Perhaps one of the most controversial TV stars Australia’s produced, Cyrell Paule understands how it feels for millions of strangers to turn against you thanks to an inaccurate portrayal on a reality show.
WATCH: Cyrell says she sympathises with Josh and his family
And that’s exactly why she’s throwing her support behind Josh Philak’s mum who has been receiving death threats since berating Cathy Evans during Married At First Sight’s homestays.
Discussing the brutal events that have transpired in the last few days, the new mum to Boston says she feels for Josh’s loved ones and understands the hurt and anger that’s followed the tradie’s appearance on the experiment.
“There has been a lot of trolling on Instagram with his mum and little brother getting death threats. He’s also being called a mummy’s boy,” the new mum told WHO exclusively after last night’s episode aired.

“I am going to say that when I was on the show, my brother Ivan copped the exact same thing because they thought he was overprotective. He got death threats, there was racism and a lot of people even told us to ‘go back to our country’.”
Admitting he also struggled to deal with the wrath of nasty MAFS viewers, Cyrell urged fans to back off and understand that Josh’s mum’s comments were most likely taken out of context.
After all, the show’s producers are infamous for pushing the most dramatic narrative possible, even if it’s completely fictional or fallacious.

“There is so much you guys don’t see on camera,” the fiery reality star continued. “You don’t know how a person will be portrayed. Maybe she was made to be the bad guy here just like my brother was. I feel for Josh.
“Guys, you need to remember that this is a television show. I signed a contract and I knew what I was getting into before the experiment but I didn’t realise just how much that was going to reflect back onto my family. I thought when I went onto the show that people would hate me and only me. It changes things when your family is being spoken about like that.”

While we can all agree that someone sending death threats to another person is abhorrent and absolutely unacceptable, Josh’s mum probably shouldn’t have blasted her son’s television bride on social media either.
After the truck driver told his friends “MAFS “f***ed me in the backside” in an expletive-laden Facebook rant, his mum Mandy weighed in, accusing Cathy of using a son to advanced her “acting” career.
“Actress from hell,” Mandy wrote on social media after Josh vented about their disastrous homestays.

Another family member weighed in on the rant, writing: “We did well to keep our gobs shut until now! Cathy is playing a victim! The tears, definitely trying to get on Home and Away. She’s playing her role well, sort of.”
After a MAFS viewer commented “we now know they break up for good”, Mandy responded: “She was a paid actress hunny, employed by producers.”