Jenna Robinson of Married at First Sight UK has spoken out about her former co-star's apology following a 'joke' about her late father. Fellow MAFS alum Thomas Hartley made the "sickening" comments while appearing in a recent episode of Cool FM's What's Happenin' podcast.
Soon after making the comments, Thomas issued an apology on social media and said that he takes "full responsibility" for his behavior. He also claims that he has asked for the podcast episode to be taken down.
As reported by the Mirror, Jenna has broken her silence on the situation, claiming there was "not an ounce of response or respect" in the apology. She took to Instagram to share her thoughts on and to thank her fans for their support.
Addressing her supporters, the 32-year-old said in a statement: "Thank you to those of you who have reached out to check in on me". She added in the recent post: "It really means a lot".
She continued: "Honestly I'm struggling a little with what I've heard. And although for them it's a laughable joke at my expense, I'm now having to deal with the aftermath of my family potentially hearing what I've heard and I'm trying my best to prevent that from happening."
Jenna's father is understood to have passed away during the Covid-19 pandemic, which meant that he wasn't in attendance at her wedding on the E4 reality series. She added: "As for the so called public 'apology' it's yet another stab in the back. Not an ounce of remorse or respect and just to add I've had no personal apology either."
April Banbury, who also starred in the show, spoke out on the ordeal, saying: “To come across sickening behaviour from adults is appalling. Laughing over people’s trauma for clout. The industry needs to be careful as to who they give platforms to without damaging their names also, by supporting and promoting bullying.”
Following the podcast, Thomas said in a post: "I sincerely apologise for any offence I caused." He said it "wasn't right" and added he'd asked for the episode to be taken down.
He continued: "I take full responsibility and honestly completely regret the situation and what I said. I am honestly so sorry for any pain caused to anyone. There's no excuse. I was out of order massively. I will live eternally with regret."
He later commented: "The lines between comedy and insensitivity were massively blurred. I was genuinely too comfortable and said the complete wrong thing".
Thomas has said he's received deaths threats from people on social media over the situation, with him saying in a post: "It's safe to say I've had some very dark thoughts."
He said he will take a break from social media for a few days and added that he "can't eat" and "can't sleep" due to the reaction. He further commented: "This is really bad."
Thomas' rep has been approached for comment by the Mirror.
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