She then referred all questions to TV3's parent company MediaWorks, which did not respond to questions about the marriage.
Following the revelation on last night's show, a MediaWorks spokeswoman said the marriage was kept secret so it could be revealed on the programme.
"As you know, we never confirm or deny information that could be a 'spoiler' and hence interfere with a viewer's enjoyment of a programme," she said.
Ms Brown had been "transparent about her marital status" with the producers of the show, the spokeswoman said, and the marriage did not disqualify her from entering the programme.
"Alysha was flustered to be phoned by a journalist and didn't intend to deny her marital status - she made some nervous remarks while trying to pass the journo onto publicity as fast as possible."
Questions over Ms Brown's marriage closely followed revelations about other contestants on the show, including another who was still married.
Auckland lawyer Danielle Beston, 35, was married for four years to barrister Matthew Goodwin. Meanwhile, Danielle Le Gallais was once sentenced to 18 months' jail for stealing almost $40,000 from her employer, among other run-ins with the law.
The MediaWorks spokeswoman said the issue of Ms Brown's marriage was not of the same scale as the scandal involving Danielle Le Gallais.
The string of controversies has prompted one critic to warn that broadcasters or producers who let reality TV show contestants mislead the public risked alienating sponsors and advertisers.
Political scientist Dr Joe Atkinson said today's hyper-competitive TV environment created big pressure on networks and producers to churn out popular reality TV shows.
"Getting bums on seats requires you to do quite extraordinary things to get attention," Dr Atkinson said.
"These shows appear to be cheap to make and to rate very highly. From a commercial point of view, they're very successful. However in several ways they're also highly problematic. If these kinds of 'deceits' are occurring frequently, that may become a problem for sponsors..."
He said finding a diverse range of people, and especially characters likely to clash, was imperative for those producing reality shows.
"Conflict is what sells news and newspapers, as well as television. The reason why you're looking at this programme right now is because it's controversial."
Embarrassing scandals in some ways made The Bachelor more authentic, Dr Atkinson said.
"Perversely, it's actually making the programme more realistic than it might otherwise have been, because in real life, these kinds of accidents and 'deceits' go on all the time," he said.
"Only the most naive viewer would any longer think they are reality TV, that they aren't carefully orchestrated and scripted and so on."
The Bachelor epitomised a paradox in New Zealand TV, where increased competition -- in the form of channel proliferation -- had produced increased sameness, in the form of formulaic reality shows, Dr Atkinson said.
In response to his comments, MediaWorks said: "We are very lucky to have a fantastic family of programme partners for The Bachelor and our other big reality programmes. These shows are always in high demand with sponsors and deliver excellent results for the brands involved."
Efforts to contact Ms Brown today were not immediately successful. However, she told Woman's Day magazine a "huge weight" was lifted when she told Mr Green she was still legally married to her ex-partner.
"The big question for me was 'When do I tell him?'," she said.
"Personally, I don't think the first date is the appropriate time to tell someone, just like talking about how many kids you want or the kind of wedding you want.
"So I decided to tell him on the second date. When I told him, I told him that he had an option, and that I would go if he wasn't comfortable with it," she said.
Green was supportive of the news, instead sending Natalie home after last night's elimination.
On Instagram, Ms Brown wrote: "We all have our up and downs but everyone who comes into your life is a blessing and a lesson, you can only grow from each and every one."
It's not the first time The Bachelor has sparked controversy. As well as the Ms Beston's marriage, and Ms Le Gallais's conviction, it was also revealed that Matilda Rice, a viewer favourite, is an employee of MediaWorks. Soon after the show went to air it emerged that Dani Robinson had a drink-driving conviction.
The Bachelor has even captured Prime Minister John Key's attention. He told MoreFM last week he wanted Matilda Rice to win.
- nzherald.co.nz
