Far out, Australia must be a mighty small place (or the Married At First Sight producers are good at teasing us), because once again a historical link between a couple has uncovered a dark secret and thrown the experiment into disarray.
First it was Carina and Paul knowing each other before their wedding day, then Rhi and Jeff in the same boat, and now the bombshell revelation that Paul dated Awhina’s twin sister Cleo.
The shocking twist came to light on the eve of a three-day couple swap, where each person shacked up with a new partner to get a fresh perspective on their marriages.
Carina wasn’t happy about Paul’s placement with Awhina from the start, and there were tears aplenty from the “sheltered” bride as she questioned the concept of her husband snuggling up to his ex’s sister.
Things only intensified when Paul revealed to Awhina that his wife could be “a bit of a snob sometimes” before doubling down and saying Carina had been “surprised” he would “go for that kind of calibre” in dating Cleo.
“It gives me the ick,” Paul surprisingly says of his wife considering their generally positive relationship (sans the harrowing “wall punch” incident a few weeks prior).
Naturally, Awhina was fuming, vowing to get revenge on Carina and calling her an “entitled, sheltered princess”.
“I’m not going to let her get away with it,” she states, setting up what could be a disastrous fallout at the next dinner party.
Carina was not happy with the three-day couple swap. Photo / Nine AU
While some, like a reformed Eliot and an open-minded Jeff and Rhi, are happy to get a fresh perspective on their relationships, not everyone is happy with their pairing.
“What the hell am I going to learn from Ryan? His relationship is a shit show,” Beth tells producers after getting paired up with the man with the “warrior” mentality.
“I haven’t seen Beth help any relationships so far. It’s just vulgar language,” Ryan retorts.
We then see him use the “sharing honest questions” task to scrutinise Beth and try to avoid discussing his and Jacqui’s relationship.
“If I’ve seen sh**t behaviour, I’m going to call it out,” Beth asserts. No doubt a frosty few days ahead are on the cards.
Jacqui, on the other hand, is stoked to be paired with Jeff, who is incredibly hospitable despite his prior reservations about her. He even gladly steams her dress and cooks her a special salmon dinner in a bizarre series of montages.
Jamie, who is paired with Adrian, uses the opportunity as a gossip session, while Veronica reveals to producers she would’ve been “better matched” with her temporary husband Dave (or anyone besides Eliot for that matter).
The group are generally starting to feel sorry for Eliot, who they believe is trying his hardest to better himself and make things work. Opening up to temporary partner Rhi, he hopes Veronica and he can find a suitable communication style.
Previous couple swap weeks have been a game changer for the experiment, with some even leading to split shocks and new romances. In line with the current dramatic patterns, we’re bound to see a fallout of some sort next week.
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.
