Wait, why is Awhina’s sister beefing with an ex-MAFS bride?

Once upon a time, Married at First Sight Australia was a series built on a basic premise: two people get matched up by a panel of relationship experts, they get fake married, and then they live together for a few weeks to see if they'd work as a couple.

It was basically a first date with an extended timeline. An oddly intimate situationship.

Now, it's a months-long experiment that's all about the fresh and wild ways producers can manipulate contestants into behaving like fools in front of a camera. Some of these contestants are fools all of their own accord, of course, but there's no denying the heavy editing and production that goes on behind the scenes.

Sometimes, I truly feel my brain rotting as I watch this show.

Don't get me wrong, I'm just like everyone else. I tune in for the latest updates and I definitely want to catch all the gossip and fallouts. But this season has taken some sinister turns, along with all the funny and jaw-dropping moments.

With all this chaos, the theme of this season appeared to be 'yikes'. So, let's dive into all the gossip from this season of Married At First Sight Australia.

Watch Eliot and Veronica's awkward confrontation. Story continues below.

Awhina's sister Cleo is in an internet feud with *checks notes* Bronte from the 2023 cast.

Cleo Rutene, the amazing twin sister of MAFS bride Awhina Rutene, has accused Bronte Schofield of messaging Awhina's TV husband, Adrian Araouzou, throughout the filming of the show.

Cleo made the claim in a comment on Instagram under a MAFS Gossip (@mafsgossip) post of papped photos of Bronte and Adrian together at a Perth beach club.

According to reports, this meetup occurred shortly after Adrian was spotted liking Bronte's bikini snaps on Instagram, intensifying speculation about a potential romance between them.

In the comments section of the Instagram post, Cleo made some wild claims about Bronte. "Having done this experience yourself and knowing how emotional this experiment was, to then text another bride's husband the entire time," Cleo commented with a clapping emoji.

Bronte, who appeared on MAFS in 2023 and was matched with Harrison Boon, did not take Cleo's accusations lightly.

Addressing the allegations, Bronte claimed that she and Adrian had messaged before the show. Through a detailed series of Instagram Stories featuring screenshots, Bronte explained that Adrian initiated contact by responding to one of her Instagram Q&As.

The screenshots shared by Bronte suggest their conversations primarily focused on MAFS filming, with Adrian seeking guidance from the former contestant.

Image: TikTok/@bronteschofield.

"Cleo, I would really love to know what facts you stand on, on the fact that I was texting another bride's husband the entire time," Bronte stated in an Instagram Story, which has since been shared on her TikTok.

"As you saw in the last messages, I did not reach out to Adrian. Adrian reached out to me over Instagram. Cleo babe, I really hope that you've watched that, because everything that you have said is total crap. There is protecting your sister, and then there is just being down [right] mean."

Bronte revealed she had been flooded with hateful messages in recent days.

"It's just not giving girls girl. If you really were for the girls… You would have messaged me privately, anything to get my side of the story. But you know, deep down, that is full of sh*t. Like you're full of sh*t," she said.

"Anyway, guys. I really don't want this [to get] messy. I actually just think that this whole thing could have just been avoided. If they just came to the source first. As you can see, I have receipts for everything. I have not done a single thing wrong. And if you think I have, go touch some fu**ing grass."

Cleo has remained unapologetic, taking to her Instagram Stories to post her reply. "I said one comment," she told Bronte. "Get my name out of your f**king mouth, it's embarrassing."

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Dave and Sierah once went on a date.

MAFS 2025 is nothing without its crazy connections. From Jeff and Rhi's brief romance to Paul and Carina's ghosting scandal, and again to Paul's relationship with Awhina's sister, Cleo, this season showed us it really is a small world after all.

And it seems to have gotten smaller still, because Jamie has just revealed that Dave and Sierah crossed paths before their time on MAFS.

During an interview with Robbie and Carly, Jamie revealed that Dave and Sierah had been on a date before.

"Dave may have been on a date with Sierrah six years ago," Jamie said. "Dave had told me prior to [meeting], because Sierrah had been leaked. I was like, I don't care if you've had sex with her upon entry, like I'm cool. And then Sierrah came up to me immediately at the first cocktail party and told me, but it was just so funny because it's like how small is the MAFS world?"

"Again, this wasn't intentional. They don't ask you for a list of everyone you've been with, so it's just funny how this happens," she added.

While it may have been a fun coincidence in the case of Dave and Sierah, fans speculate the other connections this season had more scandalous origins.

Beth claims Teejay only stayed with her for 'fame'.

Intruder couple Beth Kelly and Teejay Halkias haven't exactly been thriving lately, considering the groom just voted to leave the experiment. It won't be a huge surprise to learn these two are no longer together.

In an interview with Yahoo Lifestyle, Beth claimed that Teejay was never interested in her, even going as far to suggest he had some suss motivations for staying in the experiment.

"I don't think he's a bad person at all, but I think looking back now, he wasn't into me at all. And so the only thing I can really think of is maybe he just wanted to stay for as long as he could to get as much fame as he wanted," she claimed.

"I feel like there must have been ulterior motives. I'm a good person, I would never have treated him like that ever. So I think maybe he just wanted to stay on the show for as long as he could and maybe he had to string me along to do that until it was at the point where he was like, 'Okay, I can't keep doing this'."

Beth also questioned Teejay's intentions to do MAFS after he'd already appeared on a different reality show.

"From the first day at the wedding I found out he'd slept with Jamie [Marinos], he'd been on Big Brother, and he's slept with over 200 women," she said.

"So when he's telling me he needs an emotional connection to sleep with me, in the back of my mind I'm thinking, 'F**k off, no you don't! You've shagged so many women, you don't need an emotional connection'."

There's a 'sinister' new twist in the final week of the experiment.

As this season of Married At First Sight premiered, expert Alessandra Rampolla promised a new challenge for the couples in the last week of the experiment. She assured us it was a 'world first' for the MAFS franchise.

"We have some situations that we've never seen before and it's so interesting to see how different couples will react to similar situations in very different ways," Alessandra explained at the time.

And now that we know what it is… we're flummoxed. Guess the concept of being a show about finding love has flown out the window, and now we're committing full-time to evil agendas?

The Daily Mail has called it sickening, sadistic and diabolical. That sounds like a bit much. But you know what, it is ridiculous and a bit twisted.

So, what is it? This week's challenge encourages contestants to consider whether "the grass is greener" on the other side, by presenting them with another 'back-up' partner who also applied to the show. The twist has been timed to fall right between the final commitment ceremony and the final vows. For an added layer of drama.

"The participants were asked if they wanted to meet their back-up partner… It was f***ed up because even happy couples were strongly encouraged to 'explore their options'," an insider told The Daily Mail.

"This twist ruined marriages. Some couples ended things right then and there. It was heartbreaking to watch. They've totally given up on this being about love stories."

Where it gets especially evil, is the fact that couples were also separated during the process. So, they didn't know if their partner had chosen to stay with them or left to explore other options. WHAT IS THIS FOR? WHOMST IS IT FOR? Lord above.

What on earth will you three cook up next? Image: Nine.

"Once they made their choice, they had no idea if their partner had said yes or no," the source revealed.

"It created chaos. The whole thing was designed to rattle them, and it worked. Some people said no without hesitation, while others decided to meet their back-up and instantly regretted it."

Girl.

You guys (meaning, you MAFS producers) can not tell me this is about strengthening the relationship or pushing boundaries. You're messing with people's emotions for content and, at this point, it's enough.

In an interview with TV WEEK, Awhina said she was "really upset" and was "taken aback" by what the task was. Especially given her unsteady relationship status with Adrian.

She reveals that things really blew up at the Dinner Party, following the 'intruder' challenge.

"It definitely did get intense at that final Dinner Party. It was a lot of raw truth. It blew up," she told the publication.

In an interview with The Daily Mail, one of the 'intruder' grooms, Tim King, claimed he was matched with Awhina and basically played the role of 'counsellor' to her when they met.

"She was nice, but she wasn't my type. I just played a counsellor role. I didn't want to be the homewrecker," he said.

Paul was another contestant who agrees to meet his 'back-up'. Poor Carina! His 'intruder' bride was a woman named Hannah — who called BS on his whole 'I'm falling in love with Carina' schtick.

We'll have to see how this plays out as we watch this week's episodes, but it doesn't sound good.

It seems Awhina will be tempted to participate in the challenge. Will Adrian? Image: Nine.

Carina admits to spending $15,000 on her outfits from the show.

Emotions have been running high on MAFS. But it seems, emotional investment is not the only thing this season's contestants have sacrificed.

In an interview with her stylist, Jacob Muller, Carina revealed that she spent a whopping $12,000- $15,000 on her outfits alone this season.

"I probably spent 12 to 15 grand on outfits all throughout the season. When you think about it, that's six months of filming, five days a week, and every day has to essentially be a look and production have to approve your outfit," Carina said.

She went on to explain that even before filming had even begun, she was excited about the fashion and coming up with unique looks for her time on screen.

"It comes second nature to me," she explained.

"Even before we started filming, I was like, 'Okay, there is eight weeks come up with eight different looks, eight different looks'. And we really tried to be diverse. I wanted to have a wow factor so that the viewers of the show could get influenced by the looks when they're going out or having a dinner party with their friends."

Carina also revealed that it also cost her around $1,500 to get her makeup and hair done each week.

You really do pay a hefty price to be a reality star. That's for sure.

The fashionista herself. Image: Nine.

Dave admits a text from his mum was a wake-up call.

Dave Hand has addressed speculation about a potential romance between himself and Veronica Cloherty. The MAFS groom set the record straight during an appearance on Today Extra, sharing the emotional impact of these rumours through revealing a text message he got from his mother.

When Today Extra host Sylvia Jeffreys directly questioned the gossip by asking, "So is there anything with Veronica?" Dave spoke about the personal toll of these rumours.

"I've got my mum messaging me, she's like, 'What's going on, did this happen?'" Dave shared.

"I'm like, 'Mum, you know me. This is breaking my heart, it's just ridiculous'."

During the interview, Sylvia observed, "A lot of people out there are blaming the couple-swap experiment" for the troubles in his relationship. This was in reference to the week when his wife, Jamie Marinos, moved in with Adrian Araouzou and Veronica moved in with him.

During this time, Jamie confessed that she was always the one initiating intimacy with Dave, to which Adrian responded that Dave probably wasn't attracted to her.

In the interview, Dave placed the blame on "Adrian, not Veronica."

When asked to elaborate he said, "I think the comments that were said to Jamie really would have hurt her. I wish he was a bit more gentle with her about that approach."

A friend of Dave's ex has claimed he broke off an engagement to join MAFS.

Dave Hand's ex, Stephanie Jaksch, has come along to shatter his nice guy portrayal.

Stephanie says she was in a three-and-a-half-year relationship with the 36-year-old Victorian builder. The couple got engaged in late 2022, but broke up a year later.

Initially, the separation appeared amicable, but friends claim that things deteriorated between the exes when Stephanie learned Dave had applied for FBoy Island Australia around the time of their breakup in 2023.

"They split, and as we all found out, he went straight on to apply to go on reality TV!" the pal told Woman's Day, adding they knew this because "applications for FBoy Island closed around the time of their split in November 2023."

Sources detailed that after Dave wasn't selected for FBoy Island, Endemol Shine Australia saw potential in him and "offered him MAFS, which he signed on to appear in early 2024."

Dave is a popular groom on MAFS. Image: Nine.

Stephanie was reportedly caught off guard when she learnt about Dave's televised marriage at the same time as the general public. "The advertising started and the grooms were revealed — that's when Steph found out," the source said.

"No one wants to hear that their ex-fiancé is getting married, let alone have that happen on national TV!"

What appears to particularly frustrate Stephanie is Dave's portrayal on the show. "She's had enough of his 'good guy' narrative. Dave wasn't ready for a serious relationship with Steph. That was very clear when they broke up. It is hard to imagine much had changed in the months between separating from her and going on MAFS," the friend said.

Now, Stephanie is reportedly looking to move forward, with the source noting that she "does not want to get involved with anything relating to Dave or MAFS."

However, Dave's MAFS partner Jamie Marinos only recently learned about Stephanie, and reports have said that she was 'blindsided' by the revelation of Dave's previous engagement.

"It is fair to assume that anyone going on this show would have had reasonable space between being engaged and getting married," a TV insider explained, adding that Jamie felt as if "it's all been a bit of a lie."

Awhina's twin Cleo used to date Paul.

Well, this was quite a twist — and for some reason, it was initially cut from MAFS.

Paul Antoine might be coupled up with his partner, Carina Mirabile, but he previously had a "whirlwind romance" with Awhina Rutene's twin sister, Cleo.

"I met Paul in 2022, shortly after becoming single following an eight-year relationship," she told the Daily Mail.

"It was an instant spark, and we shared a whirlwind romance for a couple of months," she said, adding that their relationship ended because the timing wasn't right.

During the couple-swap, it was revealed that Carina was well aware of Paul and Cleo's history.

The curious part is: why was this the first time it was discussed not shown on MAFS? Cleo has confirmed that Awhina and Paul spoke about it on camera, which suggests the revelation was cut from an episode.

"At no point was this hidden," Cleo said. "When Paul first met Awhina at the dinner party, they addressed it openly, with Paul telling his wife, Carina."

Bit weird this didn't make the cut, hey? Maybe they had too much other drama to deal with…

Awhina and her twin sister, Cleo. Image: Instagram.

Teejay claims a big fight was cut from the dinner party.

More strange editing choices!

Last week's dinner party drama was dominated by a feud between Jamie Marinos and Carina Mirabile. But according to another groom, the evening also featured a second war of words that got cut from the final episode.

Intruder groom Teejay Halkias shared that he and Ryan Donnelly also got into an argument. The feud followed a brief scene which did make the episode where his partner, Beth Kelly, demanded Ryan apologise for calling her 'classless' on the couples' retreat.

"Ryan threw some choice words at my wife and started swearing at her, so I may or may not have politely asked him to stop doing that. It was quite a big thing at the dinner party," he told Yahoo Lifestyle.

"I got pretty heated, to be completely honest with you. I just don't like when people come at my wife. He was swearing and that rubbed me the wrong way. The genie in the bottle came out."

Their clash got extra nasty after Ryan apparently dropped the F-bomb. "I think Ryan and Beth were going at each other over something, and he told her to 'Effing shut up'. I didn't like that at all," Teejay said.

"It definitely happened, and it definitely wasn't nice."

Jacqui calls out the show for its lack of 'duty of care'.

In true Jacqui Burfoot form, she has released a series of Instagram stories calling out the show in order to share her side of the story. And boy, does she make some big statements.

After MAFS aired the couples' retreat episode, Jacqui accused the show of failing to fulfil its duty of care to the show's participants. She claimed the show was disrespectful to women's bodies, and that it was "taking women back 100 years."

She referenced several examples, including the producers choosing to "broadcasting [her] nipples" on television and the forcing of participants to stay in the same room after alleged abusive behaviour.

Jacqui has spoken! Image: Instagram/jacquelineleejewellery

Jacqui went on to allege that Ryan exhibited abusive behaviour towards her while they were on the show, but claims that MAFS producers refused to let her move rooms. Jacqui said that as a result of this, she ended up sleeping on the couch on countless occasions.

"Showcasing me crying but then cutting up my crying so it looks like I'm fake crying. Like it's just so f***ed on so many levels. It was shocking the level of abuse I suffered, like beyond normal, beyond, okay," she said.

She also shared her experience of the argument between Lauren and Jamie during the couple's retreat. Jacqui claimed that the fight almost got physical at one point, and that she had to step in to deescalate the situation.

"They cut out the second half of girls' night — the part where a fight erupted... it's WILD," she said.

"I actually had to step in. There was a part where a physical… like people started standing up and getting really mad… I had to step in and shut it down."

Big yikes.

Jacqui leaked the texts she sent Jeff.

On an alternative Instagram page, Jacqui previously shed light on why she was so defensive over texts she sent to Jeff Gobbels.

This isn't the first time Jacqui has posted receipts over her portrayal on MAFS, but this time she claims the reason she texted Jeff was because of her partner, Ryan Donnelly's, worrying behaviour. The alleged texts show Jeff reaching out to Jacqui, as someone heard Ryan 'yelling' in their apartment at midnight.

"Ryan was yelling so loudly it woke up Sierah across the hall. He was yelling because he said he didn't trust me after I called out the joke he made on our honeymoon at the first Commitment Ceremony," she wrote.

Read her claims below:

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A post shared by Jacqueline Lee Jewellery (Jacqui mafs) (@jacquelineleejewellery)

The post continued, "Sierah brought up the yelling at Beth & TJs wedding and wanted answers from Ryan. Ryan REFUSED to take accountability. He deflected and blamed me for causing him to yell. It was disgusting."

If true, this is quite a different story than what was portrayed on MAFS, which tried to suggest that Jacqui's texts to Jeff were romantic in nature.

Viewers change their minds about Eliot.

Perhaps the biggest plot twist on this season's MAFS (and that is certainly saying something), is Eliot's redemption arc. We did not see this one coming.

This is the same 35-year-old guy who wanted to be matched with someone who was 25. Who claimed he would leave immediately if he wasn't physically attracted to his bride. Who kind of wants a trad-wife.

And somehow… his new bride, Veronica, has everyone feeling sorry for him.

The moment we all felt sorry for Eliot. Image: Nine.

During one episode, the intruder couple were tasked with writing confession letters to each other in order to reveal their deepest secrets. Eliot shared a story that he had not told anyone else which… to be honest, that alone, was enough for us to feel for him a little bit. When he was just nine years old, his sister was diagnosed with Type One diabetes and fell into a coma.

But that apparently wasn't emotional or deep enough for Veronica and she became frustrated at Eliot for not sharing more about himself. Because finding out your sister has a chronic illness isn't considered trauma? Make it make sense.

After a pretty heated argument, Veronica stormed out and we were all left confused.

During the dinner party, the group — previously very critical of Eliot and his behaviour — seemed to side with him on this one, with Jamie calling Veronica out for not being patient.

And the internet has done the same. The man we all thought would be the villain of the season isn't looking so bad now, and it's all thanks to Veronica.

Veronica has since spoken about the episode, claiming the reason she was speaking in that manner was in response to Eliot's behaviour.

"Sometimes when someone's talking to you in a type of way you just mirror their behaviour, because you run out of tools in your toolbelt to deal with that type of discourse. And for me, that's kind of just what I did," she told Nine.

She went on to explain that she did ask follow-up questions about his family, but was met with very little.

"I asked questions about his mum, about his family, about his sister. 'What's your relationship with your sister? How old is she? Are you close? Does it affect you guys now?' and I got nothing back. It was very challenging to me," she explained.

Adrian's friend sides with Awhina (and apologises for her behaviour).

Well, this is a plot twist we didn't see coming. Or maybe we did.

Prior to her appearance on the friends and family episode of Married At First Sight, Adrian Araouzou's friend Jasmin Weston publicly distanced herself from the controversial groom. She's declared she is essentially 'team Awhina'.

Jasmin, along with Adrian's twin sisters, are seen defending his actions and calling Awhina out for only seeing the negative. But it seems a lot has changed since then, because Jasmin just shared a statement on her Instagram ahead of the episode to reveal her change of heart about Adrian.

"I take full responsibility for my actions and the things I say during that interaction. It is not at all the best version of myself and I have since reached out to Awhina and Cleo to apologise," Jasmine shared on her Instagram.

"As you all know, Adrian and I are no longer friends. Watching Adrian argue with Awhina is like having déjà vu. But during the time this was filmed (six months ago), I was still very much so Adrian's best friend."

She went on to explain that Adrian's treatment of Awhina was not very different to her own experience with him as a friend. She says their friendship was filled with "manipulation tactics".

"It was no different to our friendship. The manipulation tactics are copy and paste. Hence why I ended the friendship and Sweet Sundayz at the end of last year," she explained.

Adrian's friend Jasmin Weston has switched sides. Image: Instagram/jasminseats

The public statement from Jasmin adds another layer to what has been an increasingly controversial season, with Adrian facing allegations about his behaviour both on and off-screen.

It seems even Adrian's closest friends are now choosing to distance themselves from the controversial groom. That's certainly... telling.

Katie is living her best life post MAFS.

Two weeks after leaving MAFS (at the very first commitment ceremony), Katie Johnstone opened up about her life now. And, unsurprisingly, it's a whole lot better.

"I left MAFS at the first commitment ceremony… and I've never been more sure of who I am," Katie wrote on Instagram.

"Sometimes life throws challenges at you that test your strength, your worth, and your boundaries. But here's what I know: the faster you get back up, the harder it is to fall next time.

"Every time I've been knocked down, I've chosen to stand taller, stronger, and more in love with myself than before."

Katie has made her first statement since leaving the experiment. Image: Instagram/mafs

She went on to say that "self-care" is about "making the hard choices that honour you".

After her short-lived marriage to Tim made headlines for the appalling comments he made off camera (or so he thought), Katie is paving a new, brighter path.

"It's walking away from what doesn't serve you, protecting your peace, and filling up your own self-love cup first. Because when you pour into yourself, you show up in the world as the most powerful, unshakable version of YOU."

Gosh, she's even convincing us to double down on our self-love!

The 37-year-old finished her post, "Leaving that experiment wasn't a failure — it was a win for my self-respect, my boundaries, and my happiness. And that's what I'll always choose. If life keeps knocking you down, let it be the thing that builds your resilience, not your regret. Keep getting back up. Keep choosing YOU."

Safe to say, we cannot wait to see this positivity powerhouse at the reunion.

The producers appear to be cutting key scenes.

Married At First Sight goes hand-in-hand with spoilers.

Every year, the producers try to wrangle the contestants and prevent them from spoiling the ending. In turn, the contestants get irritated and run amok, sending confidential details to every tabloid in the country. And then, knowing about the drama that's coming our way, we all tune in excited to finally see the scandal play out on screen.

It's a familiar status quo.

But this season, Channel Nine appear to be getting their own form of revenge on spoilers by allegedly cutting the scenes from the show altogether.

After spoilers were leaked for weeks on end, the Sierah and Adrian 'cheating scandal' fallout was edited to be a weird and entirely confusing conversation. It left viewers flabbergasted. Did they have a flirty moment or not? Were boundaries crossed? Who could say! We saw a montage of annoyed faces, Billy looking hurt, a random snippet of Sierah crying, and then the episode just… finished.

Billy and Sierah's scandalous fallout made absolutely no sense. Image: Nine.

When Morena went rogue and claimed Tony had confessed to being in love with his ex-wife at the first commitment ceremony, it didn't make it to air. Did it ever exist in the first place? According to another contestant, yes it really happened. So why didn't we watch it on our screens?

And then, one of this season's biggest bombshells appeared to have been left on the cutting room floor: Jamie's X-rated confession at the first intruder wedding.

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

Prior to the episode airing, it had been reported that Jamie announced she previously hooked up with new groom, Teejay, right in the middle of his wedding reception. We'd heard about the scene for weeks on end, and then it just didn't show up in the episode. Another spoiler, another no-show on screen.

"We were all sitting at the main table, enjoying the wedding, and then Jamie just walked over and said, 'I slept with Teejay,'" an insider told The Daily Mail.

"The entire room froze. It was like a grenade had gone off — nobody could believe what they were hearing."

An unearthed photo of Jamie and Teejay has since resurfaced on social media, showing them at the Stereosonic music festival in 2014. Talk about a throwback!

The man behind MAFS Funny, Joshua Fox, has also just posted a video of himself crashing the girl's party as they met to film the reunion.

Both Jamie and Teejay's bride, Beth, admitted the scene had indeed taken place.

@jshfx

They completely cut out the fact Jamie recognised Teejay at his wedding cause they used to hook up outta tonight’s ep?? Dw tho im always there to get the scoop in real life. Listen to The MAFS Funny podcast for all the latest. #mafs #mafsau #mafsaustralia

♬ original sound - Joshua Fox

So why, oh why, would the producers not show us that? It's certified TV gold! If these various scenes really did take place, it's hard to believe Channel Nine would let them go to waste.

One of three things is happening here.

The first, they're trying to send a message to rogue contestants. If they spoil the season, the producers will change the narrative. A compelling theory, I must admit.

The second, these scenes in fact never ever happened and are fake spoilers from fake sources. A possibility! But unlikely, given the cast are all claiming they did.

Otherwise, they worried about showing viewers storylines that have already been spoilt out here on the streets. They're worried viewers won't watch if they know what's coming.

But the result, is a series of confusing and very dull episodes this past week. Bring back coherent and interesting plotlines!

Forget Sierah and Adrian, a different cheating scandal is coming.

At the latest Married At First Sight commitment ceremony, viewers were left underwhelmed by Adrian and Sierah's 'cheating' storyline. Big snooze! Then another big bombshell dropped: Jacqui texted Jeff to catch up (without his wife Rhi present, gasp!)

But never fear, a more explosive scandal is on the horizon.

Daily Mail reports that bride Jacqui Burfoot will begin a relationship with incoming intruder groom, Clint Rice.

The development is particularly dramatic as Rice is scheduled to marry returning bride Lauren Hall this week.

The situation has reportedly left Jacqui's original partner, Ryan Donnelly, feeling "blindsided," with the romance between Jacqui and Clint allegedly "throwing the entire season into disarray".

However, Yahoo! Lifestyle sources claim that their storyline doesn't play out in the season. A production insider said they didn't get together until after the season wrapped, but they do attend the reunion together. Oop!

To this day, the couple is reportedly going strong, with Jacqui even moving to Tasmania to live with Clint.

Morena told Abbie Chatfield a disturbing claim about Tony.

In a revealing interview on Abbie Chatfield's It's A Lot podcast, Morena Farina shared several shocking revelations about her MAFS experience with Tony.

In the most disturbing part of the chat, Morena alleged that Tony called her a derogatory word.

"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 beg your pardon?".

Morena claims that a producer was forced to intervene. "He then took my photo. A producer was there. She made him apologise to me," she said.

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A post shared by ABBIE CHATFIELD (@abbiechatfield)

The bride also claimed that she was age-shamed by her partner while on the experiment.

"When we left the wedding, he said, 'I ordered a 40-year-old. I saw that you were leaked in the papers. I thought you were 40.' And I said, 'Everything in that article is correct, but I'm not 40.' And he's like, 'Well, I didn't order you. I ordered a 40-year-old'," she claimed.

Jamie had a message for Tim.

At the first commitment ceremony, Katie and Tim left the experiment following a dramatic first week of marriage.

Their exit followed a tense dinner party, where fellow contestant Jamie held Tim to account for his 'gaslighting' behaviour.

But, of course, at that stage Jamie hadn't even seen what went on behind-the-scenes. She simply picked up on the energy between the couple and chose to defend her friend.

Now that she's been watching MAFS along with the rest of us, she has one thing to say: Tim was worse than she thought.

"I didn't believe it was possible to have more disdain for this man," Jamie tells Mamamia of watching the show.

"Katie handled herself very respectfully," Jamie says. "If that was my husband, I would have absolutely dragged him, like, to anyone that would listen. But she was so kind.

"I didn't know how bad it was until I actually got to see it myself, and now I'm so grateful [I stood up for Katie]. I ran the risk of looking insane to every other husband and wife there and spoke up for my friend."

When asked if she's on speaking terms with Tim, she responded: "I didn't have a reason to speak to him then. Why would I have a reason to speak to him now?"

Jamie had Katie's back through the experiment. Image: Nine.

While there's no love lost between Tim and Jamie, her friendship with Katie remains strong.

"Katie and I see each other all the time," she says. "She's just someone who's always been cheering me on behind closed doors and vice versa as well, because obviously she wasn't on the show for too long, which was unfortunate, but at the same time, I'm so grateful to have met her."

As for how Katie is holding up, Jamie knows she (and the rest of Australia) have her back.

"I think it's obviously quite confronting, the emotion of your whole world changing is quite intense," she says of their sudden fame.

"Her having to experience seeing what was also said about her privately [behind her back] would have been, I think, quite hard. But, you know, Australia's rallying behind Katie. Like, we all ride at dawn for Katie. But you focus on all the beautiful flowers in your garden and forget about the weeds."

The 2025 MAFS 'cheating scandal'.

Like clockwork, Married At First Sight is coming complete with a cheating scandal in 2025. Who would have thought!

This season, it seems the triangle will involve a surprising duo: Sierah Swepstone and Adrian Araouzou.

Sierah was matched with Billy Belcher, and by all appearances they are getting along like a house on fire. Meanwhile, Adrian is paired with Awhina Rutene and… things are not going well. His fault, I might just add. And it seems he plans to make things even worse by getting involved in a cheating scandal. Drama!

According to The Daily Mail, anonymous contestants have revealed Sierah and Adrian "formed an unexpected bond" while filming.

They claim the whole scandal began with a night of flirtation in Adrian's apartment, while Billy was watching TV at his and Sierah's place. They later went out for a date night, unbeknownst to their co-stars, blindsiding their partners in the process.

Billy, Sierah and Adrian are in the middle of this season's cheating scandal. Image: Nine.

Following their date, the rumour began to spread amongst the cast before the scandal blew up. Who wants to bet $5 that a producer spilled the beans and got the gossip train going?

"Billy felt completely blindsided," an alleged cast member told the publication. "Sierah wouldn't open up to him, but she did with Adrian. And he only found out in front of the rest of us. It was so embarrassing. I felt terrible for him."

Funnily enough, after the news broke, Nine published an interview with all the contestants sharing their views on cheating. For Sierah, apparently it isn't exactly "black and white" despite her own history of being cheated on.

"There are many different reasons why people do cheat," she said. "I think depending on the length of the relationship and kind of relationship... it is very different."

Meanwhile, Awhina said if someone blindsided her with infidelity, it would be "over" immediately.

Some MAFS contestants refused to give up their Instagram accounts.

Another controversy brewing behind the scenes of MAFS is that several participants have distanced themselves from the show, by not linking their Instagram pages to the reality program.

The first suspected contestant is Tim, who is reportedly refusing to hand over his Instagram account to Channel 9 producers. The primary school teacher has allegedly cut all ties with the show and even skipped publicity day for his official portrait photo. The news was previously reported by news outlets including Yahoo and The Daily Mail.

Now, TikToker Hannah Bowman has noticed that Lauren also doesn't seem to be playing ball with producers.

@itshannahbowman

I wouldn’t want to give the producers access to my account either 🫣 #realitytv #marriedatfirstsight #mafs #mafsau #timmafs #mafstim

♬ original sound - Hannah Bowman

"She hasn't even changed her bio… she hasn't handed over her password," Bowman claimed.

"I think these are the people that had a really negative filming experience and knew that they weren't going to be on the show for long, or knew that they weren't going to come across well, like, Tim hasn't had a good time."

This unusual behaviour breaks from the standard production requirements where contestants typically surrender control of their social media accounts during filming.

An ex-bride claims Tim slid into her DMs while on his honeymoon with Katie.

Controversial groom Tim was called out for messaging a former contestant while on his honeymoon with bride, Katie.

Former MAFS participant, Eden Harper, shared screenshots on TikTok showing Tim had reached out to her during filming last year.

"I got this DM during Honeymoon Week of MAFS 2025 and I just thought it was someone asking for advice," Eden said. "But this is so f***ed up after watching last night."

@edenharpr

we stand with Katie

♬ original sound - Eden Harper

In the message, Tim wrote to Eden: "Hey been so refreshing listening to the interview on Yahoo. I'm on MAFS atm and. Now so un sure [sic]. Hope to soon soon [sic]."

She replied: "Hey! Hope you're doing all good in there! It can be rough at times."

The revelation comes after Tim was shown being dismissive towards Katie during their honeymoon.

Eden later reflected on the exchange. "I didn't really think much of it," she told Pedestrian. "But after watching the episode and how he treated Katie and realised the date of the DM was around the time of the honeymoon, I was like wait a minute this is not cool!!!!"

Both Carina and Paul have previously been on TV.

If you thought Carina or Paul looked familiar, you'd be right. Image: Nine.

Stop everything: Carina and Paul aren't exactly reality TV newbies. The shock! I'm kidding, this happens every time. BUT let's get into it.

Carina has appeared on a variety of TV commercials, including one for her family's business, Beyond Tools, along with popping up in Channel Seven's The Claremont Murders last year. Before that, she also appeared in Sidhu Bhammeala's 'Boss' music video back in 2021 and as an extra on Love & Hip Hop in 2018. 

Her MAFS hubby Paul has also tried his hand at reality TV before, appearing on Channel 10's reality show The Real Love Boat in 2022.

One groom has deleted his socials.

During Episode 2 of Married At First Sight, we were introduced to Katie and Tim. And let's just say, Tim didn't get off to the best start.

Tim was immediately displeased with his match, and said multiple times that he did not feel a spark with Katie, describing his usual type as a "short, petite, blonde or brunette."

After a painfully awkward wedding, Katie tearfully revealed that, off-camera, Tim had admitted he was not attracted to her.

The most awkward wedding. Image: Nine.

Anticipating the backlash from the audience, Tim has deleted his socials entirely and is reportedly refusing to do interviews about the show.

After Tim did not show up for the press photo day, a source told Yahoo Lifestyle that he was fearful of the repercussions that would come from the show.

"Tim is really fearful the show is going to affect his employment as a primary school teacher," the source claimed. "That's why he's deleted all socials, is refusing to do interviews and wants nothing to do with it. He feels he was stitched up from the start and is now just trying to get through it with minimal damage to his career and reputation."

Former flames were matched by the experts. But did producers know?

One of the main plot points of the premiere was the ghosting scandal: where Carina walked down the aisle to meet… the man who ghosted her.

"I know him," Carina told a producer, who then asked why they stopped talking. She responded, "He just stopped texting." Following their awkward encounter, Carina's groom Paul apologised for the ghosting incident and said he wanted to treat MAFS like their romantic second chance at love.

But the thing is… Carina's not the only bride to be paired with an ex on this season of MAFS. In a twist befitting the most dramatic reality television series of all time, MAFS experts paired two exes together. By mistake, of course. And yes, this is different to the storyline of Carina being ghosted by her groom.

Yahoo Lifestyle previously revealed the exes in question are both from Melbourne: former Neighbours actor, Jeff Gobbels, and fitness influencer, Rhi Disljenkovic.

Upon turning around to get his first look at his new bride, Jeff appeared surprised and said "Hey Rhi" before she had even introduced herself. Rhi was then seen explaining their connection to a producer off-camera.

After casually dating for a while, the duo called it quits the year before filming. But Yahoo! claims they "have kept in touch" since calling time on their relationship.

Former bride Olivia Frazer rejected claims this was an accident, writing, "considering you have to list your exes in the audition process… 'mistake' is a bit of a stretch." You can read more about their match here.

Six contestants quit MAFS in the first week.

Yahoo Lifestyle has reported that a whopping six contestants walk out of MAFS... within the first week of filming.

According to the publication, two couples quit during the very first commitment ceremony, while one groom walked out on his bride before they even made it to their honeymoon.

As we now know, Eliot Donovan was the first contestant to quit, because he was "unimpressed" with his bride, Lauren Hall.

"Eliot was anything but impressed when he met Lauren. From that moment, it was downhill," a source told them.

"By the next morning, Eliot wanted out — no second thoughts, no hesitation. Everyone was shocked."

Eliot is allegedly… unimpressed… with his bride. Image: Nine.

A record number of couples stay together.

Despite a rocky start, MAFS 2025 is shaping up to be one of the most successful seasons yet when it comes to couples lasting the distance. Can you believe it?

According to Yahoo Lifestyle, an insider revealed that the latest season could see one of our happiest endings to date, with a "record-breaking" number of pairs still together.

"Everyone thought this season was a lost cause but a surprising amount of couples have really pulled through and made it to the end of the experiment," an insider told the publication.

Snaps snagged by Yahoo Lifestyle show the remaining MAFS couples "looking happier than ever" — but could it all be too good to be true? Will we finally witness true love, or is this just the calm before the signature MAFS storm?

Because let's face it, chaos is never too far away. So, that's the tea. For now…

READ NEXT: Which MAFS 2025 couples are still together? Here's everything we know.

Married At First Sight Australia Season 12 airs on Channel Nine and 9Now at 7:30pm on Monday to Wednesday, and 7pm Sunday.

Feature Image: Nine.