After dedicating three months of their lives to Married at First Sight Australia, we bet you’re wondering how much the contestants get paid to appear on the show.
Unfortunately, the stars of MAFS don’t exactly make bank for their time in the marriage experiment — no matter how much drama, backlash or wine-throwing comes their way.
Multiple contestants spilled to So Dramatic! that they were paid just $150 per day to participate in the hectic AF show. However, this was put towards any and all expenses they had at the time.
‘We paid for all expenses,” one former star revealed. “Outfits, haircuts, food, bills… you name it.”
Another contestant added that some people were “reimbursed [for] reasonable out-of-pocket expenses for [an] agreed amount”, too.
Jesse Burford spills on his Married at First Sight paycheck
Married at First Sight 2023 groom Jesse Burford has revealed how much participants get paid to appear on the controversial show.
During an Instagram Q&A session, the season 10 groom answered fan questions about how much money the couples make for their time in the experiment.
According to Jesse, contestants on his season were paid $1,175 a week during filming, which took place in Sydney over a few months.
Domenica Calarco wasn’t happy with her weekly allowance during Married at First Sight
Season Nine bride Domenica Calarco previously disclosed that she received a daily wage of around $150.
The fiery bride has repeatedly expressed her disbelief over how inadequately compensated the show’s brides and grooms are.
During a chat with The Kyle & Jackie O Show, Domenica claimed that their earnings were barely equivalent to a “minimum wage”.
Married At First Sight Contestants Are Still Responsible For Their “At-Home” Expenses
2018 contestant Nasser Sultan backed this up, telling Now To Love this is more so a daily allowance than anything else.
“None of our groceries were covered,” he revealed. “They filmed us going shopping… but it was out of our own money.”
He also said that some days, he and his TV wife Gabrielle Bartlett would spend upwards of $70 on living expenses.
This goes without mentioning the fact that stars also have to contribute to their ordinary lives, i.e. rent and/or mortgages back home.
In the earlier seasons of the show, contestants still worked their 9-5 jobs (if they were able to).
However, as the seasons became more intensive, others took annual leave, unpaid holidays, or straight up quit if they intended on being away for a long period of time. But hey, you can’t put a price on everlasting love!
Still, there are some long-term perks of appearing on the show.
MAFS has forged its own cult of contestants-turned-influencers, with some raking in thousands for brand partnerships and endorsements.
Do Married At First Sight Stars Get Paid Extra To Appear At The Reunion?
When it comes to filming the reunion episodes of Married at First Sight, most contestants receive around $3,000 for the two-day shoot.
Unsurprisingly, some stars refuse to return, wanting to leave the sh*tshow of the experiment behind them. But even then, producers attempt to entice them back onto the commitment couch one last time with a hefty pay packet.
As previously reported by So Dramatic!, former star Davina Rankin was offered a whopping $40,000 to appear in her season’s reunion.
Despite this, she still declined to return following her scandalous “affair” with co-star Dean Wells.
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