MAFS Australia bride Alyssa reveals truth of final vows with Duncan

It was the final vows episode that had everyone talking – but MAFS ‘villain’ Alyssa has claimed it was supposed to unfold very differently, until a producer intervened.

Married At First Sight bride Alyssa Barmonde has revealed what really happened behind the scenes at her emotional final vows.

The single mother, 35, became a divisive figure in the later weeks of the Channel 9 series which culminated in her being unexpectedly dumped by ‘husband’ Duncan James, which aired in late March.

Speaking on her Instagram stories, Alyssa revealed that despite saying ‘yes’ at final vows, she had actually considered abandoning their relationship, but claims a producer convinced her to stay.

“There was a part of me that kind of felt like he [Duncan] was going to say ‘no’ because he had been so distant the last couple of weeks of the experiment,” Alyssa said.

“And so even coming up to the morning of our final vows I had two answers, a yes and a no.

“And my producer really, really, really stressed on me to say ‘yes’, telling me, ‘You guys keep telling each other you live so close together, it’d be so easy to continue on the relationship outside, you’ve got to give it a go, you’d be cheating yourself if you didn‘t give it a go in the real world.’ And I was like, ‘That’s true, you’re right.’

“And then I realised she was doing that so much because she knew that his answer was ‘no’, so they were trying to get me to say ‘yes’ and him to say ‘no’ so it would tie into the storyline. So those are real tears guys, I really was upset.”

Alyssa from MAFS has given a lengthy Q&A about her time on the show.

The Sydney-based baker confessed she had tried to bail on the experiment several times leading up to the finale, but again, claimed she was thwarted by producers.

“Every time I tried to leave, which is probably like half a dozen times, they would stop me and be like, ‘Alyssa you’re so raw and real, Australia is gonna love you!’”

Of Duncan, she said producers would say, “‘You need to expose him, we can see that he’s not being genuine, we can see that he’s not being authentic, we can see that he’s a politician, you need to expose him.’

“Like, this is what happens behind the scenes.”

Elsewhere, Alyssa also revealed the three MAFS experts, John Aiken, Mel Schilling and Alessandra Rampolla, wore earpieces during the commitment ceremonies, where she believes they were being fed lines to suit narratives.

Alyssa had a lot to say about the show.

Alyssa and Duncan went their separate ways at final vows.

“So when you’re on the couch, they’ll ask you a question and then you answer it and then they sit there for a minute and you can hear voices in their ear about what they’re gonna say. I’m pretty sure that’s production telling them what to say,” she said.

“The few times that I had panic attacks, there was one time when it started raining really bad where we had to stop production when Duncan and I were on the couch and they had to separate us so we wouldn’t speak.

“I was in tears obviously, and Mel and Alessandra came over and gave me a hug. They were like, ‘We’re not supposed to do this, but you’ve got this, you’re gonna be OK.’

“So I don’t hold the experts accountable for anything, they’re just there to voice what the producers are telling them.”

Alyssa also confirmed she’s currently single, while Duncan has moved on with fellow MAFS bride Evelyn Ellis.

While Alyssa didn’t address Duncan’s new relationship, she did say she was “so shocked” he broke up with her at final vows because they’d made plans together in the future.

“We had concert tickets that weekend … He had invited me to his sister’s birthday,” Alyssa said.

‘We had concert tickets that weekend.’

“Duncan is a great guy, totally, I just feel like he was saying and doing things in a particular way. He was just careful with his words and how he was presenting himself.

“Do I regret some of the ways I acted towards him? Absolutely. I definitely think he was a great guy, we just weren’t a right match.

“We had such good times together. I absolutely had real feelings for him. But it just didn’t work out.”

In an interview with news.com.au after the episode aired, Duncan staunchly defended Alyssa, saying she didn’t deserve the level of hate she was receiving.

“The stuff that people are saying about her and to her … I hate it. I’ve seen some of it, I don’t see much of it, I do try to pull myself away from it,” Duncan said.

“No one deserves some of the horrible comments people have said.”

Originally published as MAFS Australia bride Alyssa reveals truth of final vows with Duncan