It may have been the most unsuccessful Married At First Sight season in history, but many of the 2024 New Zealand MAFS cast are now living their best lives and say they have the show to thank for it. Woman’s Day caught up with a few of the contestants to find out what life had in store for them after the show had wrapped.
Nate Drury
Aviation officer Nate, 31, who was matched with Maddie, has met the love of his life in flight attendant and influencer Courtney Coulston, 30. They both work at Wellington Airport and regularly travel together.
When Woman’s Day calls, the pair have just left the gym. “She works out with me a lot, but she’s actually more of a runner,” tells Nate. “She’s a lovely person and we have a lot in common. And she’s really down to earth – she’s not like most other influencers!”
It was because of the show that Nate was introduced to Courtney.
“She didn’t actually watch the show herself,” he says. “It was her friend who watched it and told her, ‘I think you and this fella would get along.’”
In just four months, they’ve already travelled to the Gold Coast and Japan. Nate revealed early on, when they first began dating, that he planned to move to Australia sometime in 2025.
“She told me she wasn’t planning on staying in New Zealand, so she might move with me. She’s definitely the best thing to come out of the show!”
Piripi Clarke & Steph Archer
Piripi, 29, shocked his online followers by posting photos to his social media with his MAFS ex Steph, 31, a few months ago. Meeting up in Steph’s new home in Melbourne, the two celebrated Piripi’s birthday and had a blast roaming the city together. “I stayed at her house,” laughs Piripi. “We’re really close now.”
Despite their hostile break-up, the pair talk often and Piripi recently made the move to Australia to build water tanks for the mines on a fly-in-fly-out basis. The relocation isn’t permanent, but more for the intention of making a decent living for his young children.
“I get flown across different sites in Western Australia to build tanks anywhere between 600,000 to eight million litres. I’m not sure how I’m surviving in this heat!”
While his work schedule is brutal, he says he sticks to a strict workout routine, getting up at 3am to do a cardio workout, then hitting the gym at 6pm after work.
“Years ago, when I was at rock bottom, how I looked was pretty much how I felt,” he shares. “So the quickest, easiest thing to change at that time was my outer appearance. Working out helped me to build more positive habits into my life and that slowly turned my mental health around.
“The physical and mental are definitely connected – the more disciplined I am, the better and clearer I feel in my head.”
Though he misses his kids, Piripi says working towards a positive outcome is the best thing he can do for his family right now.
James Hunt & Samantha Best
Though they haven’t spoken since the show aired, James and Samantha say they’ve both moved on from their relationship. The pair amicably split mere months after shooting the show, but James, 32, revealed he was heartbroken by the decision.
Today, James says he’s found love – and an instant family – without the need to uproot his life in Christchurch, something that was always an issue between him and Sam.
“I met someone here while the show was airing, about four months ago,” tells James. “She didn’t watch the show and had no idea who I was, so that was nice. We met in a bar and it was just really organic.”
Elyssa has two kids, whom James adores. “I wanted someone who’s all about family and Elyssa’s all about it. She has a boy and a girl, and I love spending time with them. We’ve obviously spoken about kids of our own and she’s open to that.”
Meanwhile Sam, 27, has been kept busy with six-year-old son Kaelin, who started school a few months ago.
“This past year has been hectic,” she says. “It’s been great, but it’s been a struggle. The MAFS stuff was hard to deal with. The very public relationship and break-up was traumatising, so I’ve kept my dating life out of the public eye because of that. I’m now very much looking forward and having a refresh.”
With plans for a business in the pipeline, the social media content producer is excited to start thinking about a product launch next year.
“I want to find something I’m super-passionate about and then go from there.”
Watch this space!
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