"Good on her if that's what she wants to do to find love. Everyone that's been in the experiment [before] knows how set up [it is], and what goes on behind the scenes. I wouldn't do it again," he said when asked during an Instagram live what he thought of the Sydney retail manager's return.
"Would I meet up with Lizzie and hang out? No, I wouldn't. I don't think we share the same interests. There are things that happened that were in her control after the show that she didn't have to do or comment on, which she did."
During the chat, Sam— who now works at a bottle shop in Coolangatta after going into hiding— also opened up about his ex-wife's weight loss, praising her for overhauling her diet. In case you've forgotten, Sam infamously fat-shamed Lizzie on their wedding day, saying he'd "never dated anyone as big" as her.
"Health and fitness is huge, good on Lizzie for going down that path and living a healthy lifestyle. It'd benefit anyone! It'll affect your work life, sex life and mental state. Being healthy is huge on your body," he said.
Things haven’t been easy for Lizzie since filming MAFS. First, it was her dramatic weight loss, followed by a very public falling out with former friend and MAFS castmate Cyrell Paule. However, many viewers are still unaware of the serious health battles the outspoken TV personality has overcome – both recently and over the course of her life.
In a heartbreakingly honest interview with YouTube channel Beyond Beautiful, Lizzie— who was diagnosed with porphyria in 2018— revealed she was sexually abused at the age of 6. Dealing with the abuse led to self-harm, and, coupled with the pain of unexplained symptoms such as skin blistering and extreme fatigue, she was given an incorrect diagnosis of bipolar disorder.
“I was on lithium, I was on everything,” she said. “I reacted really badly... I was hallucinating … I had drug-induced schizophrenia for close to six years.”
While she says every day is an uphill battle, she's extremely grateful this year's MAFS showrunners were supportive, regularly checking in on the bride to ensure she was stable.
"It annoys me when you hear these people say there is no mental health support from the network. I just go, “really?” because that is not my experience. People do weird things for weird reasons."
