More explosive details have emerged about Married at First Sight Australia 2024 runaway groom Simon Flocco‘s decision to quit the series.
ICYMI: Simon was cast as one half of MAFS Australia‘s first-ever male, same-sex couple, and was expected to wed American-born groom Michael Felix.
However, it was revealed in August 2023 that despite meeting his fellow grooms, filming his introduction and the buck’s night, Simon pulled out of the experiment.
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The Adelaide-based restaurant manager reportedly “ruined” the series’ planned storylines after he “kept having doubts” and “[expressed] his discomfort”.
‘Producers, hungry for a groundbreaking narrative, persuaded him to stick around. That’s why he was at the bucks [night],” one insider explained.
“He kept telling them that he didn’t feel comfortable about certain things but was eventually talked into staying.”
Simon told Daily Mail Australia that “MAFS wasn’t what I thought I wanted at this point in my life, that’s all”.
“I just felt bad for whoever they set me up with. I did initially leave, but they managed to coax me back [before leaving again]… Gotta look out for myself.”
However, as reported in episode 345 of the So Dramatic! podcast, there is more to Simon’s decision to leave MAFS than he’s letting on.
Married at First Sight 2024‘s Simon Flocco reunites with ex-boyfriend
Sources told So Dramatic! host Megan Pustetto that not only did Simon leave MAFS, he also left the country!
According to his Instagram — which he refused to relinquish to MAFS producers as per his contract — he immediately booked a trip to Europe. There, he lapped up the sun with a mystery fella.
So Dramatic! can reveal that the mystery man was not just a friend, but his ex-boyfriend, Stefan Nestorovic, with whom Simon has shared a bunch of pics since leaving MAFS.
“He ditched the show to go to Europe with his ex Stef,” one source close to Simon confessed.
Apparently, the couple had been “together for years” but wouldn’t commit to Simon before his foray onto MAFS.
“His ex contacted him once he found out he would be doing the show, saying he made a huge mistake and wanted him back,” the insider said.
“They then went to Europe together for a few months for a holiday. They’re still together now and are stronger than ever.
“MAFS really was a blessing in disguise for Simon. He ended up getting his happily ever after after all.”
Another source then got in touch to share that Simon is “back in Adelaide” and has since started a “new chocolate strawberry company with his BF”.
Yum!
A MAFS producer ‘scare tactic’ also contributed to Simon Flocco’s decision to leave the show
According to Yahoo! Lifestyle, Simon was also spooked by a “scare tactic” the day after the Bucks’ night.
A show insider revealed: “The day after filming the bucks party, show bosses called all the grooms in for a meeting whilst they were in Sydney.
“They spent hours going over their contracts which they’d all now signed, discussing in great detail the potential ramifications if they breach them and breaking down exactly what the next six months would be like, including press intrusion and people from their pasts speaking out.”
The source added that it’s a producer “scare tactic” that they do every year to “keep the cast in line”. However, it “backfired with Simon”.
As Simon was “already having doubts”, this chat pushed him to breaking point and “convinced him to go with his gut” and “quit before it went any further”.
How did the Married at First Sight 2024 cast find out about Simon Flocco quitting the show?
According to Simon’s co-stars, they only learned that he had quit MAFS when “it came out in the press” during filming.
“He had already tried to pull out once before that because he realised it wasn’t for him, but they kept coaxing him back. And then he goes to the bucks night. And he was like, ‘Fuck this. This is not for me’,” one participant explained to So Dramatic!.
“And that’s totally fair because it’s fucking boring. It’s intense. It’s long drawn-out days. There’s so much waiting around. So I don’t blame him.”
When news first broke, one production insider told Daily Mail that Simon leaving “was a blindside”.
“Everyone’s been running around like headless chickens trying to salvage the situation.”
Producers reportedly tried to save their much-anticipated same-sex storyline by finding a replacement groom for Simon’s planned partner, Michael. However, things were too tattered to fix, with the source alleging they scrapped the same-sex storyline.
Thankfully, Simon fleeing wasn’t the end of Michael’s MAFS journey.
A same-sex couple will still feature in Married at First Sight Australia 2024
Two weeks after claims the same-sex couple was axed, it was revealed producers found a replacement groom for Michael.
The American beau will later enter the experiment as an intruder alongside his new match, Perth-based hairdresser Stephen Stewart.
So, how does this all play out on screen?
One source told So Dramatic! that “for once… MAFS [hasn’t] removed the f*ck up”.
“They show Mike and [then] his first partner running away, and then they show him coming back into the experiment with another groom called Stephen,” they explained,
Stephen was reportedly found “very quickly” and didn’t go through the typical “rigorous [casting] process”.
“They found him on Instagram and then fast-tracked him because they were so desperate to find Mike a match,” the insider told us. “His casting experience was very different to the rest of the participants.
“He only had two weeks’ notice from when he was told he was getting married until his wedding day. He thought this was normal until he heard everyone else’s experience.
“There was barely anyone at their wedding because the whole thing was so rushed.”
How was Michael Felix and Stephen Stewart’s Married at First Sight marriage revealed?
Michael and his new partner, Stephen, “unexpectedly enter during a dinner party” after the other two intruder weddings.
“We had no idea there was a third intruder couple or that Mike would be returning. It was a huge surprise to see him walk through the door,” one participant admitted.
While the cast was shocked to see Michael return, there had been “rumblings” he could return with a new bae after expert John Aiken told them “they were doing everything they could to find Mike a new partner” after Simon left.
“Then after the dinner party after the [intruder] wedding week, we’re all sitting there, and Michael and Steven walk in,” the source explained.
“The cast had been split into two groups to attend the other two intruder weddings, but Mike and Stephen got married with just their friends and family present. No cast attended.
“They wanted to see our honest reactions when we saw them at the dinner party for the first time.”
Well, after all of that hullabaloo, let’s hope the final product is well worth the wait!
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