The glaring problem with MAFS this year.

Another year, another season of Married At First Sight. And, dare I say, the reunion this year was… well, disappointing.

The reunion special of MAFS should be the ultimate reckoning. It's supposed to be that satisfying moment where participants face the music, where we finally see those "never-before-seen" clips that expose behaviours we missed, and where the experts ask the hard questions we've been screaming at our screens for weeks.

Think: Elizabeth Sobinoff getting her 'I told you so' moment about the cruelties of Sam Ball.

But the MAFS 2025 reunion left us with more questions than answers, and a burning sense that accountability has left the building when it comes to this so-called experiment.

Watch Adrian and Awhina on MAFS. Article continues after video.

Credit where it's due: the experts rightfully called out Paul for his behaviour towards Carina.

They highlighted his problematic comments on the couch when he labelled her "judgemental" and claimed she "cares too much what people think" as reasons for their incompatibility.

The experts methodically broke down how these accusations were actually projections of his own insecurities, forcing him to confront his trust-breaking behaviour throughout the experiment. We saw footage, we heard explanations, we witnessed accountability in action.

And then... that was basically it.

Where was the rest of the real talk, John? Image: Nine.

Where was the accountability for everyone else? Dave and Veronica sharing a bed was casually shown on screen and then completely ignored, despite Alessandra's visible shock and the collective gasps from other participants. We saw it and then simply moved on.

Given the place that Jamie and Dave were in during that couple swap challenge, this casual sleepover certainly deserved some attention, am I wrong? This was a significant boundary-crossing moment, particularly for a man who wasn't interested in being intimate with his own wife, at that point.

The experts didn't ask when it happened, how it happened, or most importantly, why it happened. They didn't explore how their respective partners felt about this or what it meant. But Alessandra's facial expression said everything the experts wouldn't verbalise.

Image: Nine.

Adrian's behaviour throughout the experiment somehow also escaped scrutiny entirely.

Remember those uncomfortable dinner party scenes where Adrian would consistently talk over Awhina? Or the morning after conversations where he'd dismiss her feelings as overreactions? What about that particularly telling moment at one commitment ceremony where Dave told Adrian that Awhina "looks at [him] for permission to speak."

Even expert John Aiken had previously clocked Adrian's controlling behaviour: "This is the whole control element to what's going on in their relationship. 'What we can talk about, what we can't talk about.'"

Awhina herself even confirmed that she often avoided voicing her true feelings in fear that it would blow up the relationship. Hello? That's the definition of walking on eggshells, yet this pattern of potential emotional manipulation was completely absent from the reunion's agenda. We saw multiple instances throughout the season where Adrian would re-frame Awhina's legitimate concerns as her being 'too emotional' — classic gaslighting techniques that somehow weren't worthy of reunion discussion.

Not to mention, during the reunion, Awhina brought up some allegedly suspicious text messages sent from Sierah to Adrian about coming to the reunion together, and we didn't really drill into this at all. Sierah gave a half-banked explanation, and the show sort of left it there. Like WHAT? WHY AREN'T WE ASKING THE IMPORTANT QUESTIONS?

Image: Nine.

Ryan and Jacqui's situation was even more baffling to me.

The entire thing was reduced to a superficial he-said-she-said exchange that resolved nothing. Earlier in the season, Jacqui made a serious allegation that Ryan had yelled at her behind closed doors, creating an environment where she felt silenced and afraid to express herself. While we don't know what happened between Jacqui and Ryan, that is a very serious accusation of intimidating behaviour that deserves thorough investigation and certainly more attention from the experts.

Yet at the reunion, nada. Nothing. There was no footage shown, no expert-led discussion about healthy communication. Instead, we saw some back and forth between Jacqui and Ryan, the group had a few laughs, and we called it a day.

Image: Nine.

If MAFS isn't going to unpack problematic relationship behaviours, what exactly is its purpose?

The show positions itself as a "social experiment" exploring relationships, yet it consistently fails to use its platform to meaningfully address concerning dynamics when they arise. The experts — trained professionals in relationship psychology — sat there with prime examples of gaslighting, boundary violations, and alleged intimidation ripe for educational discussions, and they chose to let most of it slide.

The reunion should be the culmination of weeks of emotional investment from viewers – our chance to see accountability and growth. Instead, we got selective confrontation and conveniently avoided topics that might have made for uncomfortable but necessary television.

For a show that claims to be about finding love and understanding relationships, MAFS 2025's reunion demonstrated that entertainment value continues to trump genuine accountability.

Perhaps it's time we hold the show to the same standards it pretends to uphold for its contestants.

Feature Image: Nine.