Married At First Sight (MAFS): whether you know it, love it and can’t get enough of it or have absolutely no clue what it is, it is undoubtedly all anyone in the office is talking about.
For all those too pressed for time to watch (or would rather watch anything else), this is your (somewhat) reliable source of juicy updates to keep up with all the office banter.
For the avid MAFS viewers, if you’re here because you want to know whether or not your MAFS opinions are controversial, I hope you find solace below.
Episode Twenty-Nine: Thriving In Controversy
This week’s commitment ceremony saw many couples facing the hot seat. However, the most controversial couple (who vowed they would not write ‘stay’), of course, stayed. Hint, it’s Harrison and Bronte.
However, the first couple on the couch was Melinda and Layton, where Melinda got to discuss her feelings after her partner reacted strongly to the week’s partner-swap challenge.
Melinda sounded off a grocery list of feelings, including feeling neglected, ignored, judged, and isolated. The experts appeared to side with Melinda. This does not come as a surprise as despite the marketing of the exercise as a relationship-building exercise, the fact that Harrison and Melinda were paired sent the clear message that MAFS is, at the end of the day, a reality television show.
“I was really adamant about not moving in with someone else’s wife or someone moving in with mine,” stated Layton.
Layton’s valid objections resulted in the experts backing up their claims of the exercise. John Aiken shared that the activity wasn’t designed to be comfortable and that the groom needed to work on letting go of control.
Tahnee and Ollie come to the couch for the first time with something other than marital bliss. Ollie revealed that he was jealous and insecure about the partner swap challenge as he wanted to spend quality time with his partner.
“It made me question if I was good enough or doing enough as a partner,” revealed Ollie.
The challenge had taken a toll on the groom paired with Lyndall, a bride whose partner shows little interest in wanting to be with her.
Harrison contradicted himself, as he swore at the dinner party he would not write ‘stay’, when in fact, he did. Furthermore, the groom had much to say from the couches, attempting to start drama between Evelyn and Rupert, which had both his nemesis, Melinda and Evelyn, calling him out for his behaviour.
You enjoy this. I genuinely think you enjoy this,
“You enjoy this. I genuinely think you enjoy this,” said Evelyn.
“This is bullying,” iterated Melinda, “you’re a grown man talking to females like this.”
Harrison thriving in the controversy immediately took the chance to belittle.
“Don’t play the sex card. Grow up,” snapped Harrison.
While Evelyn was on the couch, she became vulnerable, stating she felt undervalued by her partner, which Rupert had been ignorant of, as he was busy trying not to feel rejected.
When Cam and Lyndall entered the couch, Cam changed his tune from the dinner party, sharing that he would consider rearranging his life to make the relationship work.
Duncan and Alyssa’s time on the couch had Duncan revealing that he felt rejected and broken and that he had cried after Alyssa coolly accepted the gifts that he made for her when she returned from the partner swap and when she promptly left after starting an argument.
Alyssa once again twisted Duncan’s vulnerability to attempt to make him appear as the villain and her the victim, scolding him for not sharing what he had cried. Alessandra, the expert, interjected to comment that he was telling Alyssa now.
“No, he’s telling you,” scoffed the bride. Yikes.
Harrison attempted to claim that he was holding himself accountable for problems in his relationship. The groom stated that he should have better articulated what Bronte was doing wrong, which he considered dealbreakers—for example, her emotional confession of wanting to go home.
Is there a shock factor in Harrison once again blaming Bronte? No. Is it boring to watch the merry-go-round of their relationship? Yes.
The couple will progress into homestays next week despite all the flaws and problems. A week bound to be filled with drama.
