The most explosive moments in MAFS history

Over its 12 seasons, Australia’s most popular reality show Married At First Sight has produced many flashpoints. As a new season launches here are our top six most explosive moments, plus a who’s who of the best, and worst, participants.

Dean and Davina’s affair, season 5
Compared to what came after it, the “affair” between Dean Wells and Davina Rankin seems positively chaste. But it shocked viewers at the time and paved the way for countless couple swaps to come. Dean had been paired with Tracey Jewel, and Davina with Ryan Gallagher. But they decided they’d rather be with each other and started something on the side, sharing flirty texts and an on-screen kiss. But then Dean admitted the affair to the group and decided he’d rather stay with Tracey, after all, much to the dismay of Davina. Tracey initially forgave Dean, then left him at the altar in the final vows, rightly telling him he didn’t deserve her.

Ryan Gallagher and Davina Rankin on Married at First Sight: betrayal and dismay.Credit: Nigel Wright

Martha and Cyrell’s dinner party showdown, season 6
It was Martha Kalifatidis versus Cyrell Paule in season 6, a feud that started when Martha shared a rumour that Cyrell’s hubby was hitting on another woman, escalated with a hotel room spat while Martha was mid-skincare routine, and came to an unforgettable boiling point at the weekly dinner party. In that now-iconic episode, Cyrell remarked that Martha’s TV hubby had “no balls” when it came to his wife. So Martha got up from her seat, calmly strolled over to Cyrell and tipped a glass of red wine over her hair. Cyrell, not exactly known for possessing a level head, retaliated in kind by chasing Martha and sloshing a glass of shiraz right back at her. Martha’s white dress was ruined, but two stars were born.

Toothbrushgate, season 7
Not every match on MAFS is a good one – case in point is Hayley Vernon and David Cannon. Love never quite bloomed between this season 7 couple, but their relationship reached a shocking low when David scrubbed dried faeces off the toilet bowl with his wife’s toothbrush, then popped it back next to the sink and let her keep using it for days. Hayley eventually found out about the pooey toothbrush and, unsurprisingly, that was the end of the road for her and David.

Bryce Ruthven, Melissa Rawson and their twins. How did their marriage survive Bryce ranking her “fourth”?

Bryce ranks his wife fourth, season 8
MAFS got another villain for the ages when Bryce Ruthven sat down with bride Melissa Rawson to take part in a challenge in which he had to rank every female contestant from most to least attractive. With Melissa sitting next to him, he placed her in the fourth position. “I think if I put you at number one, you’d be able to tell that [I’m lying],” he told his visibly upset TV wife. What’s perhaps most shocking is that the couple are still together – happily married with two kids.

Domenica smashes a wine glass, season 9
There’d been friction between Olivia Frazer and Domenica Calarco throughout season 9, but it was during a girls’ out night that things took a nasty turn. As the conversation grew heated, Olivia told Domenica off for how she speaks to people. It hit a nerve with Domenica, who yelled: “my entire f**king life I’ve been f**king told that my voice isn’t f**king enough”, stood up and dramatically smashed a wine glass on the table. Things would only go from bad to worse for the pair from there, with their feud becoming the centre point of the season.

“Muzzle your woman”, season 11
They’ve been dubbed the three most controversial words in MAFS history. Amidst a heated dinner table argument with Lauren Dunn, Jack Dunkley turned to her husband and asked him to “muzzle your woman” – an utterly retrograde fit of misogyny that appalled the contestants, judges and viewers alike.

THE WHO’S WHO OF MAFS: BEST AND WORST

Martha Kalifatidis and Michael Brunelli
When we first met Martha Kalifatidis and Michael Brunelli, it wasn’t clear whether they’d go the distance. Martha was a make-up artist from a big Greek family who unapologetically wanted a lot from life, Michael a long-haired and laissez-faire primary school teacher who was happy to go with the flow. But they worked at their relationship and true love bloomed – six years later, the pair are still happily coupled up and now have a two-year-old son. They’ve also built perhaps the most successful careers as content creators of any former contestants, with their videos often featuring Martha’s made-for-the-screen mum Mary (who now has over 100K Instagram followers of her own, becoming a social media influencer in her own right). Long may they reign as the undisputed MAFS power couple.

Jules Robinson and Cameron Merchant
Season 6’s other big success story was Jules Robinson and Cameron Merchant, a couple who were an easy fit from the get-go. They were a little older and wiser than most of the cast and set out to “inject as much reality as possible” into their faux marriage, by making room for domestic mundanity like going grocery shopping together. It worked. In the final episode, former cricket player Cam dropped a knee and asked hairdresser Jules to marry him – for real, this time. They’re still together and now have two kids, as well as thriving careers as content creators.

Martha Kalifatidis from Married at First Sight.

Domenica Calarco and Ella May Ding
Sometimes the truest power couples on MAFS are friends, not lovers. We can barely remember who their husbands were, but besties Domenica Calarco and Ella May Ding emerged as the undisputed star duo of season 9. The pair became fast friends on the show, with Ella’s calm voice of reason balancing Domenica’s fiery, headstrong nature. And when other contestants outed Domenica for having an OnlyFans account, Ella was one of the few to have Dom’s back, getting Australia onside by standing up to the slut shaming. They’d go on to launch a podcast post-MAFS but the good times didn’t last – for reasons that are still a little murky, the pair recently called time on both their audio venture and their friendship, spelling the end of an era.

Troy Delmege
He may have marched to the beat of his own drum, but there was just something undeniably endearing about goofball groom Troy Delmege. The season 5 star failed to find love with his original match, but happily shocked us all and rocked up to the reunion with fellow former contestant Carly Bowyer. Their union didn’t last, but his internet infamy lives on – a scene of Troy very enthusiastically brushing his teeth went so viral Ellen DeGeneres even played it on her talk show. Like everything Troy, it has to be seen to be believed.

Cyrell Paule
She was nicknamed Cyclone Cyrell for a reason. Cyrell Paule was not one to shy away from conflict, feuding with both Martha Kalifatidis and Jessika Power during her time on season 6 (still the show’s undisputed high point). But her unbridled authenticity ensured she remained a hero – or, at least, an enjoyable curiosity – through every stoush. Her match with ‘husband’ Nic Jovanovic didn’t last, but she’s gone on to shack up with Love Island’s Eden Dally. The pair are now reality show regulars, competing on shows like The Amazing Race and The Challenge.

Lucinda Light
As a 40-something free spirit from Byron Bay, Lucinda Light broke the mould for MAFS contestants. More concerned with matters of personal evolution than selling tooth whitening strips on Instagram, she charmed season 11 viewers with her warmth and relentless (but completely genuine) positivity. She was ever patient and kind with her husband Timothy Smith despite their obvious mismatch, and the pair have remained friends since their time on the show. Despite being a very different sort of social media figure, Lucinda has gone on to become one of the show’s most-followed stars online – and now has a debut book coming out in March.

Al Perkins
Al Perkins came to season 9 of MAFS utterly unable to adult, having spent the entirety of his 25 years on earth having his mum cook and do laundry for him. That could have made him a villain, but the Bondi-based carpenter was just so pure and loveable that Australia could collectively overlook his lack of life skills. And he sure knew how to do a shoey.

Married at First Sight airs 7:30pm, Monday, January 27 on Nine and 9Now. Nine is the publisher of this masthead.