Jamie Marinos has revealed the surprising reason why she rejected fellow MAFS bride Rhi Disljenkovic’s apology after their explosive retreat drama.
The 28-year-old marketing manager told Daily Mail Australia, she initially refused to accept Rhi’s apology because she wanted her to own up to her behaviour on camera.
‘Rhi did try to apologise to me once off camera, but I never heard from Carina,’ she said.
‘In the three days after the retreat, Rhi and Carina never called me or messaged me. At the retreat they could’ve just walked to my room if they really wanted to.’
She explained how disappointing it was that no one checked in on her despite knowing how upset she was.
‘Even though I wasn’t receptive at the time to receive an apology, when I finally left the room and tried to put myself back out there, Rhi tried to approach me later to apologise,’ Jamie reveealed
Married At First Sight’s Jamie Marinos (pictured) has revealed that fellow bride Rhi Disljenkovic apologised to her privately after their explosive retreat drama but she refused to accept it
‘Rhi did try to apologise to me once off camera, but I never heard from Carina,’ Jamie told Daily Mail Australia
‘But at that point, I had been in my room distraught all morning. You have my number – you could have called me.’
Jamie admitted she wasn’t interested in private apologies.
‘I’m like, I’m not ready to receive this apology in private again. I’d rather have this conversation at the dinner party. I wanted people to stop being my friends off camera and have this group discussion – with Lauren present as well.
‘I wanted someone to say, “We’re sorry. We shouldn’t have let a grown man swear at you. We shouldn’t have let someone call you names. You had good intentions”.’
Jamie also admitted the episode revisiting the drama at the retreat was difficult for her to watch.
‘It just destroyed me by the end of the episode. I was back in tears like I was at the retreat again.’
Despite the criticism she has faced, Jamie said she stands by how she handled the situation.
‘Absolutely back myself one thousand percent. The only thing is, I wish I could have articulated my points better, but because I was so triggered,’ she said.
‘I’m like, I’m not ready to receive this apology in private again. I’d rather have this conversation at the dinner party. I wanted people to stop being my friends off camera and have this group discussion – with Lauren present as well,’ Jamie continued
The episode revisiting the drama at the retreat was difficult for Jamie to watch
‘I’ve experienced, unfortunately, a lot of really toxic dynamics. It was very triggering for me when I think I was getting penalised for being loud.’
She continued: ‘It means people are allowed to call you names, and grown men are allowed to swear at you, and that’s okay for people to sit silently and enable that behaviour.
‘That’s what was really triggering. I was like, “Do I deserve this? Is that what’s going on?” Because I am loud. But I have a very big heart and am incredibly sensitive. I care about my friends so much, and so that was really painful to watch again.’
Jamie also slammed Carina’s role in the situation.
‘I care about my friends who watch really bad behaviour and choose not to say anything. I care about people who call themselves peacemakers and Switzerland—aka Carina.
‘And her version of being a peacemaker is just siding with one person and enabling really poor behaviour against another person. That’s not a peacemaker or Switzerland. That was really disappointing to watch again too.’
When asked why it was so important for her friends to support her, Jamie said loyalty was a big value of hers.
‘I’ve always supported my friends. I didn’t ask them to stand up, yell, or cause a scene. But when they see a grown man swear at me, that’s a really good time to say, “Hey, maybe don’t swear at Jamie”.
Jamie also slammed Carina’s (pictured)role in the situation, adding: ‘I care about my friends who watch really bad behaviour and choose not to say anything’
‘Or when a girl is calling me names like troll, bogan, loser, buffoon in front of them, acting like a wild animal—that’s a really great time to step in.’
Jamie was particularly grateful for her partner Dave Hand’s support during this difficult time.
‘Dave’s support meant everything to me. I was actually devastated. I was crying all night after that, and Dave just held me. I felt like it was me and him against the world at that point. He was such a great support system for me.’
When asked if any of the girls reached out to her in the days before the dinner party, Jamie explained that Awhina Rutene was one of the only ones to stand by her.
‘Awhina actually scolded the whole group for not sticking up for me. She’s such a genuine friend.
‘I was so distraught I couldn’t even leave my room, and Jacqui (Burfoot), Adrian (Araouzou), and Awhina all visited me. Beth was also really kind to me and apologetic, but she was new, and I didn’t have those expectations on her.’
Jamie also had strong words for Lauren, who failed to show up to the dinner party following the drama.
‘This woman, she’s a piece of work. She had no issues calling us every name under the sun, but then she played the victim.
‘Dave’s support meant everything to me. I was actually devastated. I was crying all night after that, and Dave just held me,’ she gushed
When asked if any of the girls reached out to her in the days before the dinner party, Jamie explained that Awhina Rutene (pictured) was one of the only ones to stand by her
‘Pick a lane, girl. If you want to be a b**ch, wear that with pride. Own it. Back what you say. If you want to be the victim, then shut your mouth.’
She also dismissed speculation that Lauren felt left out.
‘Lauren had every opportunity to be part of the girls. We embraced her. We made small talk with her. But she just didn’t want a bar of us. She had this elitist mentality and thought she was above everyone.’
When asked if she thought some cast members were acting for the cameras, Jamie didn’t hold back.
‘Is the Pope Catholic? We’re on a reality TV show – of course, people are putting on a bit of a show.’
Despite everything, Jamie has no regrets about how she handled herself.
‘My pain turned into anger, but at the same time, if you’re going to throw stones at me, don’t complain if I throw boulders.’
She hopes that her experience can help others.
‘I really hope my experience helps someone else. I’ve been inundated with TikToks and messages of support. Loud people aren’t the bad guys.’
