Shouting echoed across the Sydney skyline during the latestMarried At First Sight Australia dinner party, as embattled bride Jamie stood her ground after being accused by Carina of “Mean Girls” behaviour.
And while all this was going on, the centre of the argument – “bully” bride Lauren – sipped wine and ate fish pasta at home with her oblivious husband Clint.
Naturally, refusing to face the music at the dinner party ruffled a few feathers.
“Tonight is giving justice for Jamie,” Jamie told producers before the tense evening started, noting that she wanted an apology from Carina and Rhi, who she believed backed Lauren up.
“I’m feeling hurt and disappointed. My friends didn’t step up and come to my support”.
Carina, feeling anxious about the night, asserted that she didn’t want to “see anyone pinned to a wall”, and hoped to iron things out. Rhi said she felt like she was stuck with a “Catch 22″.
In an unprecedented move, Lauren and Clint boycott the dinner party, with the snarky bride saying the pair were “not interested in spending another minute of our lives” with the rest of the contestants.
“I have no desire to be in a room with that little troll ever again,” Lauren said smirking.
Carina left the dinner party in tears after failing to reconcile with Jamie. Photo / Nine AU
Sadly, it still feels like she is leading a lovestruck Clint along for the ride after once again telling producers there is “no spark” in their relationship.
The dinner party starts with a bang when Jamie sets her agenda right away when brushing off niceties.
“You don’t just get to schmooze me over. I need my sorry”.
Stating the obvious, the experts note that the group is getting smaller after noticing Lauren and Clint’s absence.
“Where’s your mate,” Jamie asks Carina, who refutes that she has taken a side in the argument.
“Was I on smoke break when you came to her defence?”
So begins a cycle of blame and accusations, with Carina continually saying she didn’t condone Lauren’s behaviour, but that Jamie had come across as “aggressive”.
“It was like Mean Girls,” Carina blurted out, leading to an explosion of words from Jamie supporter Awhina and a hectic shouting match across the table from all sides.
Jamie’s protective husband Dave tells the group they are “backing a losing horse” in Lauren, but his comment gets drowned out amid the noise.
To make matters worse, Veronica then chimes in to support the absent Lauren, accidentally revealing that the pair spoke about what a horrible grom Eliot was.
“Why is my wife defending my ex-wife? This is confusing to me,” a stunned Eliot said in an exasperated tone.
“She was playing Devil’s Advocate,” Veronica claimed. Eliot didn’t seem to believe her, putting their relationship on edge once again.
While Rhi fronts up with a veiled apology to Jamie, Carina can’t take the drama and leaves in a barrage of tears.
Many will sit there wondering if anything good or productive came out of this episode. At a stretch, Beth managed to squeeze an apology out of Ryan after he previously called her “classless,” and Awhina and Adrian are allegedly stronger than ever.
The cyclical pressure cooker of toxic talk will no doubt continue next week when another commitment ceremony could see at least one contestant choose to leave.
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.
