Channel 9
Looking down at his left arm, Ryan Gallagher has a permanent reminder of the humiliation he endured on national television, as his “wife” Davina Rankin betrayed him with Dean Wells.
“The tattoo is going alright, it’s healing, it’s still there” the 29-year tells WHO of the inking he received to honour his new bride in the early weeks of their relationship.
“It’s there and it’s something to remember. It’s something that’s happened in my life and I’ve got something to show for it. Whether it’s positive or negative, it still happened. I haven’t got Davina written across my forehead so it’s not too bad.”
Seeing the lighter side of the scandal is helping Gallagher cope as the full details of Rankin, 26, and Wells’, 39, betrayal play out on screens. So too is the support of his fellow cast mates who have rallied around him in the aftermath.
“I’ve got two really good friends and that’s Telv (Williams) and Matty (Lockett). Sarah (Roza), too was really good,” he says. “I was lucky I was able to fall on them and they were able to give me words. It was really good to have them actually.”
That mateship proved the lifeline for the cuckolded tradie, who was gobsmacked when Wells attempted to claim that Gallagher was not only aware of the relationship between him and the Instagram model, but actively encouraged it in scenes that went to air on Feb 21.
“He’s lost the plot trying to palm it off on me,” says an incredulous Gallagher of Wells claims that he’d encouraged him to pursue his wife.
Certainly, Gallagher isn’t the only one who is having his eyes well and truly opened. Tracey Jewel, who has taken Wells back despite his betrayal, is also uncomfortable watching her “husband” defend his behaviour on the show.
“There’s no excuse for him doing what he did,” she tells WHO of Wells’ illicit relationship with Rankin and subsequent denials of responsibility.
“I don’t like people copping out and using an excuse that they’re a victim because you have to take responsibility for your actions, for what you do and how you treat someone. But everyone has a reason for what they do.
“Dean lost his mother a few months ago and I think he used partying and sleeping around as a way for self-sabotage and not to get close to someone. Maybe there was some self-sabotage going on. But regardless of the reason, that gives you no right to do that to someone else.”
It’s something that’s happened in my life and I’ve got something to show for it.
For Gallagher, while there is another commitment ceremony to get to on Feb. 25, it looks like he’s finally hit the end of the road on his Married at First Sight journey.
“I wish Davina luck,” he says of what parting words he has for his “wife” now that the nation has discovered her true colours.
“I mean, there’s a bit of anger there but I still wish her luck and I hope she does find that man that she’s looking for. And for Dean? Good luck for him as well. I hope he finds his good rig.”
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