Married At First Sight UK star Matt Murray has chosen to not take part in the E4 show's Christmas reunion and is choosing to 'work on himself' after receiving some sad news.
The barber shop owner, 31, had a rollercoaster experience on the show – following his turbulent marriage to Gemma Rose and his whirlwind romance with Whitney Hughes.
Matt admitted he had fallen for Whitney, 31, during their short time on the show together, with him even getting a tattoo dedicated to her.
However, things weren't to last as it was revealed at the reunion that Matt and Whitney had split. After dissecting their relationship on the couch with the experts, Matt decided to stop taking part in filming.
Love expert Mel Schilling explained: "Before we go on, Matt will be bowing out of proceedings for the rest of this evening.
"Whitney will be staying with us but we will be respecting Matt's wishes to take some time away from the group," as the group looked on in confusion.
Now, the Mirror can reveal Matt has also decided not to take part in the show's Christmas reunion, which is being shot this week.
An insider explained that the reality star doesn't want to revisit the series and it taking the time to digest his mum's recent health news.
Matt's mum had previously beaten breast cancer before she was diagnosed with a tumour in her colon, which doctors tried to remove.
The barber previously explained in an Instagram live: "They operated and they managed to take out the tumour but they had to leave some.
"They tried targeting it with chemo, didn't have any effect, it spread, and the second time round one had shrunk and the other two had grown, they said there's only one more thing they can try and if it doesn't work they said there's nothing else we can do here."
Now, Matt and his mum have been told that if this latest round of treatment doesn't work, there is nothing more doctors can do.
A source told the Mirror: "He didn’t want to relive the emotional turmoil from the series.
"He’s spent time working on himself, recovering from the heartache he’s felt during the series and wrapping his head round his mum’s diagnosis."
They added: "So he's chosen to focus on family and his own mental health."
Matt jetted off to Turkey with MAFS UK 2021 star Marilyse Corrigan, sparking speculation the pair could be dating. But a representative for the couple insisted they are just friends.
They said: "Marilyse has gone to recover from a marathon which she ran for Kidney Research recently and she’s celebrating with her son that it's a year since donating her kidney to save his dad’s life."
They added: "Matt has gone to recover from the trauma of the show, as you’ll have seen last night it’s taken a toll on his emotional well-being."
