Married at First Sight’s Michael is setting the record straight about his runaway bride.
In PEOPLE’s exclusive sneak peek at this week’s reunion episode of the hit Lifetime series, host Kevin Frazier directly asks Michael if the runaway bride storyline was “staged.”
“By no means was it staged,” Michael clarifies. “And the audience probably doesn’t mean any malice — that’s just how they feel in terms of how everything w as presented — but it can be tough at times because it’s like, well, those are real emotions from me.”
Frazier, 59, agrees, stating that he didn’t believe “you were acting when you went in there and when you were with your closest friends and you broke down.”
“I was doing my best up to that point to not break down because I wanted to maintain a level of strength in that moment,” Michael explains. “You know, there’s a bit of pride that comes in — and especially among my friends and family — I didn’t want them to worry any more than they already were worried.”
He continues: “But it did become a little bit overwhelming just because, as I’m recapping everything, as I’m seeing their reaction, that kind of just created that rush of emotion.”
“It was a tough thing to watch,” Frazier adds.
Earlier this season, Michael revealed to his MAFS costars that he had been left at the altar.
“You know, wedding day comes around and she comes down, she pauses for a moment and then essentially states that she doesn’t want to marry a stranger,” he explained to the other couples.
He added that his bride “left a note and that was our real, only contact.”
After his bride’s shocking exit, Dr. Pepper Schwartz, a sociologist on the Lifetime series, asked Michael if he was open to taking “another chance” on love.
Michael went on to marry Chloe; however, the couple expressed hesitations about staying together as Decision Day neared. Ultimately, Chloe wanted to move forward with the marriage but Michael decided they should divorce.
Married At First Sight (produced by Kinetic Content) airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on Lifetime. Married At First Sight: AfterParty airs at 10 p.m. ET.