This week on Married at First Sight Australia 2023, the contestants’ relationships will be put to the ultimate test with a ‘Partner Swap’ challenge and naturally, it causes a sh*tload of drama.
As revealed in episode 267 of the So Dramatic! podcast, the never-before-seen-twist will see contestants live with another spouse for three days to test their “loyalty, honesty and integrity.”
According to our insiders, another reason behind the expert-approved task (that sounds eerily similar to the noughties show ‘Wife Swap’ NGL), was due to producers wanting to “shake things up.”
“It got boring towards the end with not much happening and they knew it would cause a lot of drama, be entertaining TV and put some couples to the ultimate test,” a source explains.
“They hoped this might tempt some couples to sway.”
However, unfortunately (for us), no one was stupid enough to cheat on their partner. *sigh*
“Everyone could see the optics of how bad it could look if you had too much fun with your partner so everyone was on their best behaviour,” one contestant dishes.
However, true to form, the challenge did cause a lot of tension, as many partners used the time to “vent” about their better halves and reveal what we really going on in their relationships.
The partner swaps were as follows:
Melinda and Harrison
Bronte and Layton
Duncan and Evelyn
Alyssa and Cameron
Rupert and Tahnee
Ollie and Lyndall
Married at First Sight’s Layton Mills refuses to do the ‘Partner Swap’ challenge
In what can only be. described as pure evil genius, Harrison Boon and Melinda Willis were paired together for the task and it did not go down well with her husband Layton Mills.
“He had the sh*ts big time and refused to do it. It was a massive drama,” they dished. “He didn’t believe in it so he sits in another room for three days on his own.
“He said he didn’t see the point of it because it would never happen in the real world.” And uh, Sir, have you dated recently?!
Despite Layton not being happy about his missus shacking up with ol’ mate Harrison, Melinda was reportedly “happy” to do the task and “get away from Layton” as they had been fighting 24/7. Yikes, you just know things are bad when someone wants to actually spend time with Harrison…
Melinda and Harrison get along ‘like a house on fire’ during the Married at First Sight ‘Partner Swap’ challenge
While many would have predicted all hell to break loose between Harrison and Melinda, in fact, the opposite happened.
“They got along like a house on fire,” one contestant claims. “Melinda and Harrison had a ball. They got along really well and just got drunk for the whole three days and had a great time together.”
According to our insider, the pair stayed up until 2 am every night drinking wine and having big chats.
“They were confiding in each other about how hard their lives have been and talking sh*t about Bronte [Schofield],” one contestant recalled.
“Everyone was confused because if you hated someone like they said they did, you wouldn’t even be able to stay in the same room as them, let alone the same bed.
“We all started to think the whole thing had been a facade.”
Harrison reportedly told contestants afterwards that Melinda “wanted to have sex with him”, and sure, Jan, sure.
“The cast were laughing thinking Melinda and Harrison might actually get together during the partner swap,” one contestant said.
“Everyone was saying that they should have been matched together and that Melinda was the female version of Harrison and that’s why they butted heads.”
The source continued: “They both baited each other for clickbait and airtime and Bronte and Layton got caught in the crossfire. They knew what they were doing. They both just wanted to be the star of the show.”
Layton gets ripped apart by the experts for not participating in the Married at First Sight ‘Partner Swap’ challenge
Refusing to participate in the Partner Swap challenge didn’t end well for Layton, who gets ripped apart by the experts at the next Commitment Ceremony.
“Layton started questioning whether or not he even wanted to be with Melinda,” one contestant spills. “He was saying their values didn’t align because she agreed to do the swap with Harrison and had so much fun doing it.
“It was very weird for him after everything that had gone down.”
Layton then told Melinda that he didn’t think she was going to “fit into his family” and that’s a burn if we’ve ever heard one…
“The rest of the cast were secretly accusing Melinda of putting on an act and only being with Layton after she saw his bank account,” the contestant revealed.
“They were just as fake as Harrison and Bronte.” OUCH!
Layton DUMPS Melinda after the ‘Partner Swap’ challenge
Melinda’s betrayal during the Partner Swap task actually led to Layton dumping her!
“He tells Melinda he doesn’t think their values align anymore,” one insider explained.
After having this bombshell dropped on her, Melinda “storms up to Bronte’s room” and “starts abusing her.”
“Melinda barged into Bronte’s room and asks where her husband was and why he doesn’t want to live with her anymore,” the insider recalls.
Bronte explained that she had no idea because Layton hadn’t even done the challenge.
“Melinda then said, ‘It’s just convenient that he’s been spending time with you and now he doesn’t want to move back in with me’ and blamed Bronte when she hadn’t even seen Layton,” the source dishes.
“Bronte explained that it had nothing to do with her and more the fact that she so willingly spent time with Harrison after saying how much she hated him.”
After that, Melinda stormed away upset and Harrison then yells at Bronte for an hour and a half, telling her everything that was wrong with her. Sheesh!
Grab the popcorn!
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