MAFS bride Jamie Marinos: ‘Dad’s already trying to marry me off again’

Her TV marriage came to a crushing end in the Married At First Sight finale last week, but Adelaide’s Jamie Marinos says her dad is already on the hunt for a new husband.

It’s been less than a fortnight since viewers’ hearts were shattered by the TV marriage breakdown of Adelaide’s Jamie Marinos on hit reality show Married At First Sight, but her dad is already trying to find her a new husband.

“He’s typical old school, dad, he just hounds me sometimes. He’s already like, ‘when are you getting married again?’. I’m like, ‘are you for real?’,” says Marinos, the breakout star of this year’s season of MAFS.

“I’m like, ‘you just went to my wedding, relax’. He won’t rest until I’m married off and he won’t rest until I move back to Adelaide, as well.

“He always says ‘I’m praying you’re going to move back and get married’. I say ‘stop telling God to interfere with my life’.”

Jamie Marinos marries Dave Hand on Married At First Sight. Picture: Supplied

Marinos grew up in a “big Greek family” in Adelaide and went to St George College and Unley High School before moving to Melbourne three years ago to be with her younger sister, Georgia.

But the 29-year-old’s dad, Michael, mum, Vicki, sister Marguerita and brother Kosta all still live in Adelaide.

Her brother loves MAFS and “trashy reality TV” and she watched the show with him while she was visiting Adelaide earlier this year.

“He’s loved it, he’s been really proud of how I’ve handled myself. It’s funny because before I went on he’s like, ‘okay, you’ve got the family name, so don’t embarrass us. Just remember, don’t be a d--khead’,” laughs Marinos, who was a childcare worker at Prospect Community Early Education and Care before moving interstate.

“And I thought ‘do I listen to him or do I just be myself?’. I decided I can’t think about it, I’m just going to do it. It’s better to ask for forgiveness than permission so I’m just going to be my self.

“And it worked out because mum, dad, brother, sisters, everyone’s happy. So it’s all good.”

Jamie Marinos with her TV husband, Dave Hand. Picture: Channel 9

Marinos is the breakout star of season 12 of MAFS, which aired its finale last week.

In an exclusive interview for this week’s SA Weekend magazine, she reveals the truth about her much-talked-about plastic and cosmetic procedures, which she had in Adelaide, and her plans for the future.

On the show, the “pocket rocket” fell in love with her TV husband, 200cm-tall Dave Hand, and their relationship seemed destined to survive in the real world before falling apart when filming wrapped.

But the public has fallen in love with Marinos’s big heart and big personality, catapulting her from a “no-one” to one of Australia’s most famous faces with nearly 200,000 fans on Instagram in 10 short weeks.

“I was just myself and people seemed to like me,” says Marinos, who credits her Greek Orthodox faith for giving her the strength to cope with online trolls criticising her “big mouth and big lips”.

“I do definitely get stopped everywhere I go. But you know, everyone’s so lovely. In Melbourne, they definitely have no issue coming up to you. I found in Adelaide, they were so much more reserved. I think they’re just like, ‘is that her?’ and wondering what I’m doing in Adelaide.”

Originally published as MAFS bride Jamie Marinos: ‘Dad’s already trying to marry me off again’