Melinda and Layton’s awkward wedding was an important lesson in not jumping to conclusions.
The couple, who seem like they would be the perfect pair on paper thanks to their similar work ethos and lifestyles had one of the more award weddings of the season after some miscommunication.
Despite the couple’s frosty beginnings, audiences watched as the pair went on to become one of the strongest relationships of the most recent MAFS season and were one of only two couples to finish Married At First Sight Season 10.
However, after spending almost a year together the couple announced in October 2023 that they had split, devastating MAFS fans who believed the couple were in it for the long run.
“We wanted to keep this private for the time being, but we have a lot of supporters that are invested in the relationship and owe it to you to be transparent,” Mel and Layton’s joint Instagram statement began.
“After a lot of thought and consideration, we have sadly decided to both take time apart. We still care very deeply for each other and this doesn’t mean our lives can’t come back together, but as of now, we think this decision is for the best.”
“We want to express our heartfelt gratitude for all your support throughout our journey, it has meant the world to us. We hope you can understand and ask for your kindness and respect during this time.”
Whilst it may be the end of the road for Layton and Melinda, we’re looking back at their relationship history and journey on the show!
The Awkward Wedding
Not only was Melinda instantly put off by Layton’s physical appearance, but she immediately suspected his smooth chat and charming personality were a “facade.”
Layton’s vows were the last straw for Melinda, after hearing him speak about a “money tree.” Jumping to the conclusion that he was born into money (she was wrong), Melinda made little effort to get to know him for the rest of the day, despite her friends and family loving him.
After an awkward first kiss and an even more awkward first night where the vibes were off and Layton began to work on his laptop instead of getting to know his new wife – fans didn’t have high hopes for the couple.
To becoming one of the strongest couples of the season
Despite the slow start to their relationship, Layton and Melinda quickly became one of the stronger couples of the series. Despite a few hiccups, the couple’s similar careers and view on life saw them make a perfect-on-paper match.
A few hiccups
Although everything was going smoothly for this pair, the ‘couple swap week’ saw things dramatically implode. With Layton refusing to do the challenge, and Melinda feeling unsupported and not listened to, the week’s commitment ceremony saw their relationship falter.
“I want to put everything that’s now happened behind us,” explained Layton.
“I’m looking forward to seeing Mel in her home state…so I’ve written stay.”
“Today was the only day [in the experiment]… that I didn’t know what I was going to write,” explained Mel.
“I saw him hurting, I saw me hurting, I saw the relationship hurting and the last task really made me question if you [Layton] were going to be able to see a different perspective tonight.”
“But I was hopeful – so I said stay.”
Final Commitment ceremony
The couple spent the final night of the experiment on rocky territory, deciding to stay in different apartments. However, when speaking with his sister, Layton made a major breakthrough about his inability to be emotional.
“Being vulnerable and expressing my feelings is so unnatural to me,” Layton explained. “And this is what prevented me from moving forward with relationships in the past.”
“Making a commitment with the fear that you could get hurt…that’s really scary. If somebody can fall in love so easily. They can fall out of love so easily. I’ve seen that happen, in my life. I’ve seen my parents, my mum and dad, who are now no longer together.”
Admitting that he felt major regret with how he left things with Melinda, Layton was afraid it was too late to get a second chance.
For Melinda, the final commitment ceremony decision was uncertain. “I don’t know what to say to Layton,” she admitted, after explaining to her mum how hurt and betrayed she had felt.
“I want to stand strong and choose me and to not be hurt anymore going forward,” she revealed.
However, as spoilers may have revealed, the couple did in fact choose to stay together during the final commitment ceremony! And thanks to some sneaky photos of them in public – it seems like they’re still going strong.
Life after MAFS
Sure, fans pretty much knew by the end of the season that Melinda and Layton were in a relationship thanks to some sneaky pics. However, the couple kept their relationship largely out of the public eye as the season aired on TV.
Now, as the pair settle into life after the show, Melinda has taken to Instagram to share what life was like in the early days of their relationship – revealing that the pair enjoyed a holiday to Bali in January!
“For my Xmas present, Layton surprised me with tickets to Bali 😍,” Melinda shared in the caption of a picture carousel.
“We were unable to post at the time as it was 1 week prior to the show airing and we didn’t want to ruin the ending of our Mafs journey for you guys 😘”
In June, Melinda joined the Back to Reality podcast, where she revealed the couple were stronger than ever.
Explaining that Layton was leaving Sydney and relocating to Queensland “within a month” to be closer to Melinda, she shared that Layton was “currently packing up shop.”
She also gave fans an insight into what the past few months have looked like for the couple as they maintained a long-distance relationship.
“We’ve seen each other like every one to two weeks because Sydney’s not too far,” Melinda shared.
“You know, we’ve had a few different events and we’ve had a few different like friend things as well that we’ve both gone to and then I’m opening up a new Salon at the moment so Layton has been helping me a lot with that.”
“He’s got a lot of friends and family in Brisbane, so it actually worked out pretty well.”
However, it hasn’t been all smooth sailings, with Melinda admitting the pair “struggled” re-watching the show.
“We were really rocky. It was like we were reliving it all…So there was a part there for like a good week where we just weren’t even in communication because we were back triggered at the couple swap stuff, you know. So yeah, we just started reliving it all it was really bad.”
During an interview with Punkee in July, Melinda and Layton shared a surprising detail about their relationship – Layton had yet to drop the love bomb!
When asked who said “I Love You” first, Melinda explained: “Who said ‘I love you first’, and only? That would be moi, because I’ve never heard it from Layton…He can’t say I love you. He hasn’t and he just can’t do it.”
Layton did say during final vows that he was “falling in love” with Melinda and 10 months later he’s adamant he shows his love to her in different ways, sharing with the publication that he “has love for her.”
And it’s clear the pair are still going strong, telling TV Week that meeting each other was their favorite part of the MAFS experiment.
“Probably meeting Mel I’d have to say [she’s] my number one,” Layton shared with the publication at the TV WEEK Logies.
“He has to say that,” laughed Mel. “It was our relationship. It really was.”
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