A number of Married at First Sight Australia 2023 participants have blown the lid on Evelyn Ellis and Duncan James‘ showmance ploy enacted to “build their profiles” for “clout”.
It’s a tale as old as time: go on to reality TV for fame, then fake a romance for even more fame once said reality TV gig is over.
That being said, when Evelyn and Duncan hooked up post-show, we truly thought they were endgame.
However, several MAFS stars have since claimed the power couple’s romance isn’t as genuine as some may assume.
In episode 303 of the So Dramatic! podcast, sources explained that the duo was “open” to a number of their castmates about going on the marriage experiment for stardom.
“Duncan and Evelyn are the most fame-hungry out of all the cast and they only got together for publicity and to build their respective profile,” one of their co-stars said. “They know there are more lucrative opportunities for couples.”
They then spilled that Duncan had dumped his girlfriend to appear on MAFS and even “applied for heaps of shows in the past”.
“Similarly, Evelyn has been truing to be famous for years, ever since Big Brother [UK].”
Married at First Sight stars say Evelyn Ellis and Duncan James are being ‘shady’
A second participant said that “in order to get to the top”, Evelyn and Duncan will “climb over everyone else”.
“[They will] use people to help them get there, then discard them afterwards,” they confessed. “It’s very shady and people are starting to see their true colours.
“They will do anything for fame and publicity, it’s quite sad. Even cutting off people who were there for them from the start.”
Adding that their “entire relationship is orchestrated”, the source said it’s why the pair has “hired their own publicity team to strategise for them”.
“Duncan and Evelyn have the same goals,” they continued. “They are the thirstiest and most-fame hungry of all the cast.
“And they really played it well on the show, making sure they came off well.”
MAFS fan says Evelyn Ellis and Duncan James ‘don’t look as loved-up in real life’
Adding to showmance rumours, one fan slid into our DMs to say they spotted Evelyn and Duncan at a restaurant being photographed by a Daily Mail paparazzo.
“They were openly posing for photos,” they recalled. “After they took the photos, [the pap] showed Duncan and Evelyn the photos on his camera and they weren’t happy with them, so they did some more.
“Everyone was staring at them it was so embarrassing.”
The source also revealed that “they were all over each other” when the camera was on them. However, they switched up once they weren’t in front of a lens.
“They didn’t even look like they liked each other,” they explained, noting: “They didn’t touch each other and were barely speaking.
“They definitely don’t look as loved up as they do on Instagram in real life.”
Married at First Sight insiders say Duncan James is ‘completely different’ in real life than on the show
A MAFS participant went on to say that “Duncan’s a big player”, and damn, we were rooting for him!
“He was always out during filming every weekend. We all reckon he was meeting up with girls during the show,” they theorised. “The boys always said he was a whole different person on camera and off.
“They said proper split personality, it was trippy. On camera, he would give the proper media-trained Duncan and he was so well rehearsed, it was crazy.”
Apparently, his TV wife Alyssa Barmonde “always said this”. However, no one took any notice until the grooms started spending more time with him.
“That’s why there has been so much support for her because everyone knows the truth and what he is really like,” the source said.
“He’s not the guy he was portrayed as at all, but it was easier for them to portray Alyssa as the crazy single mum.”
So Dramatic! has contacted Duncan, Evelyn and Channel Nine for comment.
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