The intruders are here! On Monday night Married At First Sight fans were treated to not just one but two weddings as two new couples arrived on the scene. But groom Liam has already made MAFS history.
The Queensland prison case officer, 29, is the show’s first bisexual man and whilst we’ve seen female reality TV stars including The Bachelor‘s Brooke Blurton and Abbie Chatfield speak about their bisexuality, it hasn’t been the same story for men.
Liam, however, did express that he wants to start a family with a woman.
“So when it comes to my future I do see myself with a woman and having kids and having that kind of relationship,” he revealed ahead of his wedding.
“I know there’s a lot of people that won’t understand that but that’s what I want.”
To mark Mardi Gras this year, Liam shared a poignant message about supporting the LGBTQI+ community and what the day represents.
“Sexuality does not define Someone, it does not change who you are as a person, As a sister, as a brother, as a friend, nor a cousin!” he wrote on Instagram.
“At the end of the day your sexuality has nothing to do with anyone but yourself! And that’s for everyone. Everyone deserves to be happy and treated equally and respected.
“No matter gay, straight, or bi, Lesbian, transgender, Non binary or gender fluid, Always remember who you are and never change for anyone. Do not hide yourself in regret an always hold your head up high, Love and accepted yourself, because when you do that, the world is yours and nothing Can stand in your way!!”
Diversity-wise, MAFS hasn’t branched out much over the years – especially when it comes to contestants that aren’t straight or cis-gender.
In fact, fans even suggested that last season’s brides Amanda Micallef and Tash Herz who were the show’s first same-sex couple following marriage equality being legalised in Australia, were only matched together because they were gay women.
“They literally just put Amanda and Tash together because ‘they’re BOTH lesbians so they’ll sort it’, didn’t they? There appears to have been no other compatibility checking here whatsoever. Hooray for the ‘experts’, again,” one person mused on Twitter.
“I hope in the future, there’s more representation of the LGBT community on #MAFS that work out,” another mused.
Liam may be confident in his sexuality, but after his first episode aired on Tuesday night, Twitter was flooded with biphobic tweets and jokes at his expense – and science has proven that it’s tougher for bisexual men to find love with a woman.
In a survey of over 1,000 women, conducted by Glamour in 2016, 63 per cent of women said they wouldn’t date a man who’s had sex with another man, even if they don’t identify as bisexual.
A 2019 study also found that that straight women perceive bi men to be less romantically and sexually attractive than straight men.
“I’m not sure if this is tapping into stereotypes not addressed by previous research or if it is due to the tendencies of women’s sexuality,” the study’s lead lead author Neil Gleason said.
“More specifically, that women tend to place greater emphasis on social and personal characteristics compared to men, when assessing sexual partners.”
Thankfully, Liam also has fans fighting his corner on social media after he was publicly outed to the group. Let’s hope his sexuality isn’t a storyline for the rest of the season.
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