MAFS groom Jake Luik reveals shocking behind-the-scenes secrets and the real reason he walked away from the show

Married At First Sight groom Jake Luik has broken his silence in a jaw-dropping tell-all interview, exposing the wild reality behind his experience on the show.

The 30-year-old groom, who has been widely criticised for making controversial comments about his female co-stars, has since cut all ties with the experiment and is now coming forward to set the record straight.

In his first and only interview since filming wrapped, Jake revealed the untold truth about his relationship with Ashleigh Ackerman, the pressure he felt from production, and the bizarre moments that never made it to air.

Jake, who was matched with Ashleigh on the experiment, insists that what aired on television was only part of the story.

‘If you look at just what’s on TV, it makes it look great,’ he said. ‘But a lot of things I said, a lot of things I brought up, just got completely cut from the footage.’

Jake claims he felt immense pressure to ‘rush into things’ and was constantly pushed into conversations about the future, despite wanting to take things slowly.

‘She was like, “I need to know if you’re going to be the father of my children,”‘ he revealed. ‘I’m just thinking, “Mate, I don’t even know what I’m having for breakfast tomorrow, let alone planning for that.”‘

Jake also alleged that when the cameras weren’t rolling, Ashleigh would often disappear for entire weekends without contact, making it nearly impossible for them to build a connection.

‘How am I meant to build something with someone if they’re not around?’ he questioned. ‘There were times when I’d just be sitting in the room, silently, with no effort from her side.’

The reality star also revealed that his final days on the show were some of the hardest of his life.

‘I wanted to leave that night, but they refused to let me.

‘They put me in a different hotel room and told me to sleep on it. I kept messaging production saying, “Get me out of here,”‘ he recalled.

‘I mean, at this point, I’ve been up for 48 hours straight. I didn’t sleep a wink the night before. Just the stress of it all, my ear infection, everything. I was done.’

Jake claims he was physically and emotionally drained, battling a serious ear infection throughout filming—something he says was never acknowledged on screen.

‘I was on antibiotics for six weeks straight. I had pus leaking out of my ear every day,’ he revealed. ‘And they told me, “Don’t mention it on camera.”‘

The final straw came when he felt like he was being deliberately misrepresented.

‘They were waiting for me to say something they could twist, something they could use,’ he said. ‘I had a miserable time. I wasn’t happy.’

Jake also addressed the backlash he’s received for his comments about female co-stars Jacqui Burfoot, Rhi Disljenkovic, and Sierah Swepstone.

His remarks—including saying Jacqui has ‘crazy eyes,’ Rhi has ‘a little lazy eye,’ and Sierah’s face ‘screams I could stab you in your sleep’—sparked outrage among fans, who called him out for his insensitive behaviour.

Jake now insists that his words were taken out of context and edited in a way that made him look worse than he really was.

‘I know I shouldn’t have said it, and I apologised immediately at the commitment ceremony,’ he admitted. ‘But they made it look like I took my time and didn’t want to say sorry.’

He also claimed that he was ‘forced’ to make those ranking comments during the controversial photo challenge.

‘The production crew weren’t happy with anything I was saying,’ he alleged.

‘They told me, “You need to spend 30 seconds on each girl and be more detailed.” So I just said something stupid. My mouth works faster than my brain sometimes.’

Jake says he was shocked by how much of the context was removed.

‘Even Ash said things that didn’t make it to air. I was made to look like I was the only one saying things, but that wasn’t the case.’

Jake also revealed that since leaving the show, he has had little support, despite being thrown into the centre of controversy.

‘I’ve heard from absolutely no one since leaving,’ he said. ‘Not from anyone involved in the show. No one has reached out to check on me.’

Jake claims the backlash following the photo challenge episode left him deeply shaken.

‘I thought I was going to lose my job. I was seriously worried about my future.’

Jake’s experience on MAFS has left him disillusioned with reality TV, and he now believes significant changes need to be made.

‘They paint a villain every season. Once that villain is gone, they move onto the next. It’s just a cycle. But they need to remember—we are real people.’

He added: ‘I wasn’t allowed to just be myself. I was constantly being pushed to do things or say things, and it was exhausting.’

Despite the difficult experience, Jake says he’s focusing on moving forward.

‘I’m single as f**k, but I’m happy,’ he laughed. ‘I’m just trying to get back to being myself again.’

He also revealed he’s staying away from the limelight for now, but hasn’t ruled out giving love another shot.

‘I’m on the dating apps—you never know, someone might pop up.’

As for his final message to MAFS viewers? ‘Don’t believe everything you see on TV. Seriously, take it all with a grain of salt.’

Married At First Sight continues Tuesday at 7.30pm on Channel Nine