MARRIED At First Sight star Nicole Lilienthal filed for bankruptcy and owed $95K to creditors before tying the knot to Christopher Thielk, The U.S. Sun has exclusively learned.
MAFS fans watched the season 16 premiere episode on January 4th, which introduced 10 new singles from Nashville.
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According to court docs obtained by The U.S. Sun, Nicole filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy a few years before saying "I do" to Christopher, 36.
The 32-year-old Queens native filed in November 2018 in the Southern District of New York, where she previously lived before moving to Nashville.
In the voluntary petition, she had checked off that she owes "50-99" creditors at the time.
For total liabilities, which is money she owes to creditors, she had written that the amount totaled $94,656.
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She also noted in the court filing that her assets totaled $4,912 and her monthly income was $4,207.
At the time, she had $18,501 left to pay off her student loans, the docs stated.
EXPENSIVE TASTE
When breaking down the debt, she detailed that she owed various banks money, including $17,252 to Chase Bank and $10,668 to Bank of America.
She also had unpaid credit cards from brands like Banana Republic ($8,169) and Macy's ($1,394).
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Other stores she racked up credit on, per the docs, included American Eagle, Bloomingdale's, Express, Lord & Taylor, and T.J. Maxx.
Nicole worked as a Senior Marketing Manager for Time Out Group, LLC, at the time of filing.
She now works for Compass as a Senior Marketing Advisor, according to her LinkedIn.
Nicole was granted a discharge in August 2019, meaning some personal liabilities for some debts owed were removed, and an order of relief was entered.
The case was then dismissed that same month.
When reached for comment, Nicole told The U.S. Sun: “The debt was incurred due to a medical emergency on top of student loans. However, $95k and 50 creditors is inaccurate at best and absolutely baseless.
"Not to mention that I have great credit now and no debt as well as credit cards and a car loan and haven’t had any trouble since. It’s not something that I’ve had to think or worry about in almost five years.”
NEW CHAPTER
Fans of the Lifetime reality show were introduced to the five new couples in the premiere episode.
The couples are as follows: Christopher Thielk and Nicole Lilienthal, Airris Williams and Jasmine Secrest, Clint Webb and Gina Micheletti, Mack Gilbert and Domynique Kloss, Shaquille Dillon and Kirsten Grimes.
The then-single men and women celebrated their separate bachelor and bachelorette parties on the premiere episode.
The ladies were surprised by male strippers and the gentlemen were surprised by cowgirl dancers.
Nicole, for her part, said that joining the show was her "last resort" because she's "tried everything else."
"I'm ready to be a wife," she told the cameras. "I do have too much love to give. It's exploding out of me."
She then shared what she's looking forward to the most once married.
She said: "I'm really looking forward to the little things with my husband like having my husband there in the morning or we eat dinner together or walk our dog- our dog, wow- we walk Charlie (her dog) together."
Nicole described herself as: "I'm a b***h that has too big of a heart. Even when I'm super loving and compassionate, there's always a side of sass because that's just who I am. I'm always serving it up."
A PERFECT MATCH
On the other hand, her soon-to-be husband, Christopher, was pegged "Mr. Nice Guy."
He believed he was still single because he is "absolutely horrible" at picking his own partners.
Chris, who has two dogs, told the cameras: "I'm very like the hopeless romantic. I do not believe chivalry is dead."
While getting to know the other cast members, Chris admitted to his fellow contestants that he hasn't had sex in one year.
Both Airris and Clint were shocked since they revealed they had sex as recently as two weeks ago.
Pastor Calvin Roberson explained why Nicole and Christopher were matched by experts.
He told cameras: "They're both big-hearted and deeply committed individuals whose biggest fear is not finding their other half.
"Nicole has a history of dating men who treated her poorly and nice guy Chris will be a safe space for Nicole, providing her with the love and support that she deserves.
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"Meanwhile, Chris is dreaming of a marriage that's full of laughter and goofiness and quirky Nicole never takes herself too seriously. And with Nicole and Chris, equally obsessed with their dog children, this pairing is sure to lead to puppy love and a marriage that lasts a lifetime."
Married At First Sight airs Wednesdays at 8pm ET on Lifetime.
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