Married At First Sight bride Cheryl Maitland on why another man was in her bed

SLAPPED with cheating claims after her split, MAFS bride Cheryl hits back and explains what was actually going on.

THE drama of her reality TV marriage has spilt off the screen and into the tabloids, with claims Married At First Sight bride Cheryl Maitland brought another man into bed with her husband Andrew Jones.

But the 25-year-old has set the record straight, slamming the claims — which were leaked by a friend of Jones — as “ridiculous” and explained what actually happened that night on the Gold Coast after Jones met her friends for drinks.

“It’s all blown up — to clear the air, I brought back (home) my gay best friend who Andrew knows,” Maitland told news.com.au. “He had no problem with him. Andrew moved over to one side of the bed. I was in the middle and my friend was beside me. It’s all a stab at me to say I’m not who I am portrayed on TV. It’s just stupid little things.

“My friend was sleeping downstairs for all of the night and he came up at nine, 10 o’clock. He (Andrew) didn’t have a problem at that time. I find it funny how he does now. I would never just bring a guy into my bed — that’s just ridiculous.”

Cheryl and Andrew’s marriage breaks down in front of viewers on MAFS.

It’s a simple explanation to the explosive claims made by Jones’ friend to Woman’s Day this week.

“Cheryl got home as the sun was coming up and climbed into bed with Andrew — and so did the guy she’d brought home with her,” the magazine quoted the friend as saying.

It’s also claimed that earlier in the night over drinks, one of Maitland’s friends “was so enraged she crawled across the table and pushed him in the neck with her high heel until he left”.

MAFS EPISODE 19 RECAP: Andrew and Cheryl’s marriage implodes

Maitland says there’s more to that story as well. While she won’t go into exact details, she told news.com.au she was in the bathroom when an incident occurred and Jones’ reaction had him kicked out of the club they were in.

“It wasn’t a crazy night like that at all,” she said. “I went to the toilet, I came back and everyone was getting along ... But if it did happen, I wish he told me, we could’ve dealt with the situation. His reaction wasn’t the best. There was an incident that he reacted (to) and then he got kicked out and I was confused. It was an incident — I wasn’t there. It’s something 18-year-old’s deal with — he’s 38 in the club. It’s stupid.”

The incident happened on the Gold Coast while the couple was filming a home visit, but it wasn’t captured on film.

“There were no producers or cameras present that night. So we can’t comment on what did or didn’t happen,” a Nine Network spokesperson told news.com.au.

Cheryl and Andrew argue in the car during their Gold Coast home stay.

It’s a bitter twist for the relationship that started with a bang. After Maitland’s marriage to entrepreneur Jonathan crumbled, she approached the show’s experts and requested to be matched with jilted Jones — whom she’d shared a connection with at an earlier dinner party. But their relationship soon turned toxic, with resentment bubbling to the surface and fellow contestants questioning Maitland’s motives.

“I still keep in contact with half the people — I still talk to Sean and Susan,” Maitland said, implying the farmer and truck driver are still together.

She also revealed she’s friends with Jones’ first wife Lauren — the woman who ditched him without an explanation just hours after their wedding ceremony.

“Lauren I’m close with. We didn’t bond through Andrew — we bonded through the experiment,” she said, adding she now understands more why Lauren made the decision to leave. “I do look back now and I do realise why she left.”

Final moments ... Cheryl and Andrew break up in front of the experts.

In Sunday night’s episode, viewers watched on as Maitland’s marriage to Jones imploded in front of the experts during the weekly commitment ceremony. They both decided to leave the marriage and parted ways immediately.

In the days that followed, Maitland says they saw each other back at the apartment building they were living in to collect their belongings and they had one final conversation.

“I spoke to him just saying (I know) he’s having a hard time and I wouldn’t wish that on anyone,” she said.

“It was nothing. It wasn't hatred towards each other. It wasn’t friendship. It was just, bye.”

In recent weeks, viewers have turned on Jones after witnessing his behaviour towards Maitland on the show. Since then, the 38-year-old firefighter has gone into hiding, telling NW magazine “I haven’t left the house” because of the backlash.