Married At First Sight star Domenica Calarco has said she is “carefully planning” her return to social media after a 21-day stay at a mental health retreat.
Calarco, who appeared on season nine of the reality series, updated fans on her mental health weeks after receiving backlash for an episode of her podcast Sit With Us, co-hosted by fellow MAFS alum Ella Ding.
ICYMI, Calarco and Ding last month interviewed controversial 2024 MAFS couple Jack Dunkley and Tori Adams. The interview was promptly slammed online, with listeners — including icon Abbie Chatfield — taking particular aim at Calarco for siding with Dunkley after his season nine comments about putting a “muzzle” on his co-star Lauren Dunn.
“Really disappointing to see the victim blaming here,” Chatfield wrote in a series of Instagram comments responding to the podcast. “I can’t believe I’m seeing you both dismiss what [Dunkley] said.”
Chatfield again addressed the interview on her own podcast It’s A Lot, claiming Calarco and Ding didn’t “even know why [Dunkley’s] muzzle comment was wrong.”
Calarco and Ding released an apology episode of Sit With Us shortly after the ordeal, with Calarco later informing TikTok that she was checking herself into a “mental health retreat” to address the anxiety she’d faced “over the last month.”
Now, the MAFS star has revealed she’s “nearing the end” of her stay at the facility, saying she has “been focusing intensely on my wellbeing and recovery.”
Calarco took to the Sit With Us Instagram page to provide the update, describing her time at the retreat as “invaluable” for allowing her to “reflect, heal, and grow in ways that I couldn’t have imagined before.”
The 31-year-old also said she’ll be returning to social media “sometime later this week” after deleting her profiles amid the podcast controversy.
“I am looking forward to reconnecting with all of you,” Calarco wrote, adding that she’ll also return to the Sit With Us podcast in the near future.
“My goal is to come back stronger and more mentally fit than ever before,” she said. “I cannot wait to be back with Ella doing what I love!”.
Chatfield was one of multiple reality stars to weigh in on the Sit With Us controversy, with Dunn saying she was “unbothered” by “bitchy podcasts” and Olivia Frazer — AKA Calarco’s season nine nemesis — warning fans to look out for “excuses and crocodile tears”.
Image source: TikTok/ @domenica.calarco and Instagram/ @sitwithusthepod
