Sandy Jawanda and Dan Hunjas seemed like one of the most stable couples in this season of Married At First Sight Australia, but an accidental “butt dial” on a boys’ night out causes one person to storm out.
Melbourne dental hygienist Sandy, who married Dan in a traditional Indian ceremony, says there was “definite chemistry” between them early on. “We had a great honeymoon and I thought, ‘Wow! This is my person.'”
So it came as a shock when Gold Coast businessman Dan revealed at the commitment ceremony that he wasn’t sexually attracted to her.
“I tried to be dignified, but inside I was hurt,” she admits. “Dan and I had shared intimate moments. It made me feel like it was all a lie.”
Dan’s revelation at the commitment ceremony doesn’t spell the end for the couple – in fact, this week on MAFS, they take their relationship to a new level of intimacy.
“I started to make excuses for Dan’s behaviour,” explains Sandy, 36. “The very start of our relationship was so good that I kept thinking, ‘Maybe we can get back to that.'”
Then comes the butt dial. Dan, 42, is out with the boys, including new grooms Hugo Armstrong and Rupert Bugden, when Rupert accidentally calls his bride Evelyn Ellis. Evelyn hears Dan talking about Sandy and Hugo talking about his bride Tayla Winter. What they’re saying isn’t complimentary.
“It made me furious – more so with Dan because he had this big facade,” Evelyn says.
“I thought he was stringing Sandy along. I’m thinking, ‘Those pieces of s**t!'”
Evelyn makes up her mind to reveal what she’s overheard at the dinner party and to hold Dan accountable in front of all the other couples.
“I was s**tting bricks,” the 26-year-old model admits. “Like, ‘This is my second dinner party and I’m dropping this bomb on everyone.’ But my main priority was Sandy.”
Sandy confesses that when she found out what Dan had been saying about her, she felt “embarrassed and disrespected”.
However, with the support of the other women, she finds the strength to lay it on the line with Dan at the dinner party.
“I wanted him to know I won’t put up with being disrespected or treated poorly,” she says. “I deserve better.”
In the end, it’s something Evelyn says that sees Dan storm out. Is it all over for him and Sandy?