The weddings are lavish, the tears are real and there is some very real drama, but is Married at First Sight Australia actually real? Yes. Well, kind of.
While we love seeing everything take off, we can’t help but wonder just how much of Australia’s favourite love experiment is made up!
Are the Weddings on Married at First Sight Australia real?
Even though the participants on the show are real Aussies “looking for love”, (well most of them, some are headhunted by producers), the weddings are not legally binding.
The couples do, however, “commit” to each other for the duration of their time on the show.
“Each participant embarked on a commitment ceremony with a wedding celebrant with all due intention to commit fully to this union for the duration of the experiment,” a Nine Network rep told Heart.co.uk recently.
“At the end of the experiment, they are given the option to continue with the relationship or go their separate ways.”
According to the Australian Marriage Act, couples must notify the court one month and one day ahead of tying the knot and since the couples meet and marry on the same day, it could never be legalised.
While the weddings aren’t real, we have seen some incredible love stories blossom with couples like Cam Merchant and Jules Robinson officially tying the knot after their season and Michael Brunelli and Martha Kalifatidis getting engaged.
Are the Experts on Married at First Sight Australia real?
Yes! Experts John Aiken, Mel Schilling and Alessandra Rampolla are actual professionals in their field.
OG expert, John, has over 25 years of experience specialising in relationships, focusing on giving out practical advice to singles and couples.
Mel, on the other hand, is one of Australia’s favourite love experts. The 49-year-old has been a love expert for 20 years, making history as the first Australian expert to be accredited by the International Dating Coach Association.
As for Alessandra, who hails from San Juan in Puerto Rico, she has over 20 years of experience as a certified sexologist and has a master’s degree in marriage and family therapy. Plus, a whole host of other sexology degrees to her name.
How Much Input do the Experts on Married at First Sight Australia Actually Have?
At the beginning of each season, the experts match the couples, however, it’s actually the production team that makes the decision, because let’s be honest, if it was actually the professionals, there wouldn’t be nearly as much DRAH-MA!
However, what we didn’t realise was that they also create tension in the commitment ceremonies.
During episode 135 of the So Dramatic! podcast, MAFS groom, Sam Carraro revealed that not only do John, Mel and Alessandra hold you accountable for your actions, but the contestants are made to sit on the couch for a full hour while being grilled by them.
“It’s full-on when they come after you because they’ve got the head of the show in their ear,” he explained. “Like you give the experts like this great explanation, and yeah, that’s not enough. And then they come at you again.”
Sam revealed that the situation can cause participants to become “frazzled”.
“They know that you’re frazzled because it’s late at night,” he said.
How Much of Married at First Sight Australia Is Edited?
Ah, editing. The one thing that contestants (ahem, 2021’s Bryce Ruthven) can blame when their behaviour sucks.
During the 2021 season, Bryce blamed editing for how he was portrayed on the show. In fact, there was even a petition for the show to be canned after he “gaslit” his TV wife, Melissa Rawson.
During episode 135 of the So Dramatic! podcast, Sam revealed that Bryce was, in his opinion, exactly as he was portrayed.
Sam, otherwise known as Australia’s answer to Slim Shady, later dubbed Bryce as “toxic”, while being the sole source of drama surrounding MAFS.
‘The one common denominator is who? Him,” he said. “He’s just the worst person and most embarrassing person ever come off reality TV.
“That’s a fact.”
The thing about editing is that if someone said it and did it on camera, then it happened. HOWEVER, there are certainly many editing fails from past seasons that prove that production has a huge part to play.
From clothes changed mid-scene, room numbers being switched to cheeky cheating scandals that were set up by the producers, a lot of what we see is fabricated to make the show interesting.
And, before the 2022 season even began, vile videos surfaced featuring groom Simon Blackburn, causing an entire wedding had to be edited out! This, of course, is a first for the show, but you can see where we’re going with this.
If the Contestants Show they Hate Each Other, Is It All for Show?
Good lord have we seen some serious beef come out of MAFS Australia over the years.
If there’s a feud between contestants, you can guarantee they still hate each other.
When Martha poured red wine over Cyrell Jimenez-Paule in 2019, the feud escalated off-screen and the two haven’t spoken since.
Jaimie Gardner, who was married to Chris Jensen on the show in 2021, also took their spat off-screen, with the pair still going at it on Instagram thanks to the UK rewatching the show!
The same can also be said for Sam and Bryce from the eighth season.
While their disagreements started on the show, it has spilled over to real life, with the two even getting into an altercation at a Team Ellis boxing event in Melbourne, a full year after their series wrapped.
In short, there’s seriously no love lost when it comes to feuding MAFS stars!
Know something that we don’t? Spill the tea here!
Get the tea first! Follow So Dramatic! on Instagram and tune in on Mondays to get your reality tea fix with the So Dramatic! podcast with Megan Pustetto.
