Inside wildest ever Married At First Sight UK as it takes on Australian show with bonking, boob jobs and bitchiness
PREVIOUS series of Married At First Sight will seem quite tame in comparison to what viewers can expect from the latest incarnation of the show.
The programme - where couples meet at the altar, get hitched, go on holiday and live together before deciding if they are going to stay together - has been a huge hit across the world.
And now this year’s E4 reality show has had a complete overhaul, in a bid to copy the huge success of Married At First Sight Australia.
Unlike previous UK seasons, which feature just two couples who only meet once, all 16 newlyweds will be honeymooning together, then live together in the same apartment block in Brighton - over a whopping 21 episodes.
There will be weekly commitment ceremonies and dinner parties together, which have provided plenty of drama in the Aussie version.
On top of that, one of the dating experts from the series, Mel Schilling, has joined the UK show as a Sex and Relationship Therapist, working with Celebs Go Dating's Paul C Brunson and Charlene Douglas.
But, aside from the format of the show, the biggest change seems to come from the contestants themselves.
Many are already reality stars, admit to cosmetic surgery, and are known for glamour modelling, leading some viewers to speculate they have come on to the show for fame rather than love.
‘I cannae s**g him tonight, like!'
One contestant - self-confessed “loudmouth” Nikita Jasmine - stood out immediately in last night's episode for her demands - and many took to Twitter to point out she was more suited to Geordie Shore than Married At First Sight.
The 26-year-old, from County Durham, turned up to the “hen party” where she met the six other girls taking part in the show, as well as one half of the show’s first gay couple - and many of her fellow contestants immediately took a disliking to her.
Nikita revealed she’d had at least one boob job, at least one Brazilian Bum Lift, veneers, lip filler and Botox, and she sounded uncannily like Chloe Ferry from Geordie Shore.
The geordie gal confessed she was looking for a “hench” man, who had to be at least 6ft tall, with a tan, veneers and tattoos.
But, as she stepped out from her horse and carriage onto the aisle, and saw her business development worker husband-to-be Ant Poole, 28, from Manchester, she was bitterly disappointed.
She ranted to camera: “He’s f**kall my type.
“I cannae s**g him tonight, like.”
Many viewers claimed Nikita was seeking fame not love, with one writing: “So Nikita is doing it for the fame and publicity, she thought she was signing up for love island ugh.”
Another added: “I think Nikita wants fame rather than a husband.”
Glamour models and ex-reality stars
In previous series of Married At First Sight, the couples have been ordinary folk with some standard professions.
But this series of the show has glamour models, PTs and even people who’ve already been on reality TV.
Joshua Christie, who played rugby sevens for Jamaica and was also in the 2019 series of Shipwrecked, is getting married on the show to former glamour model-turned-sports presenter Amy Christophers.
Amy also hit the headlines in 2018 after being pictured partying with married English football PFA boss Gordon Taylor after an awards bash.
A TV source previously told The Sun: “Joshua and Amy are incredibly good value and totally threw themselves into the experiment.
“Amy is funny, sassy and always up for a laugh while Joshua has plenty of strong opinions.
“Viewers will be transfixed by them and whether or not it will last the distance."
On top of that, there are three personal trainers in the shape of Jordan, 27, from Cardiff, Marilyse Corrigan, 36, from Yorkshire, and 47-year-old Frankie Spencer, who splits his time between Dubai and Leeds.
Alexis Economou, 28, is another model on the show.
'We want the couples to have sex'
With a young cast, the series feels like it has the potential to be similar to Love Island's Casa Amor.
Relationship expert Paul Bronson admitted the couples are matched up in the hope that they'll want to rip each other's clothes off.
Speaking to , Paul said: "We all look for shared values, complimentary personality and presumed attraction.
"We want our couples to have a physical attraction [and] intimacy. We want the couples to have sex - it's very important.
"Sometimes, we come across couples who are fiery. That's great, because you should be passionate about love and your life and what your marriage stands for. But when it's inappropriate, we don't like it."
Couple swinging and drama
The reason that the UK has decided to copy Married At First Sight Australia this series is due to the drama that the Aussie version brings.
In 2018, one contestant, Dean Wells cheated on the wife he’d been paired with, Tracey Jewel, with another bride - and they were all living under one roof.
Of course, when the cheating came out, drama ensued and there was a huge argument over the dinner table.
43-year-old creative director Dean even joked that he deserved royalties on seeing the new formula for the UK’s version of the show.
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With the couples all living together once they’re married, could this happen to the UK’s version too?
We can't wait to see how it pans out.