Married At First Sight Australia episode 21 recap: Morena and Tony’s tense final showdown, Paul faces the music

Paul faced the music when the experts challenged him on his inappropriate behaviour. Photo / Nine AU

“Did you really think I wasn’t going to come? Did you really think I was going to give him the last word?” an enraged Morena says, waltzing in late through the door to the latest Married At First Sight Australia commitment ceremony.

In what played out like a scene from a bad romantic drama, the notoriously outspoken bride was ready and raring to give her husband Tony a grilling.

Morena didn't want to let Tony get the final say. Photo / Nine AU

After revealing last week that he wanted to have a child, something Morena wrote off as an excuse for not liking her age, Tony hadn’t heard from his wife since.

“I feel sad. We’re not in a good place. I thought we were going to leave with a handshake and be friends,” he told producers.

“Even if it was not meant to be, at least a hug and a kiss to say goodbye.”

Things clearly weren’t working between the pair, and Tony is insisting he wants things to end amicably. They don’t.

“Don’t stand up,” Morena yells at her groom. No one in the room knows what to say, including the experts.

The conversation goes around in circles, with Morena insisting the spark was gone as soon as Tony found out her age.

Tony claims it was her overbearing personality that tipped him over the edge.

“You don’t even know who you’re with! He’s put a lid on me,” Morena accused.

“I never stopped you from doing anything,” Tony replies, but the damage is well and truly done.

“You’re a 53-year-old man, behave like one. Good riddance,” Morena yells storming off.

And just like that, she’s gone, and another couple bites the dust and leaves the experiment.

On a weirder note, Jacqui and Ryan are as happy as ever after Ryan stood up for his bride at last week’s dinner party.

Apparently, the “little things” like knowing what a data centre is has helped strengthen their relationship. Riveting stuff.

Adrian and Awhina have been fighting for most of the night already during a heated whisper match, with the groom warning his bride not to mention their disastrous family and friends' lunch.

“I just wanted his family and friends to like me, but they were very hostile,” the distressed bride says to producers.

Alternatively, Adrian says he is “not going to touch on the family day at all” in front of the experts because “these things should be kept private”.

Adrian and Awhina have decided to stay. Photo / Nine AU

Dave gives Adrian a dose of reality when Adrian chastises Awhina for naturally bringing the subject up.

“She’s hurting bro, can’t you see that.” It honestly felt like there was going to be a bust up before expert John Aiken had to intervene.

Despite the turbulence, both Adrian and Awhina write stay, with the other couples shaking their heads in dismay.

Veronica gets a grilling from the experts after her perceived lack of empathy towards her husband Eliot, and in a sudden turn apologises to him and vows to keep trying to strengthen their relationship.

“You have to empathise and understand that Eliot is going at a different pace,” Aiken says, alluding to the groom’s previous man-child behaviour.

When it was their turn on the couch, Lauren also revealed a “shocking” habit of Clint’s that was keeping them in the friendzone.

“I came home, and he was doing the dishes,” Lauren said, telling the experts about her need for traditional gender roles in their relationships.

Finally, the major elephant in the room was addressed when it was Paul and Carina’s time to speak.

Labelling the groom’s aggressive outburst where he punched a hole in the wall as “toxic, inappropriate and unacceptable”, the experts ask Paul to give them reasons why he shouldn’t be kicked out of the experiment.

After once again saying he “genuinely hates himself” for what he did and was “so ashamed”, Paul is given a stern final warning as he breaks down into tears.

Carina, still believing her husband can redeem himself, vows to stay in the experiment and attempt to make things work.

As the voiceover told us at the start, we’re now over halfway through the experiment, and if we don’t see any more intruders it looks like three couples have seemingly already gone for good.

Will Adrian and Awhina be the next to go? Or will we have yet another Jacqui and Ryan fallout that ends in disaster?

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.