Does anyone feel like most of the MAFS drama is happening off-screen in 2025? From juicy media interviews to stars leaving the show and sneaky DMs being leaked, there has been plenty going on outside of what was filmed months ago on Married at First Sight – and lots of it goes against what’s allegedly in their airtight, very intense MAFS contract.
One major controversy? So many stars spilling tea on social media – even though their personal accounts have been taken over by MAFS staff for the duration of the show, that hasn’t stopped participants like Jacqui Burfoot and Morena Farina from finding (honestly, genius) ways around their social media hiatuses to reveal stuff to the public.
We’re talking BIG stuff. Like, Morena telling ex-MAFS star Harrison Boon via Instagram that her on-screen husband, Tony Mojanovski, was asking producers to bring his IRL wife (separated, but still!) into the series. Or Jacqui sharing screenshots of what she says are her texts with fellow participant Jeff Gobbels, which completely discredit the argument his on-screen wife, Rhi Disljenkovic has been making about their relationship.
All of these unhinged reveals have led many fans to wonder how on Earth this season’s stars are getting away with all this chaos – and what exactly is in this mysterious MAFS contract they all sign? Is it really as full-on as we’ve been led to believe?
Here is all the tea on the MAFS contract that’s been spilled by past stars.
What is the MAFS contract?
Anyone going on a reality TV show in Australia is going to sign a contract. MAFS is no different. The contract basically outlines what participants can expect during the filming of the series, plus what might happen afterwards.
By signing the document, the stars are agreeing to the terms of the contract, protecting the production company from legal dramas should the participants suddenly decide they don’t like what’s being shown on-screen, but also ensuring that the stars know what they could be in for should they sign up for the series.
What are the MAFS contract obligations?
We don’t officially know, because all the MAFS contract tea that’s been spilled has come from previous participants. They say they’re telling us what’s in their contract, but without seeing it IRL, we can’t confirm their statements.
Still, tea is tea and we love a little gossip, right?
2024 MAFS groom, Ben Walters, went rogue on TikTok recently by sharing what he says is his contract from last year. He says it’s a “40-page document” (other stars have said it’s 37 pages) and the first page he shared was titled “Important Note: Please Read”, with dot points outlining possible risks that may come from being on the series.
Some of these risks?
- You may be shown in a way that you consider to be embarrassing.
- You and your partner may not result in a successful or compatible match.
- You may receive a lot of public attention including on TV, in newspapers, social media and by paparazzi and other commentators, that may be untrue, negative, or unwanted.
- You are not guaranteed financial rewards or fame by participating – this is a program where the main goal is to find love.
- Your appearance on the program may result in others seeing or treating you differently in your personal, work or professional life.
Fellow 2024 groom Richard Sauerman also, according to Yahoo! Lifestyle, shared an Instagram post outlining his contract, which seems to align with what Ben shared, and 2023 MAFS star Tahnee Cook also talked about a page in her contract that sounds a lot like the above. On the podcast Back To Reality alongside 2022 star Selina Chhaur, Tahnee reflected on her own experience signing on for the season.
So what exactly what you sign over in exchange for clout and the very low chance of finding love? (Credit: MAFS)
“There is one page you want to read and that page is like, you’ve got your name on the contract, then it’s like, first page, bold, boxed up. And it’s basically like, what you’re signing your life for. And I think back, and I’m like, why did we sign that?”
Ben also highlights a point in the contract shown that confirms the production company can control participants’ social media accounts and post to them while the show is airing, and there is also a clause about stars not using dating apps while the show is airing.
There’s stuff about the crew being able to film you at any time while the series is in production (which Ben says can even include if you’re sleep-deprived or your mental health isn’t great), and a clause that protects production from claims against them brought by stars, including “failure to enhance reputation”.
Tahnee also talked more vaguely about the consent aspect of the contract, and how stars might feel down the track vs. what they signed on for. “I think you should be able to withdraw consent anytime, in any situation, in any scenario,” she said. “That’s my personal opinion. And obviously, in this case, you can’t do that.”
What about the MAFS stars posting stuff on social media?
So, according to the contract Ben shared, participants on MAFS don’t have access to their personal social media accounts. But what the current stars have been doing is using other accounts they have. Jacqui Burfoot has been posting from an Instagram account called @jacquelineleejewellery, for example.
Judging by the contract Ben shared, this is still a no-no.
One clause says, “You must not post on any social media or otherwise make or publish any negative or derogatory comments about the program, ESA [Endemol Shine Australia], any member of the Nine group, your partner and/or any other participants in the program or any other series of the program to any person including any media organisation and you must not authorise any other person to do any of these things on your behalf”.
So even though the 2025 stars like Jacqui are using other Instagram accounts to share their stories, it still goes against the contract.
Certain MAFS stars were able to retain access to their social media this season. (Credit: MAFS)
Is the MAFS contract legally binding?
In short, yes. But what you really want to know is if this year’s stars are going to cop it legally from sharing stuff on social media, right?
Well, and we have to say this one’s definitely got the caveat of it coming from Reddit, but another copy of an alleged MAFS contract that’s been leaked also shows the consequences of breaking it.
Shared on MAFS Fan’s Instagram Story and reposted to Reddit by a fan, one page says that if a participant wants to “discontinue” their participation, they have to talk to a producer, and that producer will determine if there are reasonable grounds for them to leave the show. But if they discontinue for reasons “other than an acceptable and legitimate reason”, with some examples being an extreme personal emergency or a concern for physical safety, or an event beyond their control like a death in the family, then the participant agrees to pay $50,000 as “liquidated damages”.
However, this isn’t the bit about social media tea-spilling. That part is on another page and is even more wild. On that page, it says that if a participant shares confidential materials that are outlined in the contract (which includes “elements of the format and production of the program” and “the events contained in the program” among other stuff to do with what’s filmed and aired), they agree to pay production and the network ONE MILLION DOLLARS per breach.
That’s pretty hectic! We’re shocked anyone has shared stuff on social media, tbh. But maybe it’s because, in the past, stars have broken their contracts and seemed to have gotten away with it.
For example, in 2020 MAFS star Natasha Spencer, a participant in season seven, spoke to The Daily Mail about her season, in which several stars went rogue in what Natasha called “a state of anarchy”, revealing show secrets and upcoming plot lines.
Natasha famously left the show midway through filming due to her declining mental health and said that a producer told her she wouldn’t be sued.
“When I mentioned I left MAFS for my mental health, I was like, “What are you going to do, say I breached contract and sue me? [The producer] goes, “No, we’re just going to take off our arranged publicity… what can I sue you for? You’ve all broken contract”.”
In 2024, several cast members including Ben Walters breached their contracts, including posting storyline information to TikTok. According to a MAFS insider, who spoke to Yahoo! Lifestyle, no legal action was taken. Instead, production “gently reminded them” that they could take action if they chose to.
Still – would YOU risk it? We definitely wouldn’t!
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