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Controversial Married at First Sight Australia groom Sam Ball has a long list of black marks against his name.
He called his new bride Elizabeth ‘big’ on their wedding day
He ditched her on their honeymoon to attend the funeral of his ex-girlfriend’s mother
He didn’t contact her the entire time he was away and then made a surprise appearance at the dinner party announcing “Honey, I’m home”
And he repeatedly gaslighted her and told her she was wasting his time, all the while conducting a clandestine affair with Ines Basic.
But now he seems to have dropped the almighty bombshell that the affair that caused so much drama in the group – not to mention heartache for their spouses – was fake.
Watch: The truth of Sam and Ines’ affair comes out. Story continues below.
Confirmation has come in the form of an Instagram comment in which Sam responded to a fan who suggested he should book in for “a check-up” after sleeping with Ines.
“Sorry, this is TV. It didn’t happen,” the 26-year-old tradie replied. “If you notice Ines’ change of apparel in the edit, night and morning, that will be a good reference point. But thank you for your concerns.”
The “change of apparel” he was referring to was the fact that Ines’ underwear changed between scenes as their sleepover played out, one of a list of editing fails when it came to their ‘affair.’
Watch: MAFS editing fail: Ines’ underwear mysteriously changes. Story continues below.
It wasn’t just Ines’ underwear changing that had fans smelling a rat. She also seemed to have come well prepared for the ‘impromptu’ sleepover, leaving her toiletries behind in Sam’s hotel room the next morning.
“How did Ines get a tooth brush, makeup wipes plus new white underwear to Sam’s apartment? Setup much??” one fan asked on Instagram.
There was also the mysterious case of the changing hotel room, where Sam invited Ines over and she was seen knocking on the door to room 1904, but next minute Sam was filmed opening the door to room 1902.
Speculation Sam and Ines’ affair had been orchestrated by the producers as a ploy to boost ratings has been doing the rounds for a while now.
A series insider revealed to Woman’s Day: “The producers recognised that Sam was the most handsome groom and that would make him a target for the other wives.
“At some point in the first couple of weeks of the experiment, they told him they would make a swap work if there was someone he liked.”
A second source backed up the allegation, saying producers held meetings with Sam to talk about how the “affair” would play out and how they could spin the best story from it.
“They wanted to make them like Dean [Wells] and Davina [Rankin] from the start,” reports the source, referring to the scandalous affair between Dean Wells and Davina Rankin in the last season.
“Sam played along with the plan because he knew it would be the biggest story of the show,” the source continued. “They said, ‘Look, we know you’re not into Liz. Why not give it a go with Ines instead and see where that could lead?’
“So they basically asked Sam to pretend to like her, while Ines, on the other hand, had no idea it was all for show. She had genuine feelings.”
Sam and Ines’ long-suffering partners Elizabeth Sobinoff and Bronson Norrish have each moved on from the scandal in their own ways.
“They belong with each other,” Elizabeth told TV WEEK. “They would act sweet to my face and then tear me apart behind my back. I think they’re disgusting.”
“He’s clearly not there to find love, and it’s disheartening,” she said of her groom, adding that he was “full of crap.”
Bronson, on the other hand, has found love with his high school crush Melissa Dobson. The 35-year-old former stripper turned entrepreneur reached out to her after filming for the show ended, and they instantly formed a connection despite not seeing one another since school.
“It was 17 years since we’d last seen each other,” Melissa told the Daily Mail. “We caught up and had a connection straight away.”
“From there he swept me off my feet.”
“It’s all about timing and he really is an amazing guy,” saying she feels like the “luckiest girl in the world.”
With another ‘affair’ currently playing out on screen between Jessika Power and Daniel Webb, all eyes will be on them to see if this relationship is genuine, or just another ploy to increase ratings.
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