Would you talk about your sex life on national television? That was the hot topic of discussion on Married At First Sight Season 10 after audiences were introduced to Melissa and Josh.
Ever since the first episode and bachelorette party, we knew Melissa would be a lot. Her loud personality instantly rubbed other contestants the wrong way, and whilst we love a sex-positive mum, her debut on national television didn’t go too smoothly.
From the beginning of the episode, audiences knew they were in for a disaster. The lead-up to the wedding truly felt like a slow-burning nightmare we couldn’t look away from.
Melissa was looking for Thor at the altar; a big, rugged man who could live up to every fantasy.
Enter Josh. A quiet father who loves Disney.
Whilst it looked like we would be watching the worst MAFS wedding of the year, we were pleasantly surprised when Melissa jumped in.
“The experts have hit the jackpot!” she excitedly exclaimed, much to her friend’s disbelief.
The Honeymoon
Whilst the wedding may have gone smoothly, the night of their wedding was anything but.
The day after Melissa and Josh’s wedding a MAFS producer asked Josh whether he and Melissa “consummated” their marriage and Josh replied, “No, last night we just had a really lovely kiss and cuddle and went to bed.”
When pushed further by the producer Josh said: “Ah no, no intimacy progressed. We’re older, we don’t have to jump into any of that stuff. We’ve got a lot of time to get to know each other so there’s no need to rush that aspect.”
“The way that a relationship normally progresses is that, you know, either you get involved in that kinda stuff straight up or you don’t. I’m open to taking the time to see when we’re both comfortable around that stuff,” Josh added.
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However, Melissa told MAFS producers a completely different story.
“Was sex last night with Josh good? Yes. Last night went off with a bang! I was looking for a big, burly man to throw me around on the first night and let me tell you, Josh has it covered. Thor does have a big hammer and Thor does not disappoint. I’m on the Josh train now. Boop boop; I’m not getting off,” Melissa shared.
So which one of them was telling the truth?
Well, it turns out that Melissa was, but Josh stood by his decision to keep his sex life away from the prying eyes of the Australian public.
“I’ve got some integrity where I’d keep some things for us,” Josh explained.
“I would never talk about that stuff in real life. I’ve got Christian conservative parents, so I didn’t feel the need to shout it from the rooftops. In my heart, I feel something for Mel but I don’t really wanna share everything with everyone. I want to keep some things for us.”
Whilst it sounds pretty reasonable, Mel was not impressed and chaos ensued.
Confessions Week
During Confessions Week, the pair encountered more difficulty over their comfortability sharing intimate details. During their letter writing challenge, Josh divulged his personal struggle during the breakdown of his past marriage.
And Melissa? “Um. Alright. So … I’m just gonna dive straight in…”
“My biggest fear in going into a new relationship is getting stuck in a loveless-sexless-no-intimacy marriage. I’m very sexual,” she continued.
Josh was, understandably, hurt by Melissa’s assumed lack of care for his feelings. This manifested in a breakdown to camera where he exclaimed, “I am a man – I am not a f**kin’ disposable sex toy. I didn’t come here to just meet someone to just f**k them all the time.”
After questioning whether she even knew what he did for work, Melissa was left speechless.
Intimacy Week
Their differing views on intimacy continue to cause issues in their relationship, with Melissa claiming Josh has “intimacy issues.”
“It’s uncomfortable – you don’t kiss, you don’t touch, you have sex but you don’t know how to love,” Melissa told her husband in heated scenes.
“F**k this” was all Josh could say in return. Before later claiming, “you don’t have a depth to you to understand anything but sex.” Ouch.
Will they be able to overcome this hurdle?
Commitment Ceremony
The second commitment ceremony of the season brought some hard truths to the couple, as the experts (and contestants) found out intimate details of their relationship.
“I want to now speak my truth and talk about some of what I actually think is at the heart of the issue,” explained Josh.
“There is a significant issue in this relationship about control. In this relationship, Melissa has attempted to restrict my access to the TV. She’s attempted to restrict my access to a mobile phone. She tried to place limitations on the times that I can read my books. She’s trying to tell me when I can go out, where I can go out, who I talk to, when I talked to them. And last week you heard her talk about the fact that she’s going to limit intimacy – that was never something I agreed to. She is useing degrading and dehumanizing language to me, questioning my manhood.
“So when we talk about getting at the core of the issue – that is the core of the issue.”
In retaliation, Melissa brought up intimate details of their sex life, a move the experts described as “cruel.”
“It felt like a low blow, particularly the timing of it,” they said.
After it was revealed that Josh had chosen to leave, whilst Melissa chose to stay, the experts made an exception.
“Josh we can see clearly that you are pretty broken right now. Considering what we’ve seen tonight and what we’ve heard, I’m going to do something that I’ve never done before because I have never seen a relationship like this before in the experiment,” explained John.
“We’ve also been around long enough to know that there is no coming back for you in this experiment, Josh, and we’re not going to subject you to it any longer to this,” he continued, before giving Josh the option to leave – which he took.
After…
Following Josh’s exit, fans flocked to Melissa’s social media, attacking her ill attitude towards her TV spouse.
Responding to this very criticism, Josh himself took to Instagram with a response video in which he defended Melissa.
“Mel and I have had a chance to heal from our experiences,” he said.
He also asserted, “Let me very clear about one thing. What happened in the experiment happened between Mel and I – please do not attack Mel. It doesn’t make me happy. It doesn’t give me any satisfaction. It doesn’t raise me up. At all.”
WATCH: Josh breaks silence on MAFS exit. Article continues after video.
Melissa apologises
Now, Melissa broken her silence. Taking to Instagram with an apology for her on-screen husband.
“Josh, I am sorry that my words were hurtful or damaging to you and that was never my intention to hurt you in any way, shape or form,” she wrote.
“I went in this #MAFS experiment hoping to find our perfect matches and as we didn’t find our forever after, wanted to let you know I hope when you’re ready you will find love and find what it is that you need out of a future relationship.”
“And I wish you nothing but the BEST for your future Xx”
“As we both need this and now we can put this chapter behind us and as we leave the experiment we remember the good times and laughs we had together.”
“Take care and hope to smile with you one day when we both have healed.”
Married At First Sight Australia airs Monday to Wednesday, 7:30pm, and Sunday, 7pm, on Nine Network and 9Now.
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