Can a leopard really change its spots? For the first time on this season of Married At First Sight Australia, a stubborn groom has (seemingly) admitted his wrongdoings.
Eliot’s storybook-esque sudden realisation of his behaviour was just one of the unexpected turns of the latest commitment ceremony, which ended with yet another couple walking out the door.
The writing was almost on the wall for Sierah and Billy, with the former’s cheeky “secret” dinner with Adrian and the latter’s shocking “wife swap” comment spelling disaster for the pair.
“I find Adrian easier to talk to,” Sierah admits, as Billy again apologises for his behaviour while realising there’s really no coming back from it.
“But all I’ve ever really wanted was a deeper connection, and I’ve gotten nothing,” he says.
Sierah and Billy have decided to quit the experiment. Photo / Nine AU
While Sierah also admits she felt awful the situation had occurred, the damage is done, and the couple both decide to leave.
“I think you two have both had a breakthrough as humans,” expert Mel Schilling says, leaving audiences to decide if the pair have really learned from their mistakes or are just another cautionary relationship tale.
Amazingly, 90% of the other couples are in a good marital space with limited speedbumps.
Morena wants Tony to stop being too playful with her and get more romantic (he obliges with a hug), and Rhi and Jeff are officially out of the friendzone.
Carina and Paul, Beth and Teejay, Lauren and Clint, and Jamie and Dave also seem to have no complaints with the state of their marriages as they all committed to staying.
But everyone let out a collective groan when Jacqui and Ryan stepped up to the couch, knowing they were in for a wild ride.
Now with everything seemingly all fixed again, Jacqui decides to bring out a paper copy of the infamous list, telling the group the things Ryan needs to work on.
Despite another public shaming, Ryan says he’s been working on things and is trying to make amends.
“I owe it to Ryan to let him prove himself as the man he needs to be,” Jacqui says, as the other couples stare in disbelief as both decide to stay.
Now come the two big moments of the night, with Eliot’s shocking turn catching everyone off guard.
His new wife Veronica is still not impressed with the side of Eliot she saw at the dinner party, where he ripped into his ex-wife Lauren with a shocking comment about her margarita consumption.
“It’s time to face the music,” expert John Aiken warns the groom after his wife demands accountability.
“I’ll take ownership. I was trying to clumsily rationalise it with checkboxes, and I was wrong,” Eliot says, as the other couples' eyes bulge.
“Where are those check boxes now?” Aiken asks the notoriously picky groom, who ditched Lauren because she didn’t meet his standards.
“In the bin,” Eliot claims, and while his new wife lauds his openness, it seems the other couples and likely viewers at home aren’t as convinced.
Awhina and Adrian have one more week to mend their marriage. Photo / Nine AU
With the remaining two couples on their last straw, it was looking likely that at least one would exit the experiment this week.
After “holding Awhina and the production to ransom” when he wasn’t included in a promo shoot, Adrian is faced with his own ultimatum: buck up his attitude or face the music.
While he decides to stay, Awhina wants to leave. This leaves a week for them, in what is likely their final chance to survive as a couple.
With Billy and Sierah both vying to leave after an emotional outpouring, viewers are once again left with more questions than answers.
Will they return like Lauren and Eliot with different partners? Or will producers let the sleeping giant rest and give us, and the cast, a break.
Mitchell Hageman joined the Herald’s entertainment and lifestyle team in 2024 and has taken on the unofficial role of MAFS correspondent for this season. He previously worked as a multimedia journalist for Hawke’s Bay Today.
