Inside the ‘toxic’ world of Married At First Sight Australia from ‘puppet master’ producers to stars suing over ‘trauma’
WITH its epic dinner parties and constant wife swapping, Married At First Sight Australia has been thrilling fans for many years.
But behind-the-scenes there are claims from past cast members that the show is “toxic”, with a “puppet master” producer pulling all the strings.
Much like the UK Married At First Sight, the Australian version really started pulling in the viewers when they changed up the format.
In 2019, the Aussie series introduced more couples, had them interact with each other and have a weekly dinner party and commitment ceremony – which are always explosive.
However, since the shake-up, complaints that contestants have been “villainised” for viewing figures have surfaced.
There have also been accusations that the show is sometimes “staged”.
MEET THE ‘PUPPET MASTER’
Married At First Sight Australia‘s executive producer Tara McWilliams is credited with transforming the reality show into the ratings winner it is today.
But since then, past cast members have claimed they have been portrayed as a “villain” on the show, and have been “edited badly”.
However, Tara previously insisted that any negative storylines are a result of “bad choices” from the brides and grooms.
She told Daily Mail Australia: “I don’t agree that someone good gets a villain edit.”
Tara also dismissed unfair portrayal claims from disgruntled cast members as “bulls**t”.
She said: “We don’t manufacture storylines or characters.
“What you see is a reflection of absolutely what’s happened on the show.”
She also said: “It’s not a villain edit. It’s the edit… If you’ve got your so-called hero edit, it’s because you’re behaving well.”
However, Tara has been labelled “ruthless”, by some MAFS stars.
Speaking on Josh Fox’s The Downfall Of MAFS: Meet The Puppet Master podcast, ex-MAFS bride Michelle Lucarelli said: “She’s the puppet master and we’re the puppets.
“I was like vomiting with nerves before every commitment ceremony, every dinner party.”
Michelle also added that the producer knew which “buttons to push” to get a reaction.
Another MAFS cast member said of Tara: “That women is ruthless!”
Olivia Frazer from season nine said: “When you met her [Tara], you want to be on her good side, you want to impress her.”
She added: “You know that telling her ‘no’ is going to be one of the worst things you’ve ever done in your life.”
During her MAFS series in 2022, Olivia faced a huge backlash after she claims she was “made the villain” of that season.
At first things went well for the bride on the hit reality series, and she was smitten with groom Jackson Lonie.
But a fall out with fellow bride Domenica Calarco saw her popularity plummet.
Fans accused her of being a “bully” towards her rival, and a huge backlash ensued.
The bride claimed the trolling she received for her depiction on the series left her “unable to to find work”.
Olivia also claimed that producers often stepped in to “create drama” when things were running “too smoothly”.
The disgruntled bride recalled one moment from her series where bosses weren’t happy that everyone was getting.
Olivia revealed: “One dinner party, we were all having such a lovely time … to the point where [a program maker] had to come out and be like, ‘Right, you guys need to start drama or we’re going to be here all night’.”
THREATS TO SUE
Back in 2021, some of the stars of MAFs season six threatened to sue the show for the alleged “psychological trauma” they endured after being trolled by UK viewers.
It came after Brits were shown the series in question TWO YEARS after it had aired Down Under.
At the time several cast members in the dating experiment were reported to have consulted lawyers and were seeking damages for their alleged “negative portrayals”.
A source said back in 2021: “The show becoming such a hit in the UK has opened up fresh wounds for many of the season six participants.
“Two years after it initially aired in Australia they’re now having to endure a second backlash.
“And with the show now broadcasting in America, they’re bracing themselves for a third round of hate and think enough is enough.”
ACCUSATIONS OF BEING ‘STAGED’
During season 10 of MAFS Australia, groom Jesse Burford has claimed that producers put him up to his famous “ick list”.
Some of these “icks” included “star sign chicks” and “chicks who pout”.
However, he has since said that it wasn’t his idea to write the list, but was encouraged to do so by show producers.
Speaking on the So Dramatic podcast, Jesse said: “I sat in an interview for two hours.
“I told producers about my entire life, and they picked 30 seconds where I pulled out a list that they asked me to write.”
FAKE AFFAIR
During their time on MAFS Australia in 2019, Sam Ball and Ines Basic outraged fans when they had an affair on the show.
Viewers watched the pair cheat on their partners and spend the night together in a Gold Coast hotel room.
They eventually admitted to their infidelity and left the show – but not with each other.
Sam was put off when Ines wanted to know if they “had a future together” and they didn’t continue their relationship.
In February 2021, Sam revealed the alleged “affair” was completely fake.
In fact, the 26-year-old Aussie claims the romance was staged by producers after they forced him into acting a certain way.
Taking to his Instagram Story, Sam claimed: “They pulled me into a dark room and asked me to do the Ines scenes – they set that up.
“They made Ines DM me on the phone, that was all staged.
“I did what I was asked to do with all of that.
“I didn’t really care what it looked like. I was in the zone. I’ve acted before in TV commercials and it was a job for me.”
DEATH THREATS
Ines claimed she faced death threats, following her time on MAFS Oz season six.
The former reality TV bride detailed the horrific public backlash she faced in the wake of her “villainous portrayal”, after revealing she was fed lines by producers and faked fights.
Speaking on the Reality Life With Kate Casey podcast, she said things got so bad that she needed “police intervention”.
Ines revealed: “The police would do drive-bys past my house, I had some crazy stuff come through,’ she explained, adding that they were so ‘serious and severe’ that she couldn’t even repeat them.
“I had to go to therapy due to some of the threats.”
Continuing, Ines added: “It was so stressful, I had people tell me that they would rape me… I would walk around shaking and I couldn’t be left alone,’ she added, saying that she didn’t even want to leave her home.
“I was petrified. Because the threats were so severe I didn’t know if someone was going to attack me in public.”
PRODUCERS ‘CREATING DRAMA’
In the latest series of MAFS, groom Tim Gromie was seen being persuaded by producers to stay on the show after he was “unhappy” with his bride Katie Johnstone.
The cameras shot to a producer talking to Tim and telling him to “give the marriage a chance” after he threatened to leave the show.
But despite airing his worries, Tim’s reaction was played out on the show and he was accused of “gaslighting”.
Tim told So Dramatic! podcast that how he was portrayed resulted in “him losing his job as a teacher”.
And he’s deleted social media, allegedly out of fear of his “edit“.
The Sun has gone to Married At First Sight Australia for a comment.
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.”