Married at First Sight star Lauren has admitted she’s still confused over why she and Orion ended up as a divorced couple.
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Not long after Orion — who is of Navajo lineage — and Lauren, who is Black, kicked off their honeymoon in Cancun, Mexico, they had a serious conversation about culture and racism.
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Lauren offended Orion with her careless response to a racial slur during their chat, and Orion simply couldn’t get past it and asked for a divorce as a result.
On Married at First Sight: Afterparty, Lauren discussed her divorce with host Keshia Knight Pulliam on the talk show’s December 13 episode.
On Afterparty, Lauren watched back a MAFS Season 17 clip of Orion telling his friend that he couldn’t imagine himself dating again any time soon because he had “a lot of genuine feelings” for Lauren and their breakup “hurt” him.
“It’s interesting to watch Orion’s side of things because I feel like I’m still confused as to why we’re divorced, honestly,” Lauren confessed.
“I’m still confused as to why if you’re saying there are genuine feelings and I’m sitting here saying there are feelings and I’m putting in the effort, why can’t you just meet me halfway?”
Keshia acknowledged how Orion didn’t seem to know how to meet her halfway but there was clearly so much for the both of them to learn in this space.
“And that you all have learned it,” Keshia noted.
“Oh, for sure,” Lauren agreed.
Lauren said she was “open to having a conversation” with Orion after their breakup but her family advised her against it.
“[My brother and sister-in-law] said, ‘No, you need to shut it down,'” Lauren revealed.
“I think they’re nervous [because] I’m a lover girl and they’re nervous about me getting feelings involved and not having them reciprocated. It’s fair for them to have that concern.”
Lauren also believes that Orion had been “projecting childhood trauma” onto her.
During Lauren and Orion’s honeymoon in Cancun, Orion admitted to his wife that he had used the N-word “ignorantly” and regretfully when he was younger, and then Lauren accepted responsibility for having used some derogatory words in her past as well.
Orion then asked, “Redskin?”
“No, I don’t think I’ve ever used that language. I’ve actually never said [that]. I don’t even know what redskin means, honestly,” Lauren replied.
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Lauren then looked at Orion’s face, which she claimed was a bit sunburned, and started laughing.
“Oh! I do! I just looked at your face,” Lauren said with a giggle and a smile.
Once Lauren could see that she offended and hurt Orion, she apologized and insisted she had meant no malice or disrespect.
Lauren also proceeded to do research on derogatory terms as well as terms of endearment in the Navajo culture to better understand her husband and show her willingness to learn.
On Day 8 of the pair’s marriage, Married at First Sight expert Pastor Calvin Roberson asked Orion via FaceTime if Lauren’s effort and apology were enough for him, and he replied, “Unfortunately [no].”
Orion explained, “The first time I experienced racism was [being called an ‘apple’] within my own culture, and now this second time, I experienced that level of it was with a very crude joke — from [Lauren]… I can’t get past what was said.”
Lauren walked away from the Zoom conversation with Pastor Cal in tears, saying she just needed a moment to compose herself.
“I could write a 50-page essay and give a PowerPoint to the entire USA about derogatory terms in this nation, and it wouldn’t matter to him because it’s a ‘him’ thing,” Lauren vented to producers.
“There is nothing more I can do. There can’t be more remorse. There’s nothing I can do that I haven’t done.”
Lauren said she didn’t think Orion was giving her the same grace that she had offered him for problems in their marriage.
However, Orion decided to give his relationship “a full reset” once they returned to Denver, CO. He came up with the plan to spend a little time apart in order to heal and then hopefully reunite and be stronger than ever before.
But according to Lauren, Orion reached out to her via text during their time apart to say that he didn’t want to continue the marriage — although he’d like to continue the filming process.
It then became time for a sitdown chat with Married at First Sight expert, Dr. Pia Holec.
Lauren claimed Orion had put no effort into meeting up with her before this reunion and that he asked her for a divorce. She also felt he had been sending her mixed signals about whether they were going to have a future together.
Orion told Lauren that there was chemistry between them but things had cut him really deep and he was feeling “heartbroken.” He didn’t think they could constructively talk or get past things because of how Lauren allegedly went from “zero to 100” in their arguments.
Lauren asked Orion if he simply didn’t like her and didn’t want to be with her, and Orion explained how he “lost all romantic interest” for her because of everything that had happened.
Dr. Pia said she didn’t want Orion and Lauren to give up on each other, but Orion was determined to make this their Decision Day.
“Through this, I have maintained my romantic attraction to you, but if you feel you don’t have it in you to do it, I don’t want to twist your arm or force you to stay with me,” Lauren told her husband.
Orion shared how they had great moments but there were no romantic feelings in him anymore.
“With what I’m feeling and where I’m at, I want to continue and follow through with wanting a divorce,” Orion said.
Lauren looked very upset and had nothing else to say, pointing out how her words would be a waste and it didn’t seem to matter what she wanted.
Lauren announced how marriage requires forgiveness and grace and so she couldn’t wait to be in a marriage with someone who wants to try as hard as she does.
“This is stupid. Both of us were robbed because of his unforgiveness, and that’s annoying,” Lauren lamented to the cameras, before walking out of the apartment and leaving Orion alone.
Orion, meanwhile, said he had no regrets and that he truly thought this was the best course of action for them both.
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About The Author:
Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade.