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Daily Record
Entertainment
Tasha Hall

Married at First Sight Australia: Producers slammed for allowing ‘abusive’ contestants on Channel 4 show

MAFS Australia was back last night on Thursday as the drama continued to unfold from confessions week.

And there was so much toxicity going on it made it hard for people to pinpoint the highlight of the show - from Claire and Adam's phone drama to Bronte and Harrison battling it out yet again and one groom left in tears, it was certainly jam-packed with drama.

But it has caused concerns among viewers as they have noticed the "toxic" and "red flag" behaviours of some of the brides and grooms on this year's show.

It comes following reports of "emotional abuse" being visible in many couples already, despite being no more than a week into the experiment.

Jesse gave the couples a rude awakening on Thursday night's show when he kicked off over bride Claire being on the phone. (Channel 4)

We previously reported how the brides rallied around Bronte in her defence over her "gaslighting" groom Harrison, who has consistently made passive-aggressive remarks and turned the narrative round on his new bride since they entered the show.

In a bombshell revelation as soon as the pair tied the knot, it came to light Harrison had slept with someone on the outside only a week before he walked down the aisle and had promised to rekindle the romance when he got back out.

And on Wednesday night's episode, bride Caitlin was left in tears behind-the-scenes as it came to light her new partner Shannon admitted he was still in love with his ex, who he was engaged to before the show.

The confessions week particularly hit this couple hard, as he ranked his new bride Caitlin in the top three after picking Melinda for the top spot on attraction before moving her further down after saying he would be "lying to himself" if he ranked his bride any higher.

Meanwhile, Claire and Jesse were at the centre of the drama on Thursday as they woke up all the couples in their apartments in the early hours of the morning after Jessie speculated his bride was on the phone to groom Adam saying "it sounded like his voice" as he expressed his anger at the pair forming a friendship whilst out on a group night.

Jessie admitted that he "couldn't control his anger" as he burst into Adam and Janelle's apartment screaming and shouting about the incident and throwing accusations around.

Melissa was also under fire over Thursday's episode which left Josh 'out of his mind angry' over feeling like a sex object (Channel 4)

“I will not tolerate that I am not your possession, no one has anything to answer for other than Jesse," said a mortified Claire.

She added: "For someone who speaks so highly about being respected you seem to disrespect me one too many times," as she questioned if he thought his behaviour was acceptable.

And 'Mumma bear' of the series Melissa also broke her new husband Josh down into tears when she more or less attacked him over the lack of intimacy in their marriage, despite only knowing each other a matter of days.

Josh had just opened up on the previous breakdown of his marriage when he candidly opened up on how he felt he "lost his identity" and became visibly emotional, as Melissa moved the conversation abruptly on without showing any interest.

In her own confession, she then took the opportunity to bring up the topic of sex again which has been a sore point for the couple since their wedding day.

"It was a lot, I am a bit shocked, its not what i was expecting to hear, I can't quite shake how I am seen as a sex object here," Josh said as he admitted he was "out of his mind angry."

Viewers took to Twitter to express their anger at allowing such "emotionally abusive" people on the show, with some brides and grooms clearly being pushed to tears from their other half just days into the process.

"Hey Channel 9, your audience doesn't want to witness abuse. Everything Harrison is doing to Bronte, Mel etc is emotional abuse...," said one fan of the show.

Another wrote: "#MAFSAUS #MAFSAU #MarriedatfirstsightAustralia Series 10 is getting really hard to watch & it’s only wk 2, psychopathic level gaslighting, nasty guys, guys in love with their exes, two still with people on the outside & a sex addict - the ‘experts’ have messed up with this one!"

Someone else added: "If this was a man saying to his wife 'I don't want to lie with you unless you have sex with me' we would call it abuse. Melissa is destroying Josh here. #MAFSAU"

"Just started watching MAFS. Why do they let twats like Harrison and Jesse on here? Ruins the girls chances of finding someone. Absolute nob heads #MAFSAU," penned another.

Married At First Sight Australia airs Monday - Thursday on E4 at 7:30pm.

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