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'MAFS' alum Stacia Karcher calls out Denver cast for focusing on 'optics' amid failed marriages

'MAFS' alum Stacia Karcher claims Season 17 cast members were afraid of cameras

DENVER, COLORADO: 'Married At First Sight' recently invited alums Airris Williama, Rachel Gordillo, Stacia Karcher, Bennett Kirschner, Paige Banks, Jamie Otis and Doug Hehner, to spill the tea in the latest Cast Tell-All. The alums reflected on their current relationship status, splits and their time on the Lifetime show.

However, the 'MAFS' alums also addressed the Denver cast members' obsession with their portrayal on television. 'MAFS' Season 17 has been dubbed as the 'worst season' in franchise history and the Cast Tell-All stars agreed with it. During the episode, Stacia and Jamie called out Season 17 cast members for worrying about optics rather than focusing on their marriage.

Brennan Shoykhet and Austin Reed were the 'MAFS' Season 17 stars who were worried about their on-camera optics. The duo also had explosive feuds with their respective ex-wives, Emily Balch and Becca Haley. The viewers also received the CCTV footage of Austin and Becca's conversation where the former accused his wife of sabotaging his image in front of millions of viewers.

Stacia said, "I think they were like afraid of the cameras, afraid of what people would say. So I think they were holding back a lot." She added, "They're just making themselves look bad."

Jamie shared, "I feel like some people were performing." The Lifetime show alum suggested, "It's easier said than done. But if you really wanted this marriage, and you're really trying to focus on the marriage, you got to let the optics go... the cameras, the producers, all of that, you have to just pretend it's not there, and be so in tuned with each other."

She elaborated, "When you're trying to hide who you are of trying to only portray a certain way, no one can perform 24/7 and it's just impossible. It's exhausting and no wonder why half this cast is like, 'I'm done with this marriage already.'"

Rachel Gordillo reflects on 'pact' to avoid discussing sex on camera

'MAFS' Season 13 star Rachel Gordillo revealed that she along with her season's other brides made a 'pact' not to discuss sex on camera. During the episode, Rachel shared, "So, in the bachelorette parties, we all exchanged our phone numbers [and] immediately have our group chat."

She added, "We all felt very uncomfortable speaking about sex on camera. Like, three of us were in education [and] so, we all said, 'No one say anything.'" The Lifetime show star further noted, "We had a mole in our group text." Rachel revealed that the group had a mole and they told the Lifetime show producer about the pact. 

'MAFS' receives backlash over Cast Tell-All filler episode

'Married At First Sight: Former Cast Tell All' welcomed the most memorable and controversial Lifetime show alum to share behind-the-scenes gossip and inside scoop from their seasons as well as reflect on the current cast members' marriages. Although the alums enjoyed reflecting on the drama, the viewers were quite disappointed as they expected Season 17's explosive reunion.

'MAFS' Season 17 featured five failed marriages and the reunion would take the viewers into the depth of the drama. However, the furious viewers called out the filler episode and said, "#mafs is an unbelievable filler episode...I bailed 12 minutes in...." Another person added, "What kind of Tell All is this?"

Another critic noted, "Seriously, what are all these filler episodes?! Why is the reunion not here yet?" Another internet user penned, "This was def. another wasted episode.. not sure why I’m surprised." Another X user tweeted, "What is the point of this episode?"

Catch 'Married At First Sight' Season 17 Reunion Part 1 on Wednesday, April 10 at 8 pm ET on Lifetime.