EXCLUSIVE: Dave Thomas Hand opens up about his relationship with Jamie Marinos.

MAFS’ Dave Thomas Hand has opened up about why he and Jamie attended the dinner party separately. Photos: Channel Nine

They’ve been one of the strongest couples in the experiment since the start of the season, but cracks started to show for Married At First Sight’s Jamie Marinos and Dave Thomas Hand during feedback week. The fan-favourite pair clashed during a conversation about intimacy where Dave admitted their lack of sex was because his feelings weren’t as strong as hers.

Things appear to take a turn for the worse at the upcoming dinner party with Jamie and Dave each arriving solo. The self-proclaimed ‘big friendly giant’ tells Yahoo Lifestyle he had a “heavy heart” attending by himself and felt “the most anxious [he’s] ever been”.

“I was definitely in my shell, my walls were up. I was, if anything, pretty much just shut off from trying to be hurt,” he explains. “Probably a selfish part on my end but I was hurting and Jamie was hurting as well, and that’s not what I wanted to happen.

“I did not want to hurt this woman at all, as you can see throughout the experiment. I had her back and did the best job I could. So seeing her hurt was really hard.”

Dave says he had a ‘heavy heart’ attending the dinner party solo and his ‘walls were up’. Photo: Channel Nine

Dave reveals the biggest regret from his relationship with Jamie

Speaking about his regrets in the experiment up until this point, Dave admits he wishes he spoke up more about his feelings for Jamie.

“Obviously I didn’t reciprocate the love feeling back, but maybe I should have explained where I was exactly at so I could reassure her. I just really missed the boat on that one,” he reflects.

“I think this is a huge lesson I’ve taken out of this experiment. I need to communicate better with Jamie, that’s something that I’ve definitely learned about myself. No one’s perfect. I learned good things and bad things throughout this experiment and you get to put the mirror up and be accountable for it.”

Do Jamie and Dave stay until the end of the experiment?

Fans can rest assured that Jamie and Dave won’t be leaving at the upcoming commitment ceremony as he confirms they attend next week’s home stays.

“We had plenty of hard conversations in the experiment. We had been discussing the outside, and with home stays coming up as well, that’s another big thing around the corner that we’re going to have to go through together,” he teases.