‘Fake and scary’: MAFS brides’ surgery mistakes backfire
Reality TV contestants have always loved a little Botox and filler, but the current crop of MAFS brides have gone too far – and it’s backfired.
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I’m no mathematician but according to my rough calculations this year’s Married At First Sight contestants have spent approximately $480 trillion on cosmetic enhancements between them.
Despite the staggering sums these women are paying to “improve” their appearances, viewers have, ironically, slammed many of the apparent upgrades as “fake” and “scary”. And instead, they’ve voiced their preference for the natural looks of two contestants – Connie Crayden and Vanessa Romito – even though both these women think their crooked teeth and acne make them less attractive than other women.
Some of the most startling artificial transformations include that of North Shore “Powerful Woman” Natasha Spencer, who alarmed her on-screen husband Mikey Pembroke early in the series by detailing her laundry list of regular beauty treatments. “Botox, fillers, nails, hair, waxing, laser, facials, massages, fat freezing, solarium …” she recited, her face (unsurprisingly) expressionless. She has also admitted to giving herself regular tanning injections.
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Social media commenters didn’t seem to think the efforts were worth it in the end.
Helluva lot of treatments there Natasha #mafs pic.twitter.com/D4BPJm3pCw
— Courtney (@thatwitchx) February 6, 2020
Holy god, has Natasha left any fake tan for the rest of the planet? #MAFS
— Shalailah Medhora (@shalailah) February 4, 2020
Then there’s mother-of-two Stacey Hampton who many viewers believe looks far older than her 25 years thanks to the extreme enhancements she’s made to her face including rhinoplasty, lip fillers, DD breast implants and a tummy tuck.
I didn't think it was possible to look 45 at 25 but, well, Stacey is proving that with Botox it can be a reality. #MAFS
— Jamie Watt (@_JamieWatt) February 11, 2020
I hate to tell Stacey this but if you have that much plastic surgery at 25 you just end up looking like someone who is 50 trying to look like a 25 year old #MAFS #MAFSAU
— Colonel Kickhead (@colonelkickhead) February 10, 2020
26-year-old Cathy Evans has also admitted to over $20,000 worth of cosmetic procedures including Botox in her chin and forehead, lip fillers and breast enlargement.
At the other end of the spectrum, fan favourites Connie Crayden and Vanessa Romito have earned themselves praise for their seemingly unenhanced appearances, even if they don’t share their fans’ enthusiasm.
Connie – who has endearingly crooked teeth and uneven skin – showed herself to be particularly insecure about her looks, saying early in the series, “I know I’m not ugly but I don’t think there’s anything striking about me.”
Before she met her on-screen groom, Jonethen Musulin, she fretted, “I do worry if he’ll be happy about how I look; if he’ll like my appearance.”
I don’t know how the girls on this show don’t think they’re pretty... Connie & Vanessa don’t think they’re are but they are! #MAFS pic.twitter.com/INs3cSpLE4
— Connor (@ConnorBrosnan5) February 9, 2020
Nice to see connie without any over the top lip fillers and botox. A natural beauty #MAFS
— sue (@Sue9801) February 9, 2020
Meanwhile, Vanessa has said that her acne was so bad growing up that sometimes it covered her entire eyelids or jutted out from her chin, but viewers have overwhelmingly agreed that she’s unusually attractive.
If only Vanessa saw what we saw. Gorgeous dimples, lips some girls pay for, beautiful eyes, a radiant smile, a decent bod. She’s got it going on and doesn’t even know it. #MAFSAU #mafs
— ✨ð“—ð“®ð“²ð“ð“²âœ¨ (@Heidi_Marianne_) February 5, 2020
Poor Vanessa. It’s so hard to understand how bad acne makes you feel about yourself until you experience it. She is beautiful! #MAFS
— laura (@ljd2302) February 5, 2020
Interestingly, the women’s “husbands” don’t seem to have any preferences either way. Cathy and her husband Josh Pihlak seem like one of the strongest couples in the experiment so far, and Stacey and Michael Goonan got physical this week after a rocky start. But unenhanced Connie is also making strong strides with her husband Jonethen, with the two of them sharing a steamy kiss in their hotel room in Broome during their honeymoon and Vanessa’s husband Chris has also revealed that he finds her sexy.
Everyone tinkers with their appearance for different reasons but on balance it doesn’t appear forking out tens of thousands of dollars in painful, invasive procedures is always a net gain.
Here’s hoping Vanessa and Connie learn to love their ordinary beauty the way others do before they’re tempted to bankrupt themselves making improvements that neither of them need.
Watch Not Here To Make Friends live every Sunday and Wednesday straight after MAFS, when James Weir is joined by guests live on Facebook and news.com.au, discussing the couples’ ups, downs, sideways, pimples, pashing and misjudged PDAs.
The podcast will be available on news.com.au, Spotify, Apple Podcasts and all the usual suspects straight after the live stream.
Alex Carlton is a freelance writer | @Alex_Carlton
Originally published as ‘Fake and scary’: MAFS brides’ surgery mistakes backfire