Stacia Karcher and Nate Barnes. Courtesy of Stacia Karcher/Instagram
Another Married at First Sight couple bites the dust. Stacia Karcher and Nate Barnes, who wed during season 15 of the Lifetime experiment, have broken up.
“Nate is no longer around. Yeah, I am divorced,” Stacia, 37, told host Kevin Frazier during the MAFS season 16 kickoff special, which aired on Thursday, December 29. “Yeah, It’s time [to move on].”
She added: “Everything that he agreed to do on the show were all words. There was no action. I gave it time. I waited. I was patient. I lived with him to give him more time to let him know that I was committed. I still want to be friends. I have no ill will [toward] him. I always, like, I love him [like a friend].”
Stacia and Nate, 34, were matched by the MAFS experts during San Diego’s season 15, where they met in person on their wedding day. Despite sizzling sexual chemistry, the estranged couple struggled after their honeymoon. The financier was hesitant to move in with his then-wife and was not on board with her quick plans for having children.
Nate Barnes and Stacia Karcher. Courtesy of Nate Barnes/Instagram
The entrepreneur later revealed in the Where Are They Now? special, which aired last month, that their marriage was on the rocks. “I asked Nate for a separation … Well, a divorce, I guess,” Stacia told her mom during the November 16 episode. “I came into the experience wanting to move at a faster pace and be OK with that. Like, I don’t think anybody should’ve come into this process like, ‘Oh yeah, I want to get married to this stranger but I wanna move slow now.’ I’m like ‘OK, so why did we get married then?’”
While the twosome had yet to officially separate at the time of filming, Stacia questioned if she should search for a partner who better matches her pace.
“I did everything to try and make it comfortable for him,” the Lifetime personality said of Nate at the time. “Like, after Decision Day, I moved all my stuff into his studio. So we did that for a little while until he told me to leave because he needed space, just under two weeks ago. And I haven’t seen him since. There’s no change that has happened for me to be fulfilled because [Nate is] still closed.”
Neither Stacia nor Nate have further addressed their breakup, though the bride shared a cryptic social media message several days later that seemingly pointed to her reason for ending the marriage.
“I don’t walk away to teach [people] a lesson. I walk away [because] I finally learned mine,” an anonymous quote read on Stacia’s Instagram Story on Friday, December 30.
With Stacia and Nate’s split, Miguel Santiago and Lindy Elloway are the last couple from season 15 that are still together. Season 16, which was filmed in Nashville, is set to kick off in January 2023.
