EXCLUSIVE: Jamie Marinos opens up about her relationship with Dave Thomas Hand after the reunion.

MAFS’ Jamie Marinos has finally revealed where she stands with Dave Thomas Hand after the reunion. Photos: Channel Nine

For the majority of this year’s season of Married At First Sight, Jamie Marinos and Dave Thomas Hand appeared to be the strongest couple in the experiment. The pair were given the nickname ‘Damie’ on social media shortly after their wedding, and went from strength to strength as they tackled the experts’ tasks and supported one another through various hardships.

Things began to fall apart during the Partner Swap challenge and while they ultimately chose to continue their relationship at Final Vows, they shocked fans when they arrived at the reunion separately. Following Monday night’s dramatic final episode, Jamie has opened up to Yahoo Lifestyle about her relationship with Dave, why they really ended things, and where they stand almost five months after filming wrapped.

Why did Jamie and Dave break up?

The fan favourite bride explains that it wasn’t long after Final Vows when she realised Dave’s feelings weren’t progressing, and she was the one who decided to call it quits.

“When we went back into our home life, it was glaringly, bloody obvious he wasn’t into me,” she details. “I don’t want a relationship where I feel like someone’s just with me out of obligation, because that’s what it kind of felt like. You’re doing check-ins, but there’s no romance, and then my feelings dissipate, and my concerns aren’t getting eased. I was like, that’s enough.

“I initiated the break-up about two weeks after Final Vows, and his response was everything I needed to confirm that I was making the right decision, which was silence and just being agreeable. So I felt amazing. I honestly felt like I could breathe. I walked into the reunion excited, like, I’m finally choosing myself.”

Jamie reveals that she and Dave are no longer in contact since filming the reunion. Photo: Channel Nine

Why didn’t Jamie and Dave go to the reunion together?

Jamie admits she had “so much fear of letting people down” at the reunion that she considered walking in with Dave just to save face.

“I felt disappointed with how things ended because I just pictured from the get-go, I was going to walk into the reunion with Dave. We had such a strong relationship and I wanted to see it through,” she says.

“But then at the same time, I was like, who does it benefit? I know it’s not working, so it’s only going to benefit Dave because he’s got me as a human shield. Like, I’ll protect him if I walk in with him, and no one’s going to question him. It didn’t feel authentic to me, and I pride myself on being authentic.”

She adds that she was surprised Dave tried to rewrite the narrative at the reunion dinner party and tell their co-stars the break-up was a “mutual decision”.

“I couldn’t believe the utter bulls**t that was coming out of his mouth,” she remarks. “That’s why I said, ‘Don’t give an excuse, be honest. You actually did this to me twice, and if I had fallen back in love with you, that would have been the cruelest thing anyone could have done to me, because you knew you weren’t into me’.

“He just wasn’t truthful at all, and I don’t think Dave knows what he wanted. I think he’s still got a lot of learning to do by himself, to be honest, but I just don’t think it was fair to drag me along.”

Jamie says she walked into the reunion excited because she was ‘finally choosing [herself]’. Photo: Channel Nine

Are Jamie and Dave still friends?

While their co-stars Carina Mirabile and Paul Antoine have maintained a friendship after filming the show, Jamie reveals that she and Dave are no longer in contact.

“Dave was really big on, ‘I don’t want to lose you and I don’t want to lose this friendship’. I truly believe that he really wanted me in his life, but he did kind of ghost me a bit after the reunion,” she shares.

“I was contacting him. I was like, ‘You’re the one that was really keen on having me in your life’. When I called him out on it, we kind of got to a better place, but he had made no effort to see me. We did see each other for dinner once, but the friendship just dissipated.”

‘We need to be out of each other’s lives’

Jamie went on to say that she realised while watching the show that her efforts to continue their “lacklustre friendship” had no benefit to her and would only help him maintain a positive public image.

“I would have loved to have had a really good friendship with Dave, but I think going through all my really tough moments, it’s hard to excuse behaviour when it’s watched back. I can understand people make mistakes during the experiment, but the fact that a script is trying to be flipped in other interviews and put onto me just shows that you don’t actually understand the amount of hurt and pain you inflicted onto me,” she remarks.

“I think he needs to collect his peace, I need to collect my peace, and ultimately, we need to be out of each other’s lives.”