille and Chris -- joined them slowly, one by one.
Domynique, Shaquille and Nicole were all celebrating new jobs, and Shaquille -- who was finally close to receiving his PhD -- said Kirsten looked beautiful, as always, dressed up or down without makeup.
Kirsten said once Shaquille saw her in her Vegas-style dress, he'd want her back.
Clint revealed he was dating someone new, and Nicole -- who had met her -- called her very sweet, beautiful and nice. Clint gushed about how the woman made him happy, and then Nicole spilled the beans that Clint had a photograph of the couple framed in his apartment.
"We dropped some L-bombs," Clint announced, which prompted the entire cast to cheer and celebrate.
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Shaquille shared how he had been on a few dates and was just enjoying himself. Shaquille had been on multiple dates with one person, but he said nothing serious was going on. For Gina's part, she was dating a man she had known for 10 years.
"We are exclusive, so I'm really happy," Gino noted.
Clint, Shaquille and Chris then played pool together, and Shaquille admitted that he used to be a workaholic. Shaquille said he and Kirsten were finally on the same page and understood each other. Their communication had improved, and Shaquille noted, "It had to be us [that figured it out] and nobody else."
Airris and Mackinley showed up later on, just in time for dinner.
Chris revealed that he and Nicole wanted to travel and enjoy being married before having a child.
Mackinley claimed he and Domynique were "cool," and Domynique said she was fine and didn't really care given her marriage had only lasted 12 days. Domynique had apparently been receiving a lot of hate, while Mackinley boasted it was all love in his DMs.
Airris shared with the guys how he was just "chilling" and not dating much.
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"He didn't try to pursue me or anything after the reunion, so that's confirmation," Kirsten said. "I really feel like if Shaquille wanted to be with me, he definitely would've tried. Some women like to be pursued."
Almost everyone was "booed up," according to Gina.
During their taco dinner, Nicole said she and Chris were great and very much in love but all of the negative comments and haters out there really bothered her. Chris also admittedly went down a rabbit hole himself but managed to snap out of it.
Gina said she got a lot of hate and negative Google reviews as well; however, she pointed out that most fans in-person were very nice to her. The cast agreed to rise above the Internet trolls, remain confident and support each other.
The next day, the cast split up into two teams -- selected by random draw -- and played the beer Olympics. Clint said the goal was to get hammered drunk and run across the obstacle course. Jasmine, however, opted out and decided to be the referee, probably to set a good example for her cheerleading students.
Clint, Shaquille and Kirsten competed against Gina, Domynique and Mackinley.
Mackinley, Gina and Domynique ended up winning the competition.
After getting cleaned up, Mackinley and Gina spoke about how their second date never happened. Gina said she didn't feel like Mackinley was interested in her, but Mackinley assured her that he was. Mackinley confessed he had dropped the ball, and Gina acknowledged she could've done a better job of reaching out to him as well.
Mackinley explained how he felt "butterflies" but also "panic" every time Gina called him because he wasn't sure what she wanted and how serious he was ready to be after their failed marriages.
"Everything we went through, it was tough. We all make mistakes. I think I missed my opportunity with you," Mackinley said.
Gina agreed that boat had sailed, and so Mackinley said he was going to take some time for himself and not focus on finding a relationship.
Jasmine left the getaway early, and then Mackinley revealed how he wanted to date a girl who's a "homebody" and would like to start a family soon.
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Many of the cast members got teary-eyed as they shared memories and things they learned from being on the show, including Airris, who thanked Shaquille for being his "dog" and extremely good friend.
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Gina thanked Jasmine for building her confidence during the process, and the cast complimented and praised each other for their strengths, positive personality traits, and friendly support.
The next day, Chris and Clint talked to Shaquille about how he and Kirsten were matched correctly but they needed to acknowledge their flaws and work out their issues in order to have long-term success.
Shaquille wasn't sure if he and Kirsten had a future together because he no longer lived in Nashville and they'd be trying to make something happen long distance.
Shaquille thought continuing to be friends made the most sense for them for the time being. The guys told Shaquille to live his best life, and he teased, "Y'all will find out next season."
Meanwhile, Domynique shared with the girls how she really liked the guy she was dating but they were still "talking" and hadn't decided to be exclusive yet. Jasmine opened up about how her new boyfriend was supportive of her during her toughest moments and she was almost ready to pop out some babies.
At the end of the getaway, Kirsten and Shaquille talked about how they were probably going to continue to grow together and then grow apart. Shaquille insisted he'd always have Kirsten's back and would never let anybody bring her down.
Kirsten started to cry and told Shaquille that she was working on being vulnerable and sharing her true feelings. Shaquille liked seeing Kirsten tear down her "brick walls," and he said he was ready to receive all of her truth and emotions.
"You are more than welcome to come to Nashville and call me any time," Kirsten said, before Shaquille gave her a big hug.
Later on, the group enjoyed cocktails, and Mackinley admitted he wished he had stayed in the process longer to experience everything and become closer to everybody. He was visibly upset that he and Domynique had called it quits so early and missed out on so much.
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The women seemed surprised by Domynique's sudden outburst, and Nicole promised to make a better effort with their relationship.
Nicole assured Domynique was she was "still part of the sisterhood" even though she had backed out of the MAFS experiment sooner than everybody else.
The weekend ended with the group celebrating Shaquille and Airris' birthday with a Las Vegas-themed party. All of the women got dressed up in glittery and sparkly dresses.
Domynique ultimately admitted asking for a divorce 12 days in was "premature" and she learned not to judge people right off the bat and to be more open minded.
And Kirsten admitted she cared more about Shaquille than she thought she did.
"You never know where life is going to take us, but ultimately we're happy with where we are. But I definitely feel like there's still something there; there is still a spark," Shaquille concluded.
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski