After just eight days taking part in this dramatic experiment, which sees strangers marry each other after meeting for the first time at the alter, the participants have been thrown into one of the most intense weeks of Marriage At First Sight Australia as Confessions Week commences. During this, the couples' relationships are "fast-tracked" and they're forced to have hard conversations early on, with the aim of uncovering uncomfortable truths couples typically wouldn't discover until weeks or months into their relationship.
In Wednesday's episode, one admission proved a difficult pill to swallow as Alyssa told Duncan one of her "biggest secrets ever". After the pair were tasked with writing a letter to each other which revealed something "extremely personal," they were asked to read their letter to their partner.
Ahead of unveiling her secret, Alyssa told the camera: "I'm a bit nervous about this task, it's a bit scary. What I'm telling Duncan, I haven't told almost anyone in my whole life. It's not something that I'm proud of and it can definitely change his perception of me. But for this to work, it's important he trusts it's not going to happen again and I know that's going to be a big ask. I'm ready to put my heart on the line and surrender to this experiment."
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Reading her letter aloud, Alyssa dropped the bomb that she had been "the other woman" in a previous relationship - and that she'd known that her previous partner was already married when she started dating him.
"Duncan, what I'm about to tell you is really difficult," she said reservedly. "It's not easy to admit this part of my past. And it's been a big fear that I've been hiding but if we really want this marriage to work I definitely need you to know. I was complicit in an affair. I was the other woman. And I knew that he was a married man."
Processing this, Duncan told the VT of his complete shock as he revealed that he had been cheated on when he was younger. "I was a shell of myself when it happened to me. It rips people apart," he said.
"It's not something I'm proud of and it's deeply shameful," Alyssa continued. "But it's something that I've been able to learn from. I also know now that it will absolutely not happen again and I never want it in the future."
Explaining the premise behind the task, psychologist and one of the programme's 'love experts', John Aiken said: "The confession letter task has seen some of the most significant breakthroughs in the experiment as it challenges our couples on two fronts: to be vulnerable when sharing their story and also reserve any judgement when listen to their partner's confession.
"It's vital that our couples don't waste this opportunity to learn more about their partner. As this crucial task can uncover a secret or difficult life experience that will lead to a deeper understanding between them."
Duncan was clearly hurt by Alyssa's admission and the silence in the room was deafening. "I'm pretty shocked," he told her after a while. "I didn't think that you would have a confession like this.
"I can understand when people stuff up, sometimes when they go out. But if you willingly went into something with someone that was married then, that's not a mistake, right? It's a choice. That's extremely poor behaviour. I'm still trying to process it all. I don't know if I have the right questions to ask. It's just a shock."
Later in the episode, viewers watched on as Alyssa and Duncan faced her confession and after sleeping on it, Duncan was ready to talk. He soon asked Alyssa a string of questions, which helped him contextualise what had happened.
Asked how long the relationship had gone on for, Alyssa simply replied: "Six months".
"He [my ex partner] had told me that his marriage was circumstantial, it wasn't like a real marriage, and that's just me being super gullible and believing everything he said," Alyssa said. "And that just goes back to my faith, right? Growing up Mormon, it's a very sheltered way of growing up. So I trusted him. I don't really have anything else to say."
Watching Alyssa's confession from home, viewers were just as shocked as Duncan, with one writing on Twitter: "Very shocked about Alyssa, never would have seen that coming. also, did someone on the production ask her to write that, that's something most would have taken to the grave #MAFSAUS"
Another simply added: "Alyssa!" with a meme that stated: "I am shooketh".
By the end of the episode, however, Duncan followed his heart and forgave his new wife for her past. He told her: "Everyone makes mistakes. Everyone does stuff they don't like from their past. It doesn't change how I feel about you in any way. If anything, I probably feel a bit closer because you told me something you really didn't have to.
"And something you knew probably I wouldn't like but you told me anyway. I'm pretty much at peace about what you said because I think that I know you deep down, which sounds really weird to say after eight days. I think you are a very genuine person and this could be something really great."
This wasn't the first rift caused by this challenge as earlier in the episode, viewers watched on as another groom, Shannon shared some hard truths to his new wife Caitlin, much to viewers' disapproval. During a photo ranking challenge, in which the brides and grooms were asked to order their fellow participants in order of attractiveness, Shannon ranked Caitlin as third in the pecking order and told her she had the "potential to level up", when it came to her looks.
Married At First Sight Australia airs on E4 at 7.30pm on weekdays.
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