The truth about Alyssa Barmonde‘s IRL affair has emerged after Married at First Sight Australia 2023 fans dubbed her a “hypocrite” for her criticism of Adam Seed and Claire Nomarhas‘ extramarital kiss.
After Janelle Han confided in her friends that her TV hubby had kissed another bride, Alyssa headed into the February 22 Dinner Party with guns blazing.
She was prepared to “ignore” the cheating pair, urging her husband, Duncan James, to do the same.
However, fans thought her reaction was unreasonable, given she previously admitted during Confessions Week that she was once party to an affair in her real life.
“Did Alyssa forget she literally had an affair with a married man for six months where did this high horse come from? [sic]” one viewer Tweeted.
“Is Alyssa pretending that she never cheated with a married man or did she just forget?” another penned.
A third expressed: “Alyssa is going in way too hard. Like weren’t you the other woman in a cheating scandal once too[?] I mean a bit hypocritical.”
Now, a source close to Alyssa has revealed the full story about her complicated experience of being the other woman.
Explaining that the affair was rife with “manipulation” and a “power imbalance”, the insider said Alyssa “hates cheating so much because she understands from that point of view how horrible it can be”.
What really happened when Married at First Sight‘s Alyssa Barmonde was involved in an affair?
The source said the relationship occurred “over a decade ago” when the Sydneysider was only 23 years old.
“The relationship started at work before the man was married. He was her boss,” they said.
“She started seeing him at the local gym and he invited her to [get] help with her training.”
Several weeks later, she noticed the man “suddenly wore a wedding ring”. However, when the MAFS bride questioned him, he claimed to have tied the knot “to help his ‘wife’ obtain a visa and that it was not a real marriage”.
“She naively believed him because they’d been spending almost every hour of the day together,” the insider added.
As their romance deepened, Alyssa’s partner told her that their colleagues “were starting to notice” their closeness and suggested she take stress leave, “which he could approve and conduct”.
“That way he could receive a promotion and change offices, meaning they could then go public with their relationship,” they continued.
“The visa timeline would be over and he would be separated from the fictional marriage.”
How did Married at First Sight’s Alyssa Barmonde’s affair end?
After seeing a therapist while on stress leave, Alyssa soon realised she was “being deeply manipulated by a man in power”.
After six months together, she “confronted him” and left the relationship.
“She told him he was lying to her, and that she doesn’t trust a single word he said,” the source revealed. “He denied everything and stuck to his story.”
Alyssa has reportedly not spoken to the man since; however, she is “extremely remorseful” over her involvement in the affair.
“It made her very ashamed of that part of her life,” they said. “She learned to be vigilant and to listen to her gut.
“She always had a feeling something was off, but she trusted what he was telling her was the truth.”
Now, Alyssa is able to “better recognise when men are being manipulative and narcissistic.”
Welp, no wonder she went to TOWN on Adam during that epic Dinner Party, hey?!
The real story behind Alyssa’s past emerges just days after we learned she was in the throws of a messy AF divorce while filming the show.
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