Dan Hunjas and Sandy Jawanda break up on Married At First Sight

A former Hervey Bay man who opted out of his reality TV marriage on Married At First Sight has apologised after he “disrespected” his on-screen wife.

After a butt dial caused strife in their already-fragile relationship, a bride and groom have opted out of their reality TV marriage.

A month after former Hervey Bay man Dan Hunjas and Sandy Jawanda wed on Married At First Sight, the two decided to leave the experiment on Sunday night, a week after Mr Hunjas told his bride he wasn’t sexually attracted to her.

Comments made by Mr Hunjas at a boys’ night were also revealed last week after one of the other grooms butt-dialled his wife, during which she heard the digital marketing tycoon allegedly making disrespectful comments about her.

During Wednesday’s dinner party, the other couples heard Mr Hunjas had compared his wife unfavourably to his ex girlfriends.

Sandy Jawanda and Dan Hunjas meet at the altar. Picture: Instagram

During their break-up on the couch during the commitment ceremony, Mr Hunjas said his love for the beach and being outdoors was part of the couple’s incompatibility, as Ms Jawanda did not like going to the beach.

After hearing it repeatedly, expert John Aitken told him, “A key ingredient to a healthy relationship is not a love of the ocean”.

Mr Hunjas took to social media on Sunday night to share his side of the story.

“When opposites don’t attract,” he wrote.

“It’s not called an experiment for nothing.

“I feel like the experts rolled the dice on this match up and unfortunately it wasn’t to be.

“Sandy and I are just too different.

“Mentally exhausted, checked out, and in trying to make my point this week with just how incompatible we are, I regretfully expressed myself in ways that I could have handled very differently.

“I disrespected Sandy in the process and for that I am deeply sorry.”

Mr Hunjas said the differences between himself and Ms Jawanda ran deep.

Sandy Jawanda and Dan Hunjas Married At First Sight 2023. Picture: Instagram

“We have different values, passions, communication styles, even down to the littler things such as taste in music and taste in food,” he wrote.

“We share no common hobbies or interests and we are at very different stages in our lives.

“We had very little to bond over.”

But he said Ms Jawanda was an “amazing woman” with “so much to give”.

“Sandy there is someone out there way better matched to you than what I will ever be,” he wrote.

Ms Jawanda also put a post up on Sunday night.

“There is no shame in walking away when you’ve been disrespected and belittled,” she wrote.

“It takes a lot of mental fortitude to recognise when a relationship is no longer making you happy or helping you grow … it takes a lot more to make the decision to leave.”

Originally published as Dan Hunjas and Sandy Jawanda break up on Married At First Sight