Married at First Sight Australia’s Jules Robinson has taken a shot at the producers of the show, saying she’s met a few of the new cast members for the 2020 season and described them as “bullies.”
Jules got everything she wanted when she was matched with love of her life Cameron Merchant on the show. They sailed through the experiment without a hiccup and walked away engaged in real life. Recently celebrating their one year anniversary, they’re now in the thick of wedding planning.
But although she walked away with the man of her dreams, Jules had her fair share of struggles on set. She made no secret of the fact that she didn’t endorse the drama on the show, and revealed at one point that she was close to quitting altogether.
“It’s something Cam and I have struggled with,” the 37-year-old said at the time. “We try to focus on our relationship, but it’s hard not to get involved when you’re surrounded by such ridiculous people being bitchy for no reason.”
“I’d had enough of the drama and the toxicity,” she revealed. “There was so much nastiness going on. I felt really unhappy and was just drained. Everything we were a part of felt like it was becoming a bit of a joke.”
Given the fact that last season such was a ratings goldmine, producers will likely be trying to emulate their winning formula for the next season. And that means more controversial characters.
Speaking to NW magazine, Jules says she’s met a few of the new participants and feels producers have again opted for drama-making brides and grooms.
While Jules understands the show needs “spice”, she feels they should have opted for a “trans participant or gay couple” to make the experiment authentically interesting.
Instead, they’ve apparently “gone for bullies”.
Jules isn’t the first person to suggest that couples are matched for drama and ratings. Even expert Mel Schilling admits drama comes in to play when the couples are being matched.
Asked if the experts simply match wildly incompatible brides and grooms to create drama, Mel, 46, acknowledged “That’s always going to be part of it – we’re making a television show – but we’re all about putting people together with the strongest compatibility we can muster up.”
Jules, who met the love of her life Cam on the last season of MAFS, has called some of the new participants “bullies.” Image: Getty
Mel, along with fellow relationship experts John Aiken and Dr Trisha Stratford, will be back for the 2020 season. Channel Nine, who will screen the show in Australia, confirmed last week that the trio “will help pair 20 brave singles from across the country who will get married at the altar.”
Meanwhile, Jules and Cam have decided to postpone their real-life wedding. Originally planned for September in New South Wales’ Hunter Valley to coincide with their one year anniversary, Jules revealed to Yahoo Lifestyle last month that there were a number of reasons behind the decision.
Jules admitted the pair had been swept up in the excitement of their TV romance. “It was a romantic gesture and we booked a venue and ended up losing our $5,000 deposit but I just thought – yeah that’s not going to happen anymore,” she said. Adding, “It was too much too soon”.
Weight also came into play. Jules, who recently signed on as a Weight Watchers ambassador, admitted “I’d like to hit my (weight loss) goal and then a little bit more.”
“I’ve put on 10 kilograms since I got ‘married’ to Cam and I’ve only just started saying it out loud and it’s getting much more comfortable.”
