I thought MAFS would be a ‘quick fix’ for my love life but I’m 40 & single – guys think I’m a catfish & judge me from TV
MARILYSE CORRIGAN has revealed that being on TV negatively affected her dating life, by causing people to either think she will be high maintenance, or a catfish.
The mum-of-two, who recently celebrated her 40th birthday shot to fame back in 2021, when she appeared on Married At First Sight, partnered with Franky Spencer, 50.
The pair had a turbulent relationship on the Channel 4 show, and called it quits just three months after the series had finished filming.
“I think Franky was under a lot of pressure because he was being badly trolled, and I feel like he was not opening up very much with me about it, and it just came between us”, she told Fabulous.
However, despite their split, the duo remained friends and real estate agent Franky attended Marilyse’s mother’s funeral last year, after she sadly passed away from cancer.
“He really is a true friend”, she said.
Following her split from Franky, Marilyse began dating another MAFS alumni, Matt Murray, 34.
The personal trainer, who was initially paired with Gemma Barnes, but was then involved in a cheating scandal, before re-entering the process with Whitney Hughes, sent Marilyse a voice note the night before his season of the show aired, to ask her advice.
The pair then got chatting and eventually entered a brief relationship, before splitting after six months due to Matt’s “intensity”.
“I just wanted someone that’s a bit more chilled out, and he’s quite intense and needy”, she said.
“My rule now is to never date anyone that’s been on MAFS!”.
Since leaving the show, Marilyse, who works as a personal trainer, has hit the dating apps in her search to find love but has found that people are often wary of her, due to preconceptions they have about her.
“When you’ve been on a TV show people think that you’re going to be really high maintenance”, she said.
“They think that you’re going to have high expectations, that you’re all about the glitz and glam, when actually, I’m completely the opposite.
“Yes, I like to go out to an event every few months but I’m totally down to earth and normal.
“And I think that being on a TV show means you do attract the wrong kind of people as well.”
Mafs couples that have stood the test of time
Loved-up Tayah Victoria and Adam Aveling of series six fame had the first Mafs baby.
The pair couldn’t keep their hands off each other on the programme and quickly found their feet in the outside world, moving into Adam’s Doncaster home.
Just 18 months after meeting, the couple welcomed their daughter Beau.
Season five couple Michelle Walder and Owen Jenkins also managed to make their marriage work away from the cameras and had their first child in December.
Teacher Michelle, 29, has no regrets about taking part in the experiment. She told us: “I just feel very lucky and thankful that it has worked out – and excited for everything to come.”
Michelle and Owen were both sick of dating apps when they applied in 2019.
Owen recalled: “I had been out for some drinks with a friend after work.
“While he was out for a cigarette I was scrolling on Instagram waiting for him to come back in.
“The MAFS advert was the last thing I saw, and I joked, ‘Wouldn’t it be funny if I signed up?’
“A few beers later when I was back at home I sent in the application, and the rest is history.”
Another couple to make Mafs UK history is Zoe Clifton and Jenna Robinson.
Despite a slight rocky start, where they clashed over Jenna’s vegan lifestyle, the show’s first same sex pairing are still going strong.
They even have a successful podcast together called Life With a Pod.
Jenna shed light on being involved in the show earlier this year when she told us: “We’re not legally married, and I never felt like we were. I definitely feel the process makes you take the relationship a lot more seriously and having the help of the experts… if you can survive that process it sets a firm foundation for a long-lasting relationship.”
Marilyse added that when she is recognised on dating apps, people often think that she is a catfish, and that her account is fake.
“People message me on Instagram and says, ‘there’s a fake profile of you on Tinder‘.
“And I’m like, well, actually, it’s not fake. It’s actually mine.”
She continued: “People think ‘Oh, why would you go on a dating site when you’ve been on a TV show’, but we are just normal people.”
Marilyse revealed that she initially applied for MAFS because she is “no good” at picking partners so wanted to put that in the hands of someone else.
She added that she thought the show would be a “quick fix”, but has since learned that it is important to really get to know someone before investing your time and effort into them.
“I am a bit of a sucker for falling head over heels for people quite quickly.
“But I have learned since MAFS not to fall into that trap.
“It does take a while to get to know somebody and you don’t truly know anyone in the first six months.”
She added that she is now happy being single, and said that dating isn’t her “main focus”.
“I’m not going to go looking for love, love can find me, and if it takes, two years, five years, 10 years, that’s absolutely fine, because I’m happy being single.
“I’m happy just having fun and spending time with my family and my friends and working.”
She added: “I find that most guys that I’ve been out with, they can talk the talk, but they can’t walk the walk, and that’s the problem that I have.”
Back in 2021, shortly after her series of MAFS aired Marilyse made the brave decision to donate a kidney to help save the life of her children’s father, who she split up with 12 years ago.
“He had been living with polycystic kidneys, which is cysts on his kidneys, and his kidneys were failing.
“It was a worry for my children, because it’s their dad.
Marilyse said that the pain of losing her own father when she was just 16 years old encouraged her to donate a kidney, so that her sons Callum, 19 and Joshua, 16, wouldn’t have to go through the same thing.
“It wasn’t really my responsibility to do it, but I felt like I was responsible for doing it, because we had children together”, she said.
I’m living proof that you can live a full, thriving life even after donating to save someone else’s.