MAFS star Katie bravely speaks up about her harrowing past

A MAFS star who won hearts after being paired with “Australia’s most hated groom” has opened up about her horrific past.

Warning: This article discusses the issue of sexual assault and might be triggering for some readers

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You may have watched me on Married At First Sight and thought you knew who I was.

But what you saw was only part of the story.

When I was 20, I was raped.

It’s taken me more than a decade to say those words out loud without believing that it was my fault.

I’m not telling this story to shock anyone. I’m telling it because I’m stronger now, and because I know I’m not the only one.

Too many people in Australia are carrying the weight of trauma — physically, emotionally, and silently. And we need to start talking about it.

For me, that trauma started long before that night. I was bullied relentlessly throughout school.

First for being a chubby kid, later for my hair colour.

When I was 17, a group of boys from the ‘cool crowd’ called me over in front of about 15 of my peers and humiliated me with a sexual remark about my body.

Katie felt hopeful going on the show. Picture: Nine

It seems so minor now, but at the time, it broke me. I never felt good enough, never felt safe, never felt seen for who I really was.

After high school, I felt like things were finally turning around. I had completed my remedial massage qualification, opened my first clinic, and was preparing to open a second.

I felt strong, capable, and finally proud of myself and my body.

Then one night, working a shift at a bar to help fund my second clinic, I agreed to giving a lift home to a chatty new customer.

He said his friends had left him behind. He said they were partying near my house. He said all the right things to make me feel like helping him was the decent thing to do.

It was the biggest mistake of my life.

That night, he pretended to be stranded, followed me into my home, and ultimately raped me in my own bed.

For two weeks, I didn’t leave my apartment. I was paralysed by fear, shame, and guilt.

The only reason I eventually left was because of a UTI so severe I had to go to hospital.

She has opened up about her past. Picture: Instagram / Katie Johnson

When the nurse tried to reassure me, I broke down and told her: “I think I’ve been raped.”

It was too late for a rape kit. The man was gone, and I was left with nothing but pain, silence, and a counsellor who told me not to report it because I wouldn’t be believed.

So I did what many women do: I turned my pain inward.

I started putting on weight.

Not from laziness, not from lack of discipline, but because my subconscious had decided that if I looked less attractive, maybe I’d finally be safe. My weight became my armour.

At 22, I enrolled in a Bachelor of Behavioural Science (Psychology) at QUT because I needed answers. I couldn’t move forward until I understood what had happened to me.

Why someone would do that to another person, and why so many of us are left drowning in shame for something we had no control over.

I didn’t just want healing for myself. I wanted to help other people unlearn the guilt they were never meant to carry.

Many were upset over Tim’s behaviour. Picture: Nine

That degree, which I completed with distinction, became a turning point in my recovery.

Even so, it still took me nearly a decade to fully unpack the trauma. I’ve since added a Diploma of Life Coaching to my name, because this is the work I want to do.

I eventually started dating again. I met someone. At first, it felt like healing.

I was a size 12 at the time and relatively happy in my own skin. But after a few months, a man I had dated began to comment on my body.

He made cruel remarks, told me I needed to lose weight, and told me it was a way he could love me more.

I remember standing there in my bikini, feeling good one minute and completely worthless the next.

That was one of the last times I wore a bikini in public.

Fast forward to MAFS

After ending that relationship, I knew something had to change. It wasn’t easy, but over the subsequent years, I gradually started doing the work.

Hypnosis helped me confront some of my deepest demons, and for the first time, I felt emotionally ready to try again after 10 years of being single.

That’s why I applied for Married At First Sight. Because I truly believed I was finally in a place to be loved for who I really was.

She appeared happy on her wedding day. Picture: Nine

OMG – they said yes! I was all in, and genuinely hoped the experts would help me find someone who was right for me, someone who could see beyond the surface.

Like most brides, I wanted to look my best walking down the aisle. So I turned to weight loss drugs. With just three months until filming, I was desperate for a quick fix.

It turned out to be a nightmare.

I felt constantly sick and completely depleted. I was nauseous, foggy, and bone-tired every day.

I had so much to do before filming. Dress fittings, hair appointments, self-care prep, handing over my job, but I could barely get off the couch.

After three weeks, I gave up. I couldn’t keep going like that. So I arrived at MAFS at my heaviest: 108kg.

But I walked down that aisle believing in myself. I’d done the therapy, rebuilt my self-worth, and put my faith in the process. I hoped my match would love me for me—not for how I looked.

Then I saw his face.

He was clearly disappointed. I wasn’t the petite blonde he’d been hoping for.

She did not get the fairytale she had dreamed of. Picture: Supplied

And just like that, I was back in every moment of rejection I’d ever felt. Every unhealed wound split wide open again, this time, on national television.

I didn’t get the fairytale I’d dreamed of. But I did get a mirror.

Watching that edit made it painfully clear: I had done the emotional work, but I hadn’t yet confronted the physical impact of the trauma I’d carried for so long.

Still, I didn’t give up.

This year, I tried again. Not because I wanted to be skinny, but because my doctor gave me a wake-up call: I was carrying dangerous visceral fat around my organs, and if I didn’t make a change, I was heading toward an early grave.

For the first time, I didn’t want to lose weight to be loved. I wanted to lose it because I was finally living again. And I want to stick around.

So, I gave weight loss drugs a second chance. But once again, in the first week, the same awful side effects returned. I was defeated.

Just when I was about to give up for a second time, something unexpected happened.

I was approached to trial a new protein shake specifically developed to support people using weight loss medications.

She chose to 'leave' the show. Picture: Nine

It’s really for anyone on a calorie deficit journey. At first, I was sceptical, but I was also exhausted, frustrated, and desperate to feel like myself again.

I figured I had nothing to lose, so decided to try the Glo Up shake by Aussie company nuut.

From day one, I noticed the difference. The fog lifted. The nausea subsided.

I had the energy to move again, to train again. I felt present. And for the first time in a long time, I felt like me. That was three weeks ago.

Now, I train with a PT three times a week and do group personal training on the other days. And for the first time in years, I’m not just losing weight, I’m preserving my strength.

I’m a farmer’s daughter. I’m strong. I’m a built like a Viking.

I don’t want to be petite, that would be impossible. I want to be powerful.

Looking good in a bikini? Sure, that might happen, but it’s not the goal.

If I reach a size 10, it won’t be for vanity. It’ll be because I’ve fought tooth and nail to get rid of the visceral fat wrapped around my organs.

I want to live. Really live. And that kind of life, after everything I’ve been through, will be a hard-won triumph.

But now, I’m healing.

To every person reading this who has ever felt ashamed of their body, who’s ever carried trauma in their body: you are not alone.

If my story helps one person feel less alone, less ashamed, and more empowered to seek help, then telling it will have been worth it.

To the people who feel invisible, I see you. To the people who’ve been hurt and blamed themselves, it was not your fault.

To the people who are still hiding: there is another way.

Get help. Talk to someone. Try therapy, hypnosis, support groups. Whatever it takes.

And to those who still think it’s okay to comment on a person’s body, question their weight, or reduce them to their appearance: stop.

Watching back her journey on MAFS was hard. Picture: Instagram / Katie Johnson

You might be tearing open a wound you know nothing about.

Moving forward, I want to be the strength that so many people need. I will use my platform to call out harmful behaviour, to advocate for those without a voice, and to stand up for people who are still finding the courage to stand up for themselves.

I now feel like my behavioural science degree, specialising in psychology, along with my lived experience makes me uniquely qualified to be a guest expert on a show like Married At First Sight.

To help people rediscover self-worth, set boundaries, rewrite the stories they’ve been told about themselves, and learn how to love themselves again.

I wish I’d had that kind of support on my season. This is not the end of my story. It’s the beginning of a new chapter.

This time, I’m doing it for me.

Originally published as MAFS star Katie bravely speaks up about her harrowing past