Married at First Sight Australia 2023‘s Alyssa Barmonde is using her newfound Instagram freedom to spill tea about her ex-TV hubby, Duncan James.
We all thought Alyssa and Duncan were going to be the next Cam Merchant and Jules Robinson until the second half of the experiment took a turn for the worst.
The “I have a child” repeater copped a nasty edit, which she claims saw her fired from her job. All the while, Duncan is flashing his new romance with Evelyn Ellis as they make a bid for MAFS‘ biggest power couple.
Now, Alyssa has taken to the ‘gram to blow the lid on the truth about her relationship in a spicy Q&A.
One fan asked the 35-year-old whether she “regret[s] the way [she] acted towards [Duncan]” because he is an “amazing man”.
Agreeing, Alyssa said that “Duncan is a great guy, totally”.
However: “I just feel like he was saying and doing things in a particular way.”
“He was very — I don’t know if I want to say strategic — he was just careful with his words and what he was saying,” she continued.
“How he was presenting himself because he was very different on camera to off camera, to me.”
Does Alyssa Barmonde regret how she behaved towards Duncan James?
Wondering aloud if she regretted “some of the ways” she acted towards him, the mum-of-one said, “absolutely”.
“I just say how I feel… I say what’s on my mind,” Alyssa confessed. “Maybe I should be a bit more careful with what I say and how I react, especially on reality TV.”
Reiterating that she thinks Duncan is “great”, the Sydneysider — who is currently visiting in her home state of Utah, USA — said they just weren’t “the right match”.
“I think we are in two totally different life spaces,” she explained. “Our trajectories are going in a very different way.
“I have a completely different life than he does and that’s okay.”
Does Alyssa Barmonde think it was reasonable to put limits on the time she spent with Duncan James?
Discussing her life as a mum, Alyssa said that people don’t understand that single parents have “different priorities”.
“I love this question, when people are like, ‘Why did you go on MAFS if you could only be a part-time wife’, or ‘Why did you tell Duncan you’re only available on Wednesdays and every other weekend?’
“When you have a child, and you’re not ready — for me, at least — to introduce that child to your new partner, you have limited time,” she explained.
“You have different priorities, you have limited time that you’re available, just the two of you.”
She went on to say that Duncan’s sister also tried to get her brother to understand this.
“His sister, when we had a chat with her, she was like, ‘Duncan, it’s just temporary until you meet her child,'” Alyssa recalled.
“It’s one of the hardest things ever [about being a single parent that’s dating], because sometimes it just doesn’t align.”
While there doesn’t seem to be any love lost between Alyssa and Duncan, the cyber security salesman recently dished that he hasn’t heard from his former bae since the show.
“And look, that’s okay…because she’s probably hurt and not feeling too good,” he continued.
The 36-year-old then said he tried to offer support to his ex-partner, but he received “no communication” in return.
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