MAFS groom Eliot Donovan breaks his silence on fiery feud with Abbie Chatfield – slams her ‘guerrilla warfare’ tactics and says she’s ‘not interested in the truth’

Married At First Sight groom Eliot Donovan has addressed his ongoing feud with podcaster Abbie Chatfield – and he isn’t holding back.

In an exclusive chat with Daily Mail Australia, the 35-year-old Queensland-based business owner unleashed on the former FBoy Island host.

The popular MAFS groom accused her of twisting his words, playing manipulative ‘guerrilla warfare’ games, and blocking him before he had the chance to respond.

‘Abbie Chatfield had a lot to say about me – and not a lot to listen,’ Eliot began.

‘Oh, look, I think Abbie has built this kind of empire of fans. And she is very good at this game that she plays – it’s almost like guerrilla warfare.

‘She throws these barbs, disappears, and then takes something you’ve said out of context and twists it into a narrative she can attack,’ he continued.

‘When it’s not actually what you’ve said or done… I don’t know how to engage with that.’

Eliot, who had a tumultuous journey on MAFS this year including a rocky pairing with bride Lauren Hall before being re-matched with intruder Veronica Cloherty, said he prefers open communication – something he claims Abbie isn’t interested in.

‘I am a believer in having quite open, direct communication. Why assume what someone thinks and make a video about it and then block them? That’s not a good way to get to the truth. It’s a good way to make entertaining content, I think – but not a good way to address concerns.’

The self-described book lover and anti-influencer has become known for his reflective TikToks, quirky humour, and candid interviews since his MAFS stint aired.

But he says Abbie has continued to target him despite his efforts to clarify past controversies.

‘She continually does videos about me. I don’t think she has any real interest in hearing the truth,’ he said bluntly.

‘She’ll say something like, “Oh, you didn’t address the punch-the-wall thing.” And I’ll point out – actually, I did. 

‘Immediately at the time. I was one of the only grooms that didn’t minimise it. I said that’s despicable behaviour and I wouldn’t tolerate that in a friend.’

Eliot claims that when he does clarify things, Abbie moves the goalposts.

‘Then she’ll say, “Oh no, that was on the TV show. I want to hear it on your social media.” 

‘It’s just semantics. We’re playing these games of, “Oh, that’s not enough, that’s not enough.” It’s this kind of control aspect, I think.’

The feud reportedly began when Abbie, a vocal advocate for accountability in reality TV, criticised Donovan’s silence on controversial issues during his season.

But Eliot says he’s never tried to hide his views – he just doesn’t believe in shouting them from his TikTok.

‘I don’t have any intent of putting out these highly politicised statements onto my TikTok. I don’t think that’s what people go on there to see. 

‘They’re going on there to get away from that – to have a laugh, to smile.’

‘I think I’ve made it pretty clear what I believe – through my interviews, how I’ve conducted myself on the show, where you actually get to see me for a length of time.’

He continued, ‘I’ll let people judge me by that. I don’t want to get goaded into, “You have to do this now. You have to denounce this or that.” That’s never going to appease anybody.’

The war of words between Eliot and Abbie is the latest drama to spill out from MAFS 2025, a season already rocked by scandals, online backlash, and explosive behind-the-scenes revelations.

But Eliot appears to be taking it all in his stride.

‘I’m not trying to stuff my views down anyone’s throat,’ he added. ‘I just want to bring a bit of levity. Let people laugh, think a little, and feel like they can breathe.’