Woman’s Day caught up with your favourite Season 8 stars of Married At First Sight Australia to see how things are really going..
Melissa & Byce: Suing the show!
They’re the most controversial couple ever to appear on Married At First Sight Australia, but despite the drama, Bryce Ruthven and Melissa Rawson are still going strong, with Bryce moving from Canberra into Melissa’s Melbourne home.
However, the duo – who have matching tattoos and say they’re “practising” to start a family – are now contemplating taking legal action against the show’s creators for unfair editing and already have lawyers lining up to take the case.
“The show ruined my life, my mental health,” explains Bryce, who claims he once called the police as producers were holding him against his will. “There’s never been a couple like us who look soputrid. People are claiming our relationship has triggered victims of domestic violence…Something’s clearly gone wrong.”
Melissa tells Woman’s Day, “I’m the happiest I’ve ever been. I’m in a loving, safe and committed relationship.”
Jake & Beck: Not speaking!
The pair shocked fans by pledging to stay together and give their volatile relationship a go in the real world, but unsurprisingly, it was all downhill from there. At the Reunion Grand Finale, video was shown of Rebecca Zemek kissing another man on a trip home to Perth. She’d claimed she was visiting her sick dog and her “shocked” groom Jake Edwards said, “I’d played the fool. I felt like an idiot.”
Jake has since cut all ties with Beck confirmed last month that he was in a relationship with influencer Sophie Guidolin (with the announcement just coming out today that they have split just weeks after getting her name tattooed on his body!), while Beck has confessed to “cheating”, and is trying hard to become an influencer herself.
Jake reveals now, “We haven’t spoken one word to each other since that moment and I haven’t responded to any of her messages or calls. I put myself out there and I got used right until the end.”
Patrick and Belinda: So smitten
When Patrick Dwyer disappeared from Belinda Vickers’ social media, rumours ran wild that she’d dumped her first-ever boyfriend, but the dancer soon explained, “Pat and I are still together. I’ve just been in Sydney for the past week, so I haven’t seen him in a week.”
The couple live near each other in Melbourne and are taking things slowly, getting to know each other better on dates. Belinda says, “Pat and I just like to do normal, everyday things together. We go out for lunch and dinner, we go on day trips and we really like going golfing.”
However, the pair have talked about having children, with Belinda telling Woman’s Day, “I definitely think Pat would be a great dad.”
Kerry and Johnny: Power couple
After finding true love on the show, Kerry Knight and Johnny Balbuziente have given themselves the celebrity nickname “Jerry” and look set to make a mint on brand endorsements, signing up to the same agency as MAFS super-couple Jules Robinson and Cameron Merchant.
But this is no fake show-mance, the sweethearts insist. After six months together, Johnny says, “We’re in a really good place. We’re spending a lot of time together.”
Kerry adds, “From the start, he was my teammate. We established from the first day that we would have each other’s backs.”
Recently, the pair met each other’s parents, with Kerry posting, “Fun fact: Our dads share the same name, grew up in the same ‘hood in Melbourne, went to the same high school at the same time – and got smacked by the same nuns!”
Liam and Georgia: Kiwi hook-up!
At the final vow renewal, Georgia Fairweather accused her hubby of gaslighting and humiliating her, but finished saying, “I’m giving you another chance. I forgive you.”
Liam Cooper admitted he loved her, however, he was upset at her words and insisted, “Let’s call it quits.”
Georgia has since joined forces with MAFS 2020 contestant KC Osborne, with the pair launching Instagram TV channel Girl Talk, while openly bisexual Liam has been making the most of his single status, recently joining MAFS New Zealand groom Samuel Levi at Brisbane festival Big Gay Day.
Samuel tells us, “Spending time and connecting with Liam was great because we’ve been through such a similar experience.”
Asked if things got romantic, he adds, “Let’s put it this way, I’m sure I’ll see him again very soon. If he was my original match, I think a success story would’ve certainly happened.”