MAFS has lost control of its contestants in 2025.

Married at First Sight is underway and already multiple contestants have gone rogue and spoilt their own endings.

The rebellious behaviour began even before MAFS started airing, as several contestants have reportedly refused to hand over their social media accounts to producers. You know, those same accounts that are completely controlled by Channel Nine throughout the season, posting generic photos and approved (read: boring) captions.

In particular, divisive groom Tim Gromie separated himself from the production by refusing to share his Instagram account and skipping publicity day for his official portrait photos.

Then there are the contestants using other social media accounts to share their accounts of what they claim actually happened during their experience.

MAFS bride Jacqui Burfoot has defied Channel Nine's social media policies by using her business Instagram account to speak out about her portrayal on the show and reveal details about her relationship status.

Watch Jacqui and Ryan get into an argument on MAFS. Post continues after video.

The 29-year-old and alleged former Miss New Zealand claims viewers are seeing a "highly edited fictional storyline" and has accused producers of creating a misleading narrative.

She maintains her character portrayal "makes no sense" and has urged viewers to "blame the editors".

In a spoiler (that's not a huge surprise), Jacqui confirmed she is no longer with her MAFS match Ryan Donnelly and is currently in a "loving long-term relationship" with someone who is "kind, considerate, intelligent, and a great man."

This follows Morena Farina, another contestant who reportedly hasn't given up her Instagram, who has made several controversial statements about MAFS production.

Listen to The Quicky discuss the MAFS contestants gone rogue. Post continues below.

The 57-year-old DJ was quick to pour cold water on any potential happy ending with her groom, Tony Mojanovski. She even claimed he was still married during the experiment and wanted his wife to come on the program.

At an unofficial viewing party, she claimed Tony was "unavailable" during the experiment. She told New Idea that Tony "wasted her time" after their initial meeting.

These claims came as a surprise to viewers as none of these storylines have played out on the show, with the editing largely painting Tony as a more sympathic character than Morena.

Image: Nine.

This is particularly concerning when it comes to women portrayed on MAFS, which has historically leaned heavily into the 'hysterical woman' or 'nagging wife' tropes while minimising the groom's role in starting any of the conflicts.

In another rogue interview, Morena spoke on Abbie Chatfield's It's A Lot podcast where she shared some alarming allegations about a sexist slur he had called her.

"I said, 'Tony, I need you to take a photo of me'. And he said, 'You got the look of a S-L-U-T', and I said, 'I beg your pardon?'," Morena told It's A Lot.

"He then took my photo. A producer was there. She made him apologise to me."

Morena also claimed that he once told her, "I didn't order you. I ordered a 40-year-old'." If true, none of these moments made the final cut of their episodes.

We've reached out to Channel 9 for comment on Jacqui and Morena's claims.

Jacqui and Morena's comments come as more MAFS contestants are increasingly coming forward to advocate for themselves and cast doubt over the accuracy of their edits.

The shift began in 2020 when Poppy Jenning shed light on why she suddenly quit the show.

Image: Nine.

She claimed on Facebook that she was prohibited from saying "what was happening behind the scenes" that resulted in her quitting the show, making disturbing claims about her groom.

Last year, intruder couple Madeleine Maxwell and Ash Galati abruptly exited the show and both claimed their edit didn't quite reflect their journey.

In 2023, Jesse Burford made a TikTok to defend his villain edit. Meanwhile, intruder Tayla Winter appeared on a Channel 7 segment to slam the show's producers, along with claiming Lydall Grace had 'bullied' her on the show in scenes left on the cutting room floor.

The previous year, Selin Mengu did a rogue interview on Kyle and Jackie O to try to expose her groom's questionable behaviour.

Every season, more and more contestants are doing tell-all interviews on podcasts not associated with the show.

Image: Nine.

It's worth remembering that while this might just be light-hearted entertainment on a reality show, the bulk of the contestants face significant abuse both online and in person, with many admitting they received death threats over their portrayal on MAFS.

Of course, there is another side to this story.

After a decade on air, many would assume that MAFS contestants should know what they're getting into when they sign up for the biggest TV show in Australia.

"The participants that put their hands up have had plenty of opportunity to watch the previous seasons. So they know what they're getting into," expert John Aiken told Mamamia before the season premiered.

"Some participants will put their hand up and be accountable and say 'That's me,' and others will just blame the edit."

Then there are the growing accusations of franken-biting on MAFS, which is the practice of cutting up the audio of the contestant's confessional and scenes to insert in other moments to enhance the drama.

This season's controversial groom, Eliot Donovan, told Mamamia at the start of the season that some of his sentences were inserted into unrelated moments in the show.

"They're trying to make a compelling episode," Eliot said. "It wasn't exactly spot on, but obviously they've got to kind of... make it as controversial as they can."

But ultimately, the executive producers say that they can't put words in the contestant's mouths.

"We don't create villains," producer John Walsh said to Mamamia. "The villains reveal themselves and they just don't like the mirror being held up."

With the ratings for Married at First Sight still keeping the show in the number one spot, it's doubtful that any major changes are coming, especially in the way the contestants are portrayed.

There's a reason the show is an international phenomenon.

But at the same time, the producers will need to accept that contestants increasingly going rogue is the price they'll pay.

Feature image: Nine.