The last time we saw Vicky Fuller and Stefaan Nes on Married At First Sight NZ Vicky told her TV husband they were not right for one another and walked away.
She left Stefaan alone and heartbroken at the Auckland Botanic Gardens where they’d just filmed the most awkward vow renewal ceremony ever.
Yet, in the very next episode – the reunion dinner party – they were back together.
“This couple has had the most fascinating relationship,” expert Tony Jones exclaimed. “Look at that!”
And we could only watch in confusion. Apparently their families watched on in confusion too.
Yet in an interview with Now To Love the couple has revealed they got back together within hours of their TV break-up.
Vicky says she contacted Stefaan after the vow ceremony because she wanted to make sure he was okay. He had gone into town to meet a friend for a drink and she joined them.
“I was quite cautious at the time,” Stefaan says. “I didn’t really understand what had just happened. But we talked for a couple of hours and Vicky started saying a few more nice things and we talked about what went wrong with the group dynamics and how I got influenced into making a few wrong calls. Then we looked at the positives and how we could make this work if we gave it a shot outside the experiment.”
The couple, who are both Auckland-based, have been spending lots of time together since the show wrapped – just dating, no expectations, and they say the slower pace – as well as being out of the spotlight – has suited them well.
“It was tricky in the experiment because we were in situations that were maybe quite different to how things would be outside the experiment,” Vicky explains.
“There were two people who didn’t support our relationship and that impacted our relationship a bit.
“I was thinking I could do better than this, that I didn’t deserve to go through this pain so that had been part of my decision I made towards the end.
“But my feelings for Stefaan kind of trumped everything; they trumped all the doubts and I was like ‘oh my god I can’t let this guy go, there’s something more here’.
“I wanted to pursue something outside the experiment and I was lucky that Stefaan kindly gave us a second chance.”
Vicky believes their TV break-up has actually made them stronger.
“Sometimes I regret leaving him the way I did [heartbroken at the Botanic Gardens] but I almost feel like that pulled us even closer,” she says.
Stefaan admits that having never had a serious relationship before had been a big challenge for the couple.
“It was hard enough never having a serious relationship before and then all of a sudden this pressure of everyone around you and the deadline to make the final call. I couldn’t really handle it so I threw Vicky under the bus a little bit.”
“Outside the experiment we don’t have any pressures,” Vicky adds. “We don’t have people asking how we’re feeling day to day, people influencing your thoughts. We just started hanging out more and really enjoying each other’s company and it has just been amazing.”
Ask them if they have any plans for the future and they laugh uproariously.
“We’ve got a kid coming along,” Stefaan jokes.
“And we’re moving in together next week!” Vicky chortles.
But seriously, “I think because our relationship has been quite bumpy we’re still letting it unfold at our own pace,” Vicky says.
“Yeah, we don’t want to get too excited about it,” Stefaan adds.
“Hey baby, I’m excited,” Vicky exclaims. And the couple dissolve into laughter all over again.
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