Moral quandaries and hidden emotions have wreaked havoc on the second episode of Married at First Sight Australia Season 12, with a shock end-of-episode reveal leaving one marriage hanging in the balance.
Viewers will no doubt be questioning the validity of “nice guy” Tim, a 39-year-old PE teacher, after he brutally told his new partner Katie, 37, that he didn’t feel a “spark”.
I found it rather on the nose that a guy who “doesn’t have a perceived type,” later goes on to tell producers he was expecting someone “shorter” and “petite”.
The Mafs experts said they expected Australia (and by and large New Zealand) to fall in love with Katie, and it’s hard not to, considering her apparent genuine nature and the abhorrent ways in which we find out she’s been treated in the past (an ex-boyfriend had told her to lose weight).
Any normal person would only want the best for her, so seeing her new husband whisper sweet nothings to his groomsman about how he’s not feeling it is a metaphorical slap in the face.
Could Tim be the new Mafs villain? Photo / Warner Bros. Discovery
Bursting into tears, the pair discuss their honeymoon after sleeping in separate beds. The stakes are high, and we can no doubt expect more awkward exchanges when all the couples meet.
Awkwardness was quite a theme in this episode, which started off with a tale of two honeymoons.
High-standards troublemaker Eliot, who married Lauren last episode, is having second thoughts about his marriage after what must’ve been some sort of midnight epiphany.
Things on Eliot’s “non-negotiables” list such as the age gap between them (Lauren is two years older) and not buying luxury luggage have sent this series' minor antagonist into a tailspin.
“I want someone who’s not really a career person,” he explained, a statement that left me and I imagine many others dumbfounded.
But over in Vanuatu, things are a lot sunnier for Carina and Paul, who seem to have got over the initial bombshell of previously knowing each other and are rekindling their romance.
“Snuggling and kissing,” were the juicy details we got given of their first night together, with Carina telling the camera that the “spark” is there.
While Jamie, 28, was clearly the loudmouth of episode one, her abrasiveness is kind of growing on me. She’s got a rather witty sense of humour and seems to have a soft heart hidden underneath the bold exterior.
She wanted a David Beckham personality with tattoos and that’s exactly what she got in the form of 36-year-old builder Dave.
The “friendly giant” described himself as insecure, and with Jamie’s brash nature would this mean opposites attract?
Apparently so, and things went swimmingly in what I felt was an endearing ceremony full of jokes and laughter.
Either the pair were playing it up for the cameras, or there were definitely sparks flying because the banter and adoration on screen seemed effortless.
You’d have to have a heart of stone to not feel some emotion when Dave spoke at the reception about his father, who couldn’t attend due to an ongoing battle with cancer.
Jamie supported her new husband, and the pair shared a moment of vulnerability leading to hope that we might have found a couple immediately right for each other.
“The experts deserve a bloody raise,” Jamie noted, and I might have to agree with her on that one.
Jamie and Dave seem to be the perfect match. Can their fairytale romance continue to gain momentum? Photo / Geoff Magee
A small aside, why was this ceremony held in an abandoned warehouse? Perhaps it was all to fit the theme of “don’t judge a book by its cover”.
Two episodes in and I’m invested in this strange new world. Sure, it might be fake, staged or whatever you call it, but pure escapist fare is a welcome distraction in today’s crazy world.
