‘Married at First Sight’ Groom Shawn Best Apologizes to Nikki Jefferson After “Wifely Duty” Backlash

To say Shawn Best has been a bit controversial on Married at First Sight season 20 would be an understatement. From his polarizing stance on soap (he doesn’t use it) to his constant gaslighting, fans are shocked that Nikki Jefferson has stuck with him for as long as she has—but at least he’s finally acknowledging his appalling onscreen behavior (kind of).In a lengthy Instagram statement posted on August 10, Shawn apologized for (1) trying to coerce Nikki into performing a sexual act under the guise of it being a “wifely duty” and (2) denying that he ever referred to it as a “wifely duty.”“I apologize. It was my wrongdoing. Full stop,” he began his statement. “I am starting to get it now. And, I am truly sorry to my wife and the many out there who’ve felt the wrong side of feeling before. Family and friends who love me tell me about myself - so know that they love and correct me. My village keeps me accountable. And this is what I’ve learned since getting married.”After admitting that he “gaslit my wife” and “said words, tried to backtrack, and did not own up to what I said,” he then proceeded to dole out advice to his followers, like “wait until your partner is ready” and “just apologize,” before concluding with, “May our transparency in this process provide some level of healing for your journey.”Add Cosmopolitan as a preferred source in your Google search results.Use your Google account to add this to your settings.In case you missed it: The controversial moment went down during the latest batch of episodes dropped on August 6, after which Shawn claimed that he was “literally not thirsty” and never intended to be “disrespectful.” Most notably, he told Nikki that he “would never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever say, ‘Okay, it’s your wifely duty to please me,’” despite him saying those exact words to her on camera.In other news: Since MAFS season 20 first aired on July 12, Shawn (who’s the VP of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at Olympic College) has joined Cameo and announced that he’s writing a book called Frames of Love about “how to stop dating through old wounds and start communicating for the love you actually want.”So…I’ll let you decide how genuine that apology to Nikki was!