Controversial Married at First Sight Australia groom Daniel Webb has revealed that he received death threats while the show was airing, and has been targeted by social media trolls since.
Dan uploaded screen shots of the messages to his Instagram stories.
“Dan, you better start looking around you, cos you [and] your new wife will be dead and sprayed with bullets,” one of the messages read.
The “new wife” the threat was referring to is Jessika Power, who Dan began a relationship with while still ‘married’ to Tamara Joy.
Another post warned him to keep his mouth shut and called him a “bogan loser.”
The 35-year-old single father used the threats as opportunity to send an anti-bullying message to his followers.
“They’re so sad at their own life they try to bring someone else down to make themselves feel better,” he said of the trolls.
“If you’re getting bullied online, don’t let it get to you. It’s merely a reflection of their own character.”
“If you are in a mentally unstable way and need help, please reach out to the right helplines and get yourself right.”
Understanding first hand the impact bullying can have, Dan is currently working with the anti-bullying charity I Can I Will. The organisation focuses on children with special needs, and aims to promote inclusion and prevent youth suicide and self-harm caused by bullying.
Dan’s brother, Sam, is also the founder of Livin, an organisation which is dedicated to suicide prevention and changing the stigma of mental health.
It was Dan’s involvement with Jess that led to the death threats.
Dan isn’t the first (and unfortunately, probably not the last) of the Married at First Sight Australia cast to be targeted by trolls. Jessika Power, Ines Basic and Martha Kaliafatidis have all spoken out about being abused, belittled and threatened online.
In an interview with TV Week in April, bride Martha revealed that she had received a barrage of unwanted messages while the show was airing.
“I’m trying to deal with it, but I’m definitely struggling,” she said. “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.
Jess, too, has struggled with criticism from the public – mainly focused around her appearance. Recently admitting that she has undergone $26k worth of plastic surgery since her break-up with Dan, the 27-year-old revealed that the whole experience of being in the public eye took a toll on her self-esteem.
“Watching myself back on TV, I feel insecure about my chin and lips,” she said. “I’m a confident girl, but having tens of thousands of people criticise me each day has shaken me to the core. I felt like I had heaps wrong with me afterwards.
“People laughed at me and made memes and I was ridiculed. It never drove me to tears because the hate didn’t affect me, but when they’d point out specific body parts that needed work, I’d stop and think.”
Unfortunately, social media has exasperated the problem. “I block and delete trolls,” she says. “My block list is disgusting – maybe 400 people long. I block at least 15 per day!”
Luckily for Jess, she reportedly has a new man in her life who has plenty of experience dealing with social media criticism – controversial Bachelor Nick ‘Honey Badger’ Cummins.
Former Wallabies player Nick became public enemy number one in Australia last year after he failed to pick anyone in The Bachelor finale, and then responding to the media storm by telling everyone to “get over it.”
If anyone is well placed to steer her through the turmoil, it’s Nick.
