Rachel Opens Up on Stevens Shocking Rejection

Married At First Sight bride Rachel Gilmore has broken her silence after one of the most uncomfortable moments of the season played out on national television.

During Intimacy Week, Rachel's 'ultimate fantasy' was simple - she just wanted her husband Steven Danyluk to kiss her.

Instead, she was left humiliated when he pulled back.

Speaking to Daily Mail, Rachel, 35, admitted reliving the moment was almost harder than experiencing it the first time.

'It's definitely been a rollercoaster,' she said.

'Seeing a moment that was hard to go through, and then to relive it… reliving that rejection again was very hard to watch.'

MAFS bride Rachel Gilmore has broken her silence after one of the most uncomfortable moments of the season played out on national television. Pictured with Steven Danyluk

During Intimacy Week, Rachel's 'ultimate fantasy' was simple - she just wanted her husband Steven Danylukn to kiss her

When asked what was going through her head in that split second Steven rejected her, Rachel did not hold back.

'My heart just dropped to the bottom of my stomach,' she revealed.

'My ultimate fantasy was just ripped away from me, which was a simple kiss. That feeling of something more, just a bit of intimacy. So a kiss, essentially.'

'I just remember thinking, this is just not how I saw this going.'

Rachel said viewers may not have realised she and Steven had already discussed boundaries ahead of Intimacy Week.

'We knew Intimacy Week was coming. Steven has watched the show before and very much knew what it came with,' she explained.

'He's a little bit awkward, bless him, so we had a conversation about keeping it respectful. No lingerie, no big gestures.'

'I thought what I did was really respectful and tame, as per his requests. I simply just wanted a kiss.'

Instead, she was left humiliated when he pulled back. Speaking to Daily Mail, Rachel, 35, admitted reliving the moment was almost harder than experiencing it the first time

 Despite the rejection, the couple later completed one of the intimacy tasks, which required them to kiss for three minutes - and Rachel says that moment changed everything

'The kiss was good,' she said with a smile. 'It gave me all the feels instantly. I was very flushed afterwards and I personally instantly felt that connection with Steven. I was absolutely chuffed'

Despite the rejection, the couple later completed one of the intimacy tasks, which required them to kiss for three minutes - and Rachel says that moment changed everything.

'The kiss was good,' she said with a smile.

'It gave me all the feels instantly. I was very flushed afterwards and I personally instantly felt that connection with Steven. I was absolutely chuffed.'

'It brought our first kiss and brought Steven and me closer. Ending on a high is how we like to finish.'

Rachel admitted she was nervous about how viewers would respond, fearing she would be labelled as pushy.

'I pretty much expected the public to turn on me and be like, you're forcing him, you're pushing him,' she said.

'Whereas it wasn't that at all. People were saying, how do you know there's no intimacy if you're not even going to give kissing a go?'

She also stood by her decision to temporarily leave the apartment after the rejection.

Rachel admitted she was nervous about how viewers would respond, fearing she would be labelled as pushy. 'I pretty much expected the public to turn on me and be like, you're forcing him, you're pushing him,' she said

'What he was saying and his actions weren't aligning for me,' she said.

'You can't be telling me one thing and doing another. That's not fair.'

Rachel says what viewers are seeing is a relationship that is progressing at its own pace - not competing with the seemingly stronger couples in the experiment.

'I'll let you guys run your own race,' she said of the other pairs.

'Every couple is different and every couple is going to go at different speeds. Putting that expectation on ourselves would have robbed any kind of growth or joy.'

'The biggest thing for me coming out of Intimacy Week was hope. There was so much hope for Steven and me. I could feel it in the kiss.'

While the romance may be slowly building, the drama during Wednesday's dinner party left Rachel shaken.

Entering the event, she said there was already tension brewing between the brides following the Red Flag, Green Flag challenge.

'I personally was really unhappy about it,' she said.

'It was really hard watching what was happening to women who had done nothing.'

The night quickly descended into screaming matches, accusations and tears.

'It was not an environment that was nice to be in that night at all,' Rachel said.

Rachel says what viewers are seeing is a relationship that is progressing at its own pace - not competing with the seemingly stronger couples in the experiment

'Every couple is different and every couple is going to go at different speeds. Putting that expectation on ourselves would have robbed any kind of growth or joy,' she said

'I will be shocked if anyone involved in it comes out not embarrassed.'

Rachel admitted she felt intimidated and chose not to get involved in the chaos.

'It was very intimidating. You kind of get whiplash with all the drama,' she explained.

'No one else in that room was allowed to have a voice. If you spoke up, you were in the firing line.'

She compared the atmosphere to high school.

'We shouldn't be seeing behaviour like this from grown women. I'm sure we all graduated high school a long time ago.'

Rachel believes the fallout from that dinner party will have lasting consequences.

'I think it absolutely changed relationships and friendships,' she said.

'And reliving it may do the same thing again.'

For now, Rachel insists she and Steven are taking the experiment seriously and moving forward in their own time.

'In the outside dating world, Steven may have walked away already,' she admitted.

'But here, we're both given the opportunity to actually see if there's something here and keep going. And we're taking it seriously.'

After a week filled with rejection, reconciliation and explosive group drama, one thing is clear - Rachel is not giving up without a fight.