Married At First Sight UK star Adrian Sanderson has admitted he will "always love" his ex Thomas Hartley – but their marriage "needed to end".
Adrian, 37, and Thomas, 31, were matched together by experts Paul Brunson, Mel Schilling and Charlene Douglas. Their romance was somewhat of a rollercoaster as the pair didn't get on at first – but, the pair soon began to grow feelings for one another as they opened themselves up to the experiment.
However, the couple hit a blip towards the end of the MAFS journey as Thomas threatened to quit the series at the final commitment ceremony as he revealed the pair were yet to consummate their marriage.
They were tasked with trying to get intimate during the next week – but an awkward final date caused Thomas to storm off, leaving little room for romance to blossom on the outing.
At the final dinner party, Thomas took Adrian to one side and shared his decision to end their romance and leave the experiment before the final vows.
In the emotional scenes, Adrian is seen breaking down in tears as the mental health care assistant told him: "You mean the world to me – just because we love each other doesn't mean we are supposed to be together."
The pair then agreed to be friends and "bow out gracefully" of the show, leaving MAFS fans devastated their marriage didn't work out.
Now, in an exclusive chat with the Mirror , Adrian has revealed he now knows the split "needed to happen".
Recalling their emotional conversation outside the dinner party, he said: "That was a moment when my heart was just in my mouth.
"We'd had such a journey and that, again, is one thing that I am wildly proud of.
"We came from such a bad place, we moved mountains and I was so proud of that and it was so such an emotional moment because we [had] become such a strong bond.
"But, it was coming to an end. And we knew that it needed to come to an end, both of us knew that."
Adrian also revealed it took "months" for him to get used to not having Thomas around him 24/7 after leaving the series.
He revealed: "It took months for me to not wake up and be like, 'Where's Tom?' I constantly was looking for Tom, constantly.
"I always expected him to be there and I really miss my wedding ring!"
And, when asked how he feels about Tom now, Adrian revealed: "Me and Tom created such a bond. We worked and worked and worked to do everything that the experts ever told us to do. We were like, 'right, we'll do this, we'll do this, we'll give this a shot'.
"And some couples weren't doing it and we were like, 'Why? Like why would you not try?'
"You know, you've got to you've got to give it a go. And so no matter what, I will always love that man, always.
"I feel such a bond with him, we really connected in that show."
He added: "Me and Tom will probably always have our ups and downs because we both have our say. And we're just very different about how we say things. But I'll always have a spot for him."
