Zach Justice was one of the most controversial cast members on Season 10 of Married at First Sight, and he got tons of backlash from fans of the show.
Unfortunately, his pairing with Mindy Shiben was not a love connection, and viewers didn’t take it well when Zach admitted that he had no attraction to the brunette beauty.
These days the now-divorced couple have both moved on with their lives. Zach gave an exclusive interview to Monsters and Critics where he dished about his time on MAFS and revealed if being painted as a villain affected his life.
Monsters & Critics: Why did you decide to take part in the Married at First Sight experiment?
Zach Justice: I felt like, what I thought, was taking advantage of an opportunity to be favorably matched with a woman based on an in-depth personal preference process. Who wouldn’t want to jump on the opportunity to skip over dating apps and have “experts” match you with someone?
M&C: How did the experience differ from what you thought it would be?
Zach Justice: Everyone did a great job of giving me an idea of what to expect in the process. I guess I’d say it felt a little more conversationally steered by non-cast than I would have presumed. But maybe that’s just naivety on my end going into it.
M&C: What really went wrong during your marriage to Mindy? Did the experts get it wrong in matching you two?
Zach Justice: I think the experts did the best they could in matching who they could with the individuals they had available. But yes, the “experts” didn’t even come close to getting this one right. I felt like they didn’t even read the hundreds of preference questions we had to answer prior to.
M&C: You were painted as the villain during your season. How did that affect your personal or professional life?
Zach Justice: Honestly, that’s the biggest learning curve to come out of this. I wasn’t phased at all based off of the criticism. There was a lot that wasn’t showed or aired—especially things I vocalized in my interviews. So I couldn’t actually take people’s opinions seriously based on a quarter narrative of a reality TV show. But at the end of the day. I also look at it as people are thoroughly entitled to their own opinions.
M&C: Do you think you were accurately portrayed on the show?
Zach Justice: What do you think? Absolutely not!
M&C: What do you wish you had done differently during your time on MAFS?
Zach Justice: Spoke up, versus just sitting back and saying nothing and taking the punches just to get through it.
M&C: How would you sum up your experience on married at first sight?
Zach Justice: Definitely a life experience. Makes for interesting stories I’ll tell you that much.
M&C: Are you watching the current season? If so what’s your impression so far?
Zach Justice: I actually barely watched my season, maybe a couple of episodes. So, therefore, no, I don’t follow the latest and greatest of the MAFS world.
M&C: Are you dating someone special at the moment? What can you tell us about the relationship?
Zach Justice: When it’s serious enough, it’ll be all over my social media. I love highlighting special people in my life, especially a woman I am head over heels for. But until then, I won’t jump the gun.
M&C: What advice would you give to persons going on the show?
Zach Justice: While there are things you can control, there will also be a lot that is out of your control. Just be prepared to embrace that.
Married at First Sight airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on Lifetime.