Married At First Sight (MAFS) has already exploded with drama and we’ve only had one (1) commitment ceremony. The most recent hot piece of tea follows Natalie Parham and Collins Christian, their tumultuous run-in time on the commitment couch and the aftermath. It’s truly a messy show, but I am a messy gal.
For the 10% of Aussies who don’t know what MAFS is, it’s a reality TV show where strangers — who are allegedly on the show for love and not fame (LOL) — get married to other strangers and attempt to forge a relationship in their arranged marriages.
Although the formula for the show sounds really basic and simple, it makes for really good entertainment and there’s always drama popping off. Like, every year, every season.
Most recently, MAFS Season 11 just had its first commitment ceremony and viewers were treated to the awkies exchange between Collins, Natalie and MAFS expert John Aiken — which resulted in the couple’s exodus from the show.
You see, when it was time for Natalie and Collins to reveal if they were staying or leaving the reality TV experiment it was known that Natalie wanted to leave MAFS as she made it clear that she wasn’t feeling Collins at the first dinner party. Also, she was very transparent about how she felt with her reality TV hubby.
However, when the pair were asked if they would stay or leave, Collins surprisingly wrote “stay” after attempting to blame Natalie’s grief — which stemmed from the recent death of her father — for their lacklustre relationship.
Thankfully, John shut down Collins’ suggestion and said it was his lack of effort that was causing their relation-shit.
Usually, if one person in a couple writes “stay” the couple MUST stay until the next commitment ceremony. But this was not the case for Collins and Natalie.
Although it was reported that Natalie and Collins simply left the experiment at the start of intimacy week, an anonymous source told Yahoo! Lifestyle the reality TV pair were actually “removed”.
“The rules and premise of the show are irrelevant if they compromise a participant’s wellbeing or mental health, and ESA [producers Endemol Shine Australia] take their duty of care seriously,” the anonymous insider told the publication.
“When it then became apparent she would have to stay another week, bosses stepped in and removed her and Collins from the show as soon as they could wrap it up on camera.”
The source added that Natalie was in “no state to continue production” following the death of her father.
As much as I would’ve loved for Natalie to find love, I’m so glad the producers put her wellbeing first and took her out of the experiment.
She truly deserves a ride-or-die partner rather than someone who continuously lies about their efforts within a relationship and cannot accept responsibility.
Although both of them were reportedly removed from the experiment, Yahoo! Lifestyle reported that Collins could be returning for a reunion dinner. However, it’s unclear if Natalie returned as well.
Hopefully, Natalie is surrounded by good people and getting all the support she needs as the drama between her and Collins continues to unfold on national television.
