TROUBLED Married At First Sight UK has been hit by fresh unrest – this time from a group of bride and grooms who might never appear on TV.
As MAFS fans know, series 11, which was due to be aired this Autumn, was filmed between January and March this year – before the news of the rape and sexual assault allegations surrounding the show surfaced in May.
The future of Married At First Sight UK’s latest series remains uncertain Credit: MAFS UK
Some contestants now reportedly hope their series never makes it to air. Credit: Getty
As a result of the scandal, Channel 4 have yet to make a decision on whether the unaired series will ever be screened and will not make a call on it until an ongoing external investigation is concluded.
Now, a source tells The Jattvibe that several cast members from that very series hope it never sees the light of day – despite initially being gutted by speculation it may be scrapped.
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“When news initially reached the Series 11 cast that their series could be canned, obviously many of them were upset that their journeys might never be shown on TV.
“While they were horrified about the stories that came out about previous contestants’ alleged ordeals, they spent two months of their lives filming this show, not to mention the weeks of auditions before shooting, and some people even quit their jobs to do the show.
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Shona Manderson appeared on Panorama to share her experience of the show Credit: BBC
Shona Manderson and Brad Skelly were matched on Married At First Sight UK in 2023 Credit: Channel 4
“While they understand Channel 4’s position, of course they’re going to be disappointed not to get their moment in the spotlight, after all, everyone who gets married on national TV does it because they want their five minutes of fame.”
But now the initial shock has faded, The Jattvibe understands that many cast members have now done an about turn, and gone from being upset the show might not air to hoping it never will.
The insider adds: “Their Whatsapp groups have been abuzz with chatter about the whole thing and what’s interesting is how a lot of them are starting to see the whole situation very differently now.”
It comes as at least six ex-cast members are now understood to have engaged a media lawyer to take action against show maker CPL Productions, and more are lined up to join the group action.
The late Mel Schilling, alongside fellow MAFS experts Paul C. Brunson and Charlene Douglas Credit: Channel 4
The 2025 cast of Married At First Sight UK Credit: Channel 4
For now, Channel 4 has pulled all old seasons of the show from its streaming service and has paused plans for all-stars spin-off Married At Second Sight, which was due to start filming this month.
The insider went on: “Quite a few of the bride and grooms believe the show’s image has been tainted so badly by the scandal that they don’t want to be associated with it in any way.
“They fear it could affect their future job prospects and livelihoods, especially now the police are investigating what’s happened. It all feels so murky and grim.
“The feeling amongst several of the stars is that their series not airing could actually be a lucky escape and a blessing in disguise.
“Of course, there are still some of the cast who desperately hope their series airs, but there is a real divide now as to where everyone stands on it.”
“Obviously some of the cast will come out of the new series better than others, and noone knows what their edit is like, but some of the grooms in particular now feel uncomfortable being on a show where previous grooms have been accused of rape and sexual assault.
“While there is no suggestion that there was any misconduct or wrongdoing by anybody during the production of Series 11, many of the cast feel like its damaging by association, even though what happened in previous series had nothing to do with them. They would never have signed up for the show, had they known all of this was going to come out.”
A groom from the show has was arrested on suspicion of rape in June amid the scandal surrounding the troubled Channel 4 show.
The arrest come after London’s Metropolitan Police launched a specialist investigation into the allegations following a documentary that aired disturbing claims of misconduct.
Two women who appeared on the programme – which has run for 10 series since 2015 – have alleged their on-screen husbands raped them.
Former bride Shona Manderson has also accused her on-screen partner Brad Skelly of sexual misconduct during filming of the hit show.
All three men deny the claims.
The Jattvibe has approached a spokesperson for Channel 4 for comment.
