Is the 2025 season of Married At First Sight the most chaotic yet? Well, if we’re judging it by all the stars who have left MAFS early, then yeah, probably. Instead of waiting to face off with the experts at the Commitment Ceremony, loads of stars have just walked off into the abyss, some not even saying “see ya” to their partners.
So, who bailed from MAFS early in 2025? Here’s every cast member we’ve said goodbye to in an unconventional way, and why they pissed off.
Eliot Donovan and Lauren Hall
Eliot cemented his 2025 villain status early on MAFS when he derailed his honeymoon with his wife Lauren by complaining about her age and apparent love of expensive handbags.
Eliot and Lauren started off well, which was surprising considering the drama that followed. On their wedding day, both participants were pretty into each other. Eliot was all about his new bride Lauren, telling her she looked “incredible” when they met at the altar, and Lauren was banging on to producers about Eliot seeming like the “perfect gentleman” she’d always dreamed of.
Cursed pairing for sure. (Image: MAFS / Channel Nine)
They also seemed like they’d be obsessed with each other on paper – Eliot loved the idea of a traditional relationship where he was the breadwinner, and Lauren was a fan of traditional gender roles and said she should have been born in the 1920s. It doesn’t get more aligned than that, right?
Wrong! Things between the couple quickly soured, as is the MAFS way. First, when 35-year-old Eliot found out Lauren was 37, he had a mini tantrum about her being older than him. In fact, he told her she should be with someone… over 40? He then got fixated on Lauren’s handbag choices, accusing her of being materialistic. He also felt that Lauren, who goes to the gym once a week, wasn’t into fitness enough for him.
Needless to say, none of this went down well with Lauren, but it was still Eliot who led to their demise. He bailed on their honeymoon two days into the MAFS experiment. Although he reappeared on the show to have a D&M with expert John Aitken, daddy John wasn’t able to convince Eliot to stick with his match and see where it could lead. Eliot never returned, which meant Lauren was also leaving MAFS early.
These two weren’t gone for long, though. Producers decided Eliot and Lauren needed a second chance (ahem, prob just wanted their drama back on screen) and paired them up with new partners. Eliot is now married to Veronica, while Lauren made a return with new husband Clint. Will these new relationships work out?
Tim Gromie and Katie Johnston
Look, *technically* Tim did leave officially at the first Commitment Ceremony. But we’re counting him as a bailer since he barely spent any time with his wife Katie on their honeymoon, walked out of the first dinner party and then flew back to Melbourne instead of moving into the MAFS apartments. Idk how the producers managed to get him back for the Commitment Ceremony, but it was clear he didn’t want to be there.
The back story: Tim was matched with Katie, but on their wedding day was very obviously unhappy with his MAFS match. Although he initially kept his feelings quiet in public, he told a producer that he usually went for “short, petite, blonde or brunette” and that Katie was “nothing what I normally go for”. He was super weird with her during their photo shoot and reception, giving her the cold shoulder and basically putting in zero effort to get to know her.
Honestly #justiceforkatie. (Image: MAFS / Channel Nine)
He then told Katie that he felt no spark with her on their honeymoon. Ouch. After being confronted at the first dinner party by both Katie and others for his rudeness and lack of effort, he stormed off, leaving Katie to move into their apartment solo. We did get a glimpse of Tim during one task, where Katie watched his audition video. His answers were pretty damning, with his attitude being the polar opposite to his behaviour on the show. For example, when discussing his ideal partner, he literally said “I’m not Brad Pitt so I’m not expecting Miranda Kerr”.
Tim didn’t pop back up until the Commitment Ceremony, where he joined Katie on the couch in front of the experts and tried to blame their relationship breakdown on her, and not, you know, his complete MIA status.
Unsurprisingly, both Tim and Katie wrote “leave” on their cards, and that was that. But come on, Tim had totally left the show (at least mentally) midway through that wedding, right?
Jake Luik and Ashleigh Ackerman
Initially we all thought Jake and Ashleigh would be endgame on MAFS 2025. Here was this couple who had plenty of banter and seemed to enjoy each other’s company, plus they found each other seriously attractive on their wedding day.
But that fun banter stopped being so fun to Ashleigh once they moved into the MAFS apartments together. Turns out that Jakes’s jokes got old real fast, with Ashleigh feeling as though her groom lacked emotional maturity.
This wasn’t the official demise of their relationship, though. Everything hit the fan during the Photo Ranking task, when Jake made some really derogatory comments about other brides in the experiment, then saying he wasn’t attracted to Awhina because he tends to be attracted to “Caucasian” women. Yikes.
SO CUTE — at first. (Image: MAFS / Channel Nine)
Ashleigh wasn’t having a bar of any of that, and made it known to Jake during the task – but she also went to visit fellow MAFS bride Sierah that night, and spilled about Jake’s gross attitudes.
When this all came up at the Commitment Ceremony that week, Jake was royally pissed. He felt betrayed by Ashleigh for telling Sierah what he’d said, and misunderstood by everyone else. While Ashleigh wrote “Stay”, Jake wrote “Leave”, so technically they were locked into the experiment for another week.
However, the following day Ashleigh found Jake packing his bags, and no amount of conversation could convince him to stick around. He walked out, leaving Ashleigh no choice but to exit MAFS herself.
See you around?? (Image: MAFS / Channel Nine)
So, will we see other MAFS stars leaving the show outside of Commitment Ceremonies in future? We’ve got a few predictions.
Adrian Araouzou and Awhina Rutene
Sierah’s confession added a new crack to the already brittle relationship between Adrian and Awhina, and Adrian hasn’t been staying at the couple’s apartment much of late. These two have had problems since the start, with Adrian’s hesitancy around being a step-parent to Awhina’s son, and Awhina finding Adrian to be stubborn and argumentative.
To make matters even worse, Adrian walked out on the experiment in Tuesday night’s episode after he wasn’t asked to appear on the Channel Nine promo for MAFS.
A trainwreck to watch. (Image: MAFS / Channel Nine)
While he claims that the episode didn’t show what really happened, he still packed his bags and left his wedding ring on the counter for Awhina to find.
Talk about some shady, experiment-leaving behaviour!!!
Meanwhile, Awhina seems like she wants to stick it out, but it wouldn’t shock us if Adrian gave up before a Commitment Ceremony arrived and tried to leave again.
Tony Mojanovski and Morena Farina
There’s definitely been trouble in paradise for Tony and Morena, and although they’ve recently been in a sweet spot, they really don’t seem very well-matched.
Tony has already left the apartments to head home for a breather, so will he do that again, except more permanently?
Keeping an eye on these two. (Image: MAFS / Channel Nine)
Billy Belcher and Sierah Swepstone
Meanwhile, Sierah and Billy are most definitely on the rocks after Sierah confided in Adrian, not her husband on the show, about her past. They spent time apart recently and also showed up solo to the latest Dinner Party, so unless they manage to get their relationship back on track, we reckon Billy might walk out.
Bet you’re curious to see how this one unfolds. (Image: MAFS / Channel Nine)
Ryan Donnelly and Jacqui Burfoot
Easily the oddest couple on the MAFS 2025 season, Ryan and Jacqui have been at loggerheads since their wedding day. We’re talking public spats at other people’s weddings, breakdowns in front of the experts, the works. Jacqui in particular seems really unhappy with her match – will she not even bother with a Commitment Ceremony and instead walk out of the experiment in frustration?
Lead image: 9Now
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