Say what you want about MAFS, but there is never a dull moment on the reality TV show. From surprise mid-season pregnancy announcements to downright terrible behaviour, the show delivers time and time again when it comes to entertainment.
However, one of the most shocking moments from the show’s 11-year history was brought to us by Paul Antoine.
He sparked a thousand thought pieces and sounded the alarm on whether the show had truly gone too far when he punched a bedroom door last season.
Carina Mirabile, Paul’s on-screen wife at the time, was up close and personal to the incident, and she recently revealed to WHO the little-known “double standard” of that infamous moment — and how it was the thing she felt most “icky” about.
Quick recap: The door punching incident
While it wasn’t captured on camera, the aftermath of Paul hitting the door is well-documented, with a media watchdog even stepping in to investigate the show’s treatment of the incident.
Basically, while out for dinner with fellow contestants and friends Rhi Disljenkovic and Jeff Gobbels, Carina mentioned she had slept with a famous rapper.
Paul responded by punching a door in their apartment.
The pair moved into separate apartments after the incident, and after initially apologising and crying when they were reunited, Paul later called Carina out for being “disrespectful” for sharing the information about her past while in company.
The incident caused signifiant controversary, leading to a police investigation.
However, the show was later cleared of any wrongdoing by the Australian Communications and Media Authority.
The ‘double standard’ hidden behind the punch
WHO spoke to Carina – now a successful businesswoman and podcaster of This Is Chaos (you can say that again) – who explained that Paul’s response was widely out of proportion, especially since he himself had been open about being non-monogamous with an ex-partner.
She questioned why Paul would be so uncomfortable about his then partner sharing something about her past love life, when he previously was very sexually open with an ex himself.
“I was shocked by that to be completely honest, and I felt a bit icky inside,” Carina told WHO. “It’s [a] double standard, where it was okay for him to open up about that on national television… and I didn’t even bring it up on camera [about the rapper], which is what frustrated me the most.”
It’s a conversation that is particularly hot at the moment, with Louis Theroux’s Inside the Manosphere documentary discussing the idea of “one-way monogamy” – an approach to relationships that allows men to sleep with multiple people, while women are not.
Non-monogamy and polyamory are becoming more mainstream, and while visibility of different approaches to relationships is definitely a good thing, Carina admits it’s personally not for her.
“I’ve never dabbled in that, I’ll never dabble in that,” she said.
“Honestly, as soon as he [Paul] mentioned that, I was like WOW. People can do whatever they want in their relationship and love life… personally, I’m monogamous all the way.”
What has Carina learnt from the incident?
While the moment was shocking and controversial, Carina has taken positives from her time in the MAFS experiment and applied it to her own dating life.
“Honestly, I wouldn’t change any of it for the world,” she said.
“I would never go on a dating show again, but I learned how to be confrontational. I learned how to handle and deal with sticky situations.”
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