Instagram/Lifetime Zach Justice, star of the hit reality series "Married at First Sight," was talking to his wife Mindy's friend Lindsay without her knowledge.
Zach Justice, star of the hit reality series Married at First Sight, has been at the center of some controversy involving one of his wife’s friends over recent episodes of the show. After Mindy Shiben discovered Zach has been talking to her friend Lindsay without her knowledge, their relationship has taken a rocky turn for the worst.
So who is Lindsay, and what’s going on between her and Zach? Are Lindsay and Zach having an affair, or is it just an innocent friendship? Here’s what we know (Warning: MAJOR MAFS spoilers ahead!):
The Two First Connected at Zach & Mindy’s Wedding
Zach’s relationship with Lindsay first came to light during an earlier episode of the show, after Zach accused Mindy of lying to him about something that happened early in their marriage. When Mindy asked where he heard about her supposed dishonesty, he admitted that he’s been talking to her friend Lindsay since the two first connected at their wedding.
“Lindsay has reached out to me,” Zach tells Mindy in the clip above. “Shortly after the wedding. We started following each other [on Instagram] and I think when she found out things weren’t going well, she had things to say.” He adds, “I told her the whole attraction thing and … it helped kind of hearing things from her because she is just as logical as I am and straightforward as I am.”
When Mindy notes that “it sounds like you’ve confided in her about a lot of stuff,” Zach says, “I have sought help from her, yes.” He then tells Mindy that they started talking over Instagram and exchanged numbers; he claims that they only texted and talked on the phone “a few” times since, and the conversations were always about Mindy. However, when she asks to see the texts, he claims to have deleted them.
When Mindy Confronted Lindsay, She Told a Different Story
After the uncomfortable conversation with Zach, Mindy decided to reach out to her friend to hear her side of the story. In the clip above, Lindsay tells Mindy a completely different story; she says the two have spoken much more frequently than Zach claims and that the conversations weren’t always just about Mindy.
When Mindy asks how many times the two have talked over the phone, Lindsay says they’ve chatted at least 2-3 times, when Zach said it was just once. She tells Mindy, “He’s called me after things and been like ‘I need to talk to you about this.'” Mindy asks if he’s only reached out to her to get advice on his relationship with Mindy or if he’s also called/texted Lindsay “just for the hell of it,” and Lindsay responds, “I think both … I felt like we were building a friendship outside of just you.”
Mindy adds that Zach claims the two have only discussed hers and Zach’s relationship during their conversations and Lindsay responds, “I think that’s unfair to say that all of our conversations have been about you because that’s just not true.” She then disputes Zach’s claim that the two hadn’t talked in a few days (since Lindsay claims he texted her that same morning), and when Mindy asks for the texts, Lindsay also conveniently deleted it. You can check out the full, cringeworthy clip above.
Lindsay Claims She Never Wants to Talk to Zach Again … at Least Until After Filming
In the same clip shared above, Lindsay tells Mindy that she has “no interest in ever talking to him again,” and says she deleted his texts because she’s “immature.”
“This is one of my biggest downfalls,” Lindsay says while “searching” for the texts from Zach. “If someone is texting me who I don’t want in my life at all, I just remove them from everything so I don’t have their number accessible to me.”
She adds that she is “learning how he manipulates things,” and claims she told him she didn’t want to talk to him again “until filming is over.” She even used the phrase “we’re done,” as though she broke up with him (which we found odd).
Lindsay then tells Mindy that she’s going to block Zach’s number as soon as she gets off the phone with her. “I have no interest in ever talking to him ever again,” she says, adding, “I think he’s a liar and a sociopath.”
Mindy Finds Out Lindsay Told Zach About a Situation With Mindy’s Ex
During an earlier episode of the show, Zach confronted Mindy about lying to him early on in their relationship, although he refused to tell Mindy what he was talking about (check out the clip above). She finally convinced him to discuss it with her off camera after the two recommitted to each other, and Zach revealed that he found out “from a mutual friend” that Mindy’s ex wanted to pick her up from the airport when she returned from Panama on her bogus honeymoon with Zach.
Well, it turns out Zach lied to Mindy once again, as Mindy finds out from her friend Shannie that Lindsay knew about Mindy’s ex wanting to pick her up. Shannie, who is the one who actually picked Mindy up from the airport, tells Mindy that she told Lindsay about Mindy’s ex wanting to meet her, so Zach could have only found out through Lindsay.
“When you were on your way back from Panama and you told me that your ex-boyfriend had mentioned something about wanting to pick you up from the airport, I had mentioned that to Lindsay,” Shannie tells the reality star. After Mindy digests the new information, she tells the cameras, “There’s really no other explanation than it being Lindsay that told Zach that my ex was going to pick me up from the airport. And Zach swore up and down that he got this information from a friend of his.” She adds, “He’s deliberately lying to me to protect Lindsay.”
Mindy Ends Her Marriage to Zach During the March 25 Episode of MAFS
After finding out that her husband lied to her again in order to protect his relationship with Lindsay, Mindy ends her relationship with Zach during the March 25 episode of the show. She confronts him about who actually told him about her ex, and he admits that it was Lindsay, and tells Mindy that he didn’t want her to think he was “being influenced … by different external sources.”
Mindy doesn’t buy his story, and tells him that she won’t let herself be lied to and disrespected by him again. “I mean, I’m your wife and that’s disrespect. That’s major disrespect to be carrying on this relationship and to not even tell me the truth,” she tells Zach. “I take marriage very seriously and not being able to trust my own husband is a feeling that’s just … it’s terrible and I don’t want that.”
She continues, “I told myself that I was only going to let myself be disappointed like that one more time and that’s it. So I can’t subject myself to that. I’m sorry to say, but I don’t want to be in this marriage anymore.”
Married at First Sight airs Wednesday nights at 8 p.m. ET on Lifetime. You can find updates on the Season 10 cast, weekly spoilers, couples still together predictions and more MAFS coverage here.
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