MAFS star Melissa Rawson breaks down over ‘sick’ radio stunt

An emotional Melissa Rawson, who recently gave birth to twins, has slammed a “sick” radio gag targeting her and fiance Bryce Ruthven.

Married At First Sight’s Bryce Ruthven and Melissa Rawson have slammed a Melbourne radio station, branding a Valentine’s Day prank targeting the couple as “sick”.

KIIS 101.1’s Jase & Lauren In The Morning had reportedly sent flowers to the reality stars’ home, along with a note that read: “Hey Bryce. Just wanted to say I’ve loved working with you. I know there’s a spark there, I hope you feel it too. Love, your secret admirer.”

A mobile number was added to the bottom of the message.

According to Rawson, who gave birth to the couple’s twin babies Levi and Tate 10 weeks early last October, the couple then rang the florist trying to work out who had sent the flowers, and eventually discovered it was a gag designed by the radio hosts.

Ruthven spoke on air to the hosts, Jase Hawkins and Lauren Phillips, on Tuesday morning and told them their joke “didn’t go down well”. The duo agreed it had “backfired” and insisted they were “just trying to add a little love to Valentine’s Day”.

Married At First Sight couple Bryce Ruthven and Melissa Rawson. Picture: Channel 9

KIIS FM’s Lauren Phillips and Jase Hawkins.

But hours later, Rawson herself took to Instagram, breaking down in tears as she opened up about the impact the prank had had on her.

“I wanted to address this because I’ve just had enough of jokes being made at my expense,” Rawson said.

“I know I signed up for it in MAFS, I know I was contracted to it to allow them to exploit and manipulate me was part of the contract, but I didn’t ask for this.

“ … I know it was a joke – and I had no doubt about out relationship, before anyone begins to accuse me, that wasn’t it. It’s the fact that someone intended on playing a sick joke. I have no idea what the goal was, whether it was to attempt to break us up … as they said on their radio show, it was about ‘adding a little love’. I don’t know how that’s meant to ‘add a little love’, it was just vindictive. Their goal was to get a response, and they did get a response.”

The mum-of-two went on: “At the end of the day, I am over it. I am over everything that I have had to go to, when I’m in a happy, loving, caring relationship. I’m exhausted. You’ve seen from my previous videos how hard sleep deprivation is. I’m two months into having our newborns home, my newborn premmies, and it doesn’t get easier.”

Rawson added: “I thought the joke was quite tasteless and could’ve done potential harm not only to our relationship … but also to my own self-esteem and to our new family unit.”

Rawson slammed the radio hosts for “carrying on” as they discussed their stunt on air.

“To have this joke aired, and to have the female co-host laugh and cackle and carry on like it’s a big joke – because it was to them – I know that is how it was meant to be taken but I am in such a vulnerable state,” she said.

“I’m tired. I’m overwhelmed all the time. I have Bryce to help me, but with premmie twins it’s so hard. And I love them so much and I’m trying my best.”

The reality TV star then hit out at the radio industry itself, declaring that she’d “had a gutful” of copping jokes at her and Ruthven’s expense.

“I’ve had a gutful of being made fun of, and being called a doormat and weak, I’m tired of it,” she said, as she fought back tears.

“I don’t know what the intent of this joke was, it didn’t land. I trust Bryce with my whole heart, my life, my twins – I can assure you there was no element of doubt that Bryce was having an affair or cheating on me … I’m a mum of two premmies, I am emotional, I am sleep-deprived, I am suffering from post-partum anxiety … These radio stunts go too far, it’s just not OK.”

During Tuesday’s show, Hawkins and Phillips revealed they’d sent out 10 bouquets of flowers with the same note to celebrities including Dylan Alcott, Karl Stefanovic and Tommy Little, but received no response.