Disgraced Married At First Sight NZ groom Chris Mansfield was kicked off the show early, before filming had even wrapped.
MediaWorks, the parent company for Three, confirmed today that the Christchurch-born MAFS cast member, who has been exposed for being wanted in the US on a domestic violence charge, was “asked to leave the Married At First Sight experiment as he was found to be in breach of his contract with Warner Brothers New Zealand.
“This was prior to the allegations surfacing and unrelated to his relationship with [onscreen MAFS wife] Aimee Collins,” a MediaWorks representative said.
The representative also confirmed that Mansfield has been completely edited out of the show.
“Chris’ storyline has been removed from all episodes,” the representative said.
News broke last week that Mansfield was wanted in the US on an outstanding domestic violence charge, relating to an incident in Seattle, Washington in 2009. Mansfield had been charged with assault. The plaintiff was a 22-year-old woman. He appeared for his first two court appearances, pleading not guilty, and was a no-show for his third appearance. A warrant for his arrest was circulated.
According to Stuff, MediaWorks’ reason for asking Mansfield to leave the experiment “centred around a particular incident… Mansfield had been ‘volatile’ at times during filming”.
Mansfield had reportedly been asked to leave the Three show on August 11, before filming had wrapped.
It appears that despite his early exit Mansfield was still expected to be included in the third season of MAFS, until news broke about the domestic violence charge.
This has, of course, left Mansfield’s onscreen wife Aimee Collins completely robbed of her opportunity to find love on the reality TV show.
Aimee, 34, from Auckland, is a sales manager and business owner who joined the show looking for a good communicator who is ambitious and generous.
Originally from Hamilton, Aimee lived in Canada for four years and now resides in Auckland.
She’s a risk-taker, a go-getter and unimpressed by laziness or rudeness. She’s currently learning Portugese and the guitar and has also trained in Jiu Jitsu and martial arts for the last five years.
She had hoped to be matched with someone who will make her laugh and share her interest in health and wellbeing.
Earlier this week she told Stuff she was “shocked and appalled” at the allegations against Mansfield.
“I empathise with anyone who has experienced any kind of domestic abuse. Domestic violence is serious and I absolutely stand against it,” she said.
“As these allegations have come to light over the last few days it has been particularly straining and emotional for me. I’m currently working through this with the support of my legal team and Mediaworks.”
Married At First Sight NZ kicks off on Three on Sunday, September 8.
