Married at First Sight Australia 2023‘s Tahnee Cook has hit out at reports claiming that reality stars are “failures” for returning to, or continuing, their pre-show jobs.
It was recently reported that several MAFS brides and grooms are back in their nine-to-five gigs after their sought-after influencer lifestyles didn’t come to fruition as expected.
“The cast this year has produced a couple of standout stars but mostly the public seem over the reality TV-to-influencer route and haven’t engaged as much,” one source told Yahoo! Lifestyle.
Now, Tahnee, 27, has called out this commentary, dubbing it “disheartening” on her Instagram Story.
“It’s so disheartening seeing this narrative being pushed by media that because we work ‘normal’ jobs it’s turned into a negative and we’re made out to be ‘failures’?” she penned on August 23.
“You constantly criticise people for going onto reality TV wanting to become influencers and then tear them down if they do so.”
She continued: “But now [you] are trying to imply that because we work 9 to 5 jobs (like literally everyone else in the world) we should be laughed at?
“It feels like anything we do will constantly be criticised, no matter what it is.”
Tahnee Cook says she ‘chose to maintain’ her everyday job after Married at First Sight
The PR manager, who found love with Ollie Skelton in the marriage experiment, said everything that has eventuated for her post-MAFS is just an added “bonus”.
“I’m SO grateful and lucky to be able to work with some incredible brands,” she expressed. “I genuinely feel so blessed with the opportunities I’ve had my way and yes if I wanted to, I could do this full-time.
“But I CHOSE to maintain my pre-existing career and keep a job that I love.”
She added that she launched her Chuffed podcast as a “passion project” and that “making money” wasn’t at the forefront of her motivation.
“I’m more than happy to hustle and work hard, just like everybody else,” she said. “Going on a reality show doesn’t give you an instant ticket to money and success. You have to work for it.
“At the end of the day, I’m so thankful to have found love on MAFS,” she concluded. “Everything else is really a bonus.”
In a subsequent Story, she reshared an answer to a Q&A from May, in which she expressed she was “dying to get back” to her full-time job after filming.
“I’m very happy with my career… I wouldn’t want to give that up at this stage.”
You tell ’em!
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