She isn’t usually one to show her emotion, and has referred to herself as an “ice queen,” but it’s clear the drama on Married at First Sight Australia has taken a toll on the usually bubbly Martha Kalifatidis.
The MAFS star tells TV WEEK she’s been “struggling” to cope with the backlash following her involvement in Jess and Dan’s affair.
“I’m trying to deal with it, but I’m definitely struggling,” she says. “I had to take two sleeping tablets last night because my anxiety was at an all-time high.
“I’ve had death threats, people commenting… I’m so over it. I just can’t wait for it [the drama] to end.”
Martha says that after the final commitment ceremony – where she stuck up for Jess when she was attacked by the group for “cheating” on Mick – she was bombarded with hate mail.
“My phone was blowing up,” she explains. “I received about 1000 messages. I was about to throw it against the wall. People forget it’s entertainment. They take it so seriously.”
Watch: Tamara and Mick react to the news of Jess and Dan’s affair. Article continues below.
It wasn’t just the public who reacted badly to the news. Jess and Dan’s spouses Tamara and Mick were blindsided, along with the rest of the group. Martha was singled out for knowing about the affair but saying nothing.
In a controversial decision, the experts decided to let Jess and Dan stay in the experiment – something that didn’t go down well with the rest of the group.
“It goes against the whole concept,” Dan’s wife Tamara Joy told TV WEEK. “It’s an experiment about marriage and you know from your vows at the start that you’re committing wholeheartedly to making it work. They both took the easy way out.”
Martha and her husband Michael were a united front when they found out about the affair.
Though Martha has been embroiled in plenty of drama on the series, her relationship with husband Michael Brunelli has been controversy-free.
Martha reveals she gets along with Michael so well because they are ‘similar’ and are laidback.
“I know it comes across as if I’m very demanding on the show, but in reality I’m not like that at all,” she tells TV WEEK. “That’s why me and Michael work so well. I’m pretty easy going and he’s chilled.”
With vow renewals just around the corner, we’ll soon find out whether the couple work well enough to want to continue their relationship outside of the experiment.
