Married At First Sight UK: Is the E4 show scripted?-Andrew Gaudion-Entertainment – Metro

Series seven of MAFS UK has been hit by a cheating scandal – but is any of the series scripted? (Picture: E4)

Married At First Sight has become a reality TV favourite for many across the country, both the UK and Australian versions of the show.

The dating programme sees single people put their love lives in the hands of dating experts, who attempt to pair them up with their perfect match.

The twist? The couples meet for the very first time at the altar.

Fans can’t get enough of the nuptial experiment, which is airing its seventh UK series on E4 now – but is the marital drama genuine, or are the twists and turns scripted?

Here’s what the cast, and Channel 4, has said.

Is Married At First Sight UK scripted?

Married At First Sight (MAFS) is billed by Channel 4 as ‘an unscripted reality series’.

How real is the show’s drama? (Picture: E4)

This means the programme is not scripted – but it’s worth noting the ‘marriages’ shown to viewers are not legally binding, so they do not require a divorce to get out of.

A spokesperson for the show previously told Metro.co.uk: ‘Following the Australian format, rather than legal marriages, the couples will make a lifelong commitment to one another at a glamorous ceremony.’

However, some participants have questioned the show’s editing, and also lamented the fact we don’t see everything that happens between all of the newlyweds.

Series seven bride Gemma Rose recently slammed the show for ‘unacceptable’ editing. This was shortly before her departure, which saw husband Matt Murray form a new couple with Whitney Hughes.

In a social media post, she said: ‘There have been villains created and things made to look worse than they are. I don’t care if I get in trouble for this, you can break out that contract [and] whatever else.

‘[It’s] absolutely unacceptable the way you have created these storylines and ruined people’s lives.’

Gemma was seen on the show making numerous sexual comments – but claims husband Matt Murray was doing the same thing, but his weren’t being shown on screen.

She said: ‘I think if you knew some of the things Matt said on the wedding day, which I don’t know why they haven’t been shown, maybe because they were actually worse than mine…’

In response, a Channel 4 spokesperson said: ‘Married at First Sight UK episodes are carefully put together so that, while we cannot show every moment of scenes that can take hours to film, we ensure that what we do broadcast is a fair and accurate reflection of the events that unfolded.’

Matt separately told Heatworld he thought editing made moments seem more dramatic on TV than they were in real life.

He said: ‘I do think that the edits are adding longer pauses to things and making things seem very very dramatic, but that’s TV. It’s a TV show at the end of the day, guys. It is there for your entertainment.’

Examiner Live also reports the Huddersfield native told fans: ‘Before doing Married At First Sight I never watched any reality TV…

‘It doesn’t interest me but to now see how people are portrayed and to see how things are edited, it pickles my head. It’s insane.’

Groom Franky Spencer also questioned his edit during series six, saying at the time: ‘During the experiment, there were a lot of amazing positives that went on between Marilyse and [himself]… those experiences have not yet been shown.’

Morag Crichton, who married Luke Dawson on series six, claimed in September 2022 suggested an explosive row was ‘set up’ between her and cast member Amy Christopher.

MAFS star Morag has since suggested a row was nudged along by producers (Picture: Getty)

Morag told The Sun that she had confided in a producer about DMs allegedly sent to her by Amy’s husband Josh Christie prior to the show.

A similar card during a game of Never Have I Ever – reading ‘Never have I ever been DM-ed by one of the other husbands’ – then caused suspicion among the brides.

Morag revealed: ‘I was like, “you f****rs, oh my God that’s so bad”. They made it look like I just came out with it at the table, but actually when it came up, I didn’t drink, to avoid a situation.

‘I knew what they were trying to do, and I was like, I’m not giving you that. But then there was a massive debate amongst the girls, like, “This has been put here for a reason,” so I had to own up and tell them.’

Is Married At First Sight Australia scripted?

Many involved in the Aussie version of show have claimed that none of it is scripted, however some claim that the producers do have a strong influence over how the show develops.

How genuine are all the shocks and gasps? (Picture: Nine)

Season eight groom Russell Duance claimed on Instagram: ‘For all of those that are saying it’s scripted I can tell you that not once did anyone say to me that ‘hey you need to say this or that’ ever. Everything I said was from me in that moment.’

However, season six star Sam Bell did admit that his affair with Ines Basic was fake, claiming show bosses set up their romance.

Discussing his infamous bond with Ines, Sam let slip on Instagram that the producers were the people behind this.

‘They pulled me into a dark room, a black room, and asked me to do the Ines thing. They set that up,’ he said. ‘They made Ines DM me on the phone, that was all staged.

‘I throw her on the bed on that date night, not even five seconds later, the producers come in and de-mic you.

‘I didn’t sleep with Ines that night, that didn’t happen. I didn’t sleep with anyone on the show.’

Some contestants have also said that they are often at the mercy of the edit.

Season five groom Nasser Sultan wrote an open letter to future and current contestants on Woman’s Day, warning the final show may not turn out how they expect.

‘I was edited as a villain because I didn’t want to sleep with my wife who happened to wear a wig,’ it read. ‘She didn’t want to sleep with me either, but that magical edit made it seem like she was longing for little Nass to make a cameo.

‘They’re clever… You’re probably in the midst of being manipulated right now and have no idea.’

Even if some of the events aren’t entirely genuine, is that going to stop you from tuning in?

Married At First Sight UK airs on E4 Monday to Thursday at 8pm. Catch up with MAFS UK and Australia on All4.

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