Thought this year’s Married At First Sight cast were a drama-free, friendly anomaly compared to other seasons? We hate to break it to you, but despite the pretty calm first few months post-show, it appears your usual MAFS feuds are well and truly kicking off.
In case you missed it, a select few Married At First Sight contestants appeared together at the TV WEEK Logies, alongside John Aiken and Alessandra Rampolla.
Janelle Han, Rupert Bugden, Tahnee Cook, Ollie Skelton, Melinda Willis, Layton Mills, Sandy Jawanda, Claire Nomarhas, Evelyn Ellis, and Duncan James all put their best foot forward on the Red Carpet however it was quickly apparent that the group weren’t exactly the best of friends.
It wasn’t a huge surprise, a week before the event Melinda hinted to Yahoo! Lifestyle that the group reunion could be awkward.
“Everyone’s friends and we all went through the same experience, [but] we all don’t align and we all don’t have the same values,” she told the publication.
“I think everyone will be friends on the night, but definitely behind the scenes there’s a lot going on.”
Fast forward to the actual event and it was immediately clear that whilst some contestants were ecstatic to be hanging out, others weren’t thrilled…especially Claire and Melinda.
Claire and Sandy spoke with Punkee on the red carpet during the night and Claire made it crystal clear that there was something off between herself and Mel.
“There hasn’t been any drama as such but there’s some weird vibes, bit of tense energy from a couple of the gals,” Claire explained. “I mean Melinda didn’t say hi to us so we’re not really sure why. Maybe we’ll nut it out in there and see how we go…”
Later in the interview, Claire also added that Melinda had distanced herself following Claire’s “villain-edit” on the show.
Once Punkee shared video footage of the interview, Melinda responded, writing a reply across a screenshot of the video to her Instagram story. “I’d like to talk on this because I am beyond being BULLIED and harassed by these mean girls. The treatment I have received during and post the experiment is not okay,” she wrote.
Claire then responded, telling Daily Mail Australia when approached for comment: “We’ve never done a single thing to her.”
Following various reports sharing mixed accounts of what actually went down at The Logies, Melinda made an official statement to So Dramatic!
“We were late because Layton left his bow tie at home and we were trying to Uber one to him but the girl couldn’t find the place and during it all he dropped food on my dress.
“I missed getting my photos or calling my stylist to complete the look because I was trying to help him with his outfit and so was my makeup artist,” she explained.
Melinda added that she left the event early because she had a “sore back and couldn’t sit for long.”
“It was really awkward down there at the table and as I wasn’t feeling well and I didn’t want to put myself through that when I didn’t need to. MAFS is over, this wasn’t a dinner party to be children at, it was the Logies.
“Bringing another female down and making her out to be the bad one and then trying to even get in her partner’s ear when she left behind her back, it’s not people I want to align with at all.”
Melinda then took to Instagram to make another statement on the incident. Posting a selfie to her Instagram stories, she wrote: “Dried my eyes and put on my big girl clothes today. Shutting out the noise and lies spreading through the media. Showing up today for the people in my life who need me and deserve me.”
“Staying strong for young Mel, who wasn’t always this confident and self-assured. Staying strong for all the young girls who follow me and need someone to look up to.”
She concluded the post with, “#antibullying, #womenempowerment, #selflove.”
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