One of the major things that Married At First Sight (MAFS) castmates complain about every year is the alleged villain edit. However, producers and the MAFS experts have clapped back, stating that “the edit” is not the reason why they come off as shitty people.
Prior to Monday night’s MAFS 2025 premiere, rumours of complaints from the castmates regarding their edits began to circulate.
As reported by Daily Mail Australia in late 2024, an insider revealed that castmates were pissed about how they were portrayed on the show and voiced their anger during the taping of the reunion episode.
Recently, Tamara Hall, who appeared on the season’s premiere to attend her sister, Lauren Hall, and her MAFS wedding to Eliot Donovan, has complained about how she was edited on the show after she was draaaaaggged by fans for her on-screen behaviour.
“I know how it looks — I watched the same episode as everyone else, and without context, I totally get it,” she wrote in an Instagram Story.
“But there’s over 18 hours of footage you didn’t see. I’ll be sharing a tell-all soon, so stay tuned! Just a little reminder — this is a reality TV show, heavily edited to get the highest ratings, and I earned the villain badge by refusing to conform.
“It’s not real life guys, so don’t take it too personally! It’s out of my control, so I’m fully embracing it — the good, the bad and the ugly!”
With all the hullabaloo surrounding the edit, MAFS executive producers Alexandra Spurway and John Walsh have shared what they really do as soon as filming commences.
Do Married At First Sight producers purposely make bad edits?
Right off the bat, the whispers of a MAFS “villain edit” — think Jack Dunkley and Olivia Fraser — were immediately shut down by the duo.
“There is no villain edit,” Walsh told PEDESTRIAN.TV.
“The villains reveal themselves. We don’t create them. They make their choices.”
In fact, Alexandra explained that producers are often “shocked” or “horrified” when storylines on the show take a dark turn as it is unscripted.
While the producers have no hand in creating the edits, Walsh shared that the MAFS crew are “following the stories and seeing where they go, the better or worse. You know, like marriage.”
This isn’t the first time someone from MAFS has had to explain the realm of “villain edits” and all that jazz. In 2024, MAFS expert Alessandra Rampolla told PEDESTRIAN.TV the show truly represents the client-therapy experience, but admits that there are moments where she wishes she saw everything that happens between the couples.
“The viewers are watching everything before we’ve actually even had the conversation where they’re telling us about it. So watching back, I don’t think it’s something that I regret or bothers me, but I do go like ‘Oh, I wish I wish I could see what actually happens’ because I think then the responses would be much more specific,” she said.
“But I’m not bothered by the fact that we don’t get to see all the details [as experts] because ultimately the stories get told and everything is understood.”
So what do Married At First Sight producers do?
Alexandra explained that it’s their role as producers to make sure the cast feels supported and comfortable so they can share their stories with the camera. She also stressed how building this safe space for the participants was a major priority for the MAFS workplace.
“Our participants are the first priority of mine and my role is to make sure that whatever is happening within their relationship that they feel supported. You know that they feel like they’re able to tell their story,” she said.
“It’s a producer’s job to make sure that whatever is going on for that individual is being told on camera and that takes a lot of trust. It’s a two-way relationship.
“You know, it’s a mutual respect and mutual trust,” she continued.
Walsh echoed that sentiment of “duty of care” for participants, adding that MAFS is “very physically demanding” as it’s a “very high-pressure environment”. However, when things go A-Wall on the show — like if a participant is doing some cooked shit — Walsh said it’s their duty as producers to the viewers to follow the storyline.
The duo also explain that producers are often “shocked” or “horrified” when storylines take a dark turn because MAFS is unscripted.
Welp. There ya have it.
At the end of the day I think we as viewers need a reminder that a lot of these reality TV shows are cut downs of hours upon hours of filming and that these participants are human too.
But if they’re saying some misogynistic, racist, discriminative, hateful BS, they should be held accountable!!!
For more tea on Married At First Sight — like if MAFS stars purposely get drunk for drama or the big new twist set to hit the 2025 cast — keep PEDESTRIAN.TV bookmarked!
Married At First Sight 2025 returns tonight at 7.30pm on Channel 9 and 9Now.
