Stars, viewers complain after G-string scenes air on Married At First Sight

Sex-fuelled scenes aired in prime-time on Channel 9 this week, leaving viewers — and stars — stunned. Now, those involved tell James Weir of their shock.

Complaints have been lodged with Australia’s broadcast watchdog after sex-fuelled scenes aired on Channel 9 reality show Married At First Sight, as some contestants reveal they’ve been left publicly humiliated by the racy “Pornhub” footage.

“I feel incredibly uncomfortable with what has gone to air,” one of the show’s female contestants told news.com.au following Monday’s episode that showed full-body shots of her dressed in revealing lingerie.

“My mum’s pretty uncomfortable about having had to watch it. It aired on national TV and it feels pretty disgusting.”

JAMES WEIR:Um, did this just air on TV last night?

The episode was broadcast in the usually family-friendly prime-time slot at 7.30pm and exhibited contestants in all their glory: stripped down to barely-there underwear while positioned in sexual poses. One wife was filmed bent over, licking chocolate off her on-screen husband’s nipple.

“I always assumed that they wouldn’t put anything on-air that’s not appropriate for TV,” the anonymous bride said. “There’s a presumption that, if things cross the line, it won’t go to air.”

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) told news.com.au it has received various complaints following this week’s instalment of the reality program, with members of the public “expressing concern about inappropriate content”.

The steamy stunts took place as part of the show’s “intimacy week” – a challenge designed to raise the heat between the couples who have been blindly matched on the social experiment.

Resident sexpert Alessandra Rampolla tasked the female contestants with crafting their “ultimate fantasy night”.

While the power was seemingly in the hands of the wives, one of the women, who spoke to news.com.au on the condition of anonymity out of fear of being punished by the production, said the female contestants who got near-nude “were acting in the assumption that nothing inappropriate would be shown”.

“In previous years, wives were only shown in lingerie from the neck up – and I assumed that would be the case this year,” she claimed.

On-screen couple Sierah and Billy stripped down and oiled up. Picture: Channel 9.

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Some of this year’s wives were “pressured into doing things they didn’t want to do”, she said. She claimed co-stars Awhina Rutene and Adrian Araouzou were provided with strawberries and chocolate and “told to put it on each other’s bodies”.

“But they pushed back and didn’t want to do it,” she said. “They just put them in a bowl and ate dessert instead.”

Married At First Sight’s executive producer Alex Spurway did not wish to address claims made in this story or discuss the perceived spike in sexual content on the show.

Two contestants who played out the food fantasy in the bedroom were Carina Mirabile and Paul Antoine. Ms Mirabile was filmed bent over the bed in a G-string, licking chocolate off Mr Antoine’s nipple.

Former MAFS contestant Selina Chhaur, who now hosts the Back To Reality podcast, said this choc-nip stunt left her stunned.

“That was so sexual,” she said. “I felt like I was watching Fifty Shades of Grey.”

The choc-nip scene. Picture: Channel 9.

Ms Chhaur said, in her own experience on the series, “producers technically don’t force you to do anything”.

“You can say no!” she said. “You would not catch (me) in lingerie doing what they did this year.”

She said she “still cringes” at the memory of being filmed in her bikini during her honeymoon on the show but now felt it was tame compared to a scene this week involving near-nude bride Sierah Swepstone, who received a sensual massage from husband Billy Belcher while arched seductively.

“I thought, ‘Whoa!’. She was topless, legs spread on a chair, skimpy G-string. I was taken aback,” she said.

“I was in a bikini by the pool … there’s a difference between that and being completely topless with your legs spread on a chair. This current cast is very confident with their bodies. You wouldn’t be able to get me to wear lingerie on camera to shoot a scene on MAFS.”

Ms Swepstone took to her Instagram account following the episode and wrote she’s “all for body confidence, sex positivity, self-love and self-confidence”.

Sierah and Billy during one of their ‘intimacy week’ tasks. Picture: Channel 9.

Sources close to Jacqui Burfoot, another bride on this year’s series, say “she’s uncomfortable with what happened during ‘intimacy week’”, after scenes aired showing full-body shots of her in sheer lingerie along with footage of her on-screen husband telling the other contestants “she gives awesome head”.

They say she’s feeling “slut shamed by Australia”.

While previous “intimacy week” challenges have shown couples looking at sex toys and discussing their desires, former contestant Al Perkins said he was startled by the graphic imagery that went to air this week.

“When I saw that footage, I thought, ‘I’ve seen that on Pornhub’,” he said.

The 28-year-old Sydney tradie, who appeared on the 2022 season of the reality show, said the intimacy challenges his cohort was tasked with included “hugging” and “staring into each other’s eyes” and “some kissing”.

“[Producers] have definitely turned it up heaps,” he said. “We weren’t even asked to wear lingerie … the most extreme thing me and my partner had to do was pull out a bunch of sex toys and talk about them and what they’re used for. At the time, I thought that was crazy. I thought that was so R-rated.”

Bride Jacqui Burfoot has had a bumpy week on the series. Picture: Channel 9.

The ACMA told news.com.au it is “aware of recent reports” around this week’s episodes of Married At First Sight and “will be monitoring the number of inquiries from the public”.

“Consistent with the broadcasting co-regulatory system and the Commercial TV Code of Practice, [these complaints] have been referred to the broadcaster in the first instance to make a complaint,” a spokesperson for the media watchdog said.

“ … If they do not receive a response within 60 days or are not satisfied with the response, they may refer their complaint to the ACMA for assessment.”

Channel 9 did not wish to provide comment for this story.

While former MAFS contestant Mr Perkins said he was surprised by this week’s skyrocketing sexiness, he urged perturbed viewers to simply “turn off” the TV.

“I’m sure viewers have worse things in their Google search history,” he said.

Originally published as Stars, viewers complain after G-string scenes air on Married At First Sight