Source: Lifetime / Kinetic Content
Now that Married at First Sight is over and the conversation surrounding the reunion drama has settled, Taylor Dunklin is sharing her thoughts on her time on the show and her time being married to Brandon Reid.
The Season 10 star’s Instagram account was made public late last week (she does have a pretty good following by the way, more than 50,000 as of print). Now public, she posted an Instagram Story thanking people for the kind words she had received, while also speaking honestly about how bad the whole getting married at first sight thing went.
“I really appreciate all the positivity, kind words, and honest constructive criticism/advice,” she said in the message. “But honestly, being apart of this show was The WORST, most stressful experience I ever had in my life. I barely watched. So much happened off camera or that the show didn’t display. It’s hard when you have to continue to relive it.”
She admitted that her demeanor had shifted due to the stressful eight to nine weeks of filming throughout her rocky marriage to Brandon. Still, she was doing some work presently to get back to her old self.
“I’m healing from it, becoming better from it, accepting it as a learning experience & moving on to getting back to the positive care-free HAPPY person I was before,” she said.
As for Brandon’s claims that she had this huge following and only did the show to get famous, she poked fun at that while closing out her message.
“Sorry if my page is a disappointment, I’m not really the ‘social media queen’ he tried to make me out to be lol,” she said.
It’s good that Taylor still has a sense of humor, because it was definitely a long season for her, and not only rough with Brandon, but also with MAFS viewers on Twitter who were big critics of hers. However, she insists that her intentions were always pure. “I really wanted to find love I felt like was in a good place financially and mentally before all of this,” she told a follower. “I hope all of us even the dudes find love…”
Hit the flip to see 10 reasons why doing the show probably really was the worst experience of her life.
People Said She Wouldn’t Take Responsibility for Her Part in the Downfall of Her Marriage
While there were many occasions where Brandon was pretty terrible (I have full list of shenanigans here), many people on social media claimed that Taylor always acted like a victim. They pointed out that there were some ugly situations she helped to escalate and drama she started that she couldn’t just say sorry about and move on from.
People Assumed She Told on Katie
During the reunion, do you remember how Derek claimed that he heard that Katie cheated on him more than once, sleeping with her ex right after their honeymoon? Well, Derek said he got that information from fellow cast members. Now, he wouldn’t say who told him this information, claiming he promised the people he wouldn’t put them out there like that. However, people online assumed Taylor was one of the people to spill the beans. That can likely be blamed on the fact that she didn’t say that she didn’t NOT do so, and people feeling like she and Derek were super friendly, a tad too friendly, during the couples trip.
Wig Critics
It’s safe to say that since were were introduced to Taylor back in January (damn, it really has been a long season), she’s worn the same wig just about every episode. She did switch it up once, but people noticed that her curly hairpiece was a constant presence throughout the season. She got married in it, got in water in it, and showed up to the reunion with it on. She’s a cute girl, but many said the wig was not cute enough for her.
She Got Arrested
What could be a more terrible experience than to finish out your marriage getting arrested with your estranged husband? Taylor moved on from Brandon following decision day and started seeing someone new. However, she made the mistake of trying to hit up a bar in D.C. with her new beau that she knew Brandon frequented. When he ended up spotting her there, all hell broke loose. She claimed he followed them, he claimed she pushed him. Whatever the truth, both she and Brandon got arrested once police were called, and both made the move to get restraining orders.
People Believed She Just Wanted the Notoriety
A common complaint about Taylor was that people believed she did a lot of things, the show in general at that, for the opportunity to just be on TV and gain notoriety to build her image. She always contended that was a lie, but a number of viewers, and Brandon, couldn’t shake the feeling that she really wasn’t in it for the marriage after a while, but rather, for attention.
https://twitter.com/KeeAuntie/status/1232851551519215617
That Instagram Story
The big issue during the season that truly began to chip away at Taylor’s image to those watching was when she shared an Instagram message talking about how hard it was to find a good, sane man. She recorded the video while still married to Brandon, and while outside of the apartment they shared one night. Despite it being obvious that she was venting about her husband, Taylor tried to portray that she wasn’t talking about him at one point before eventually admitting she was. Instead of being apologetic though, she said she didn’t think he would see the Story and she didn’t see what the big deal was.
She Was Berated on Camera
Still, for her flaws, Taylor was treated pretty harshly at times by Brandon throughout Season 10. Nothing beats him cursing her out on the cast bus as they prepared to travel back to D.C. from their honeymoon in Panama. Not only had she packed his bags for him after he threw a tantrum, and his wedding ring, at her, but he embarrassed her in front of her cast mates (and the world pretty much).
Accused of Cheating
Soon after Season 10 premiered, we knew were in for some real drama, because it came out that Brandon had filed for an annulment of his marriage to Taylor. In the annulment paperwork, he claimed that Taylor had cheated on him and didn’t come on the show for the right reasons (there that rumor goes again). He said she had auditioned for other reality shows in the past. He also hinted at her possibly being a cheater during the season when she stayed out all night, claiming she fell asleep in a friend’s hotel room.
Brandon Was Just Not Fun
Taylor seemed very light and bubbly, for the most part. However, dealing with Brandon’s mood swings and feeling as though she was the only person trying to make a real effort to make their marriage work obviously changed her. She ended up enjoying spending more time and having more fun with friends, including show buddy Meka, than she did with Brandon.
So Much For Trusting the Experts
People who take part in the show claim that one of the big draws to it is the fact that the experts put their heads together to find individuals their perfect match. This season though, there were too many matches that just did not fit, including Taylor and Brandon. Taylor claimed she went in really looking for love, and in the end, well, we all saw how that worked out…
