The third season of Married at First Sight NZ debuted last night and true to word, all trace of disgraced groom Chris Mansfield had been wiped.
Kicked off the show before filming even finished, it can’t have been easy for producers to re-cut the group scenes.
As the Stags and Hens gathered for their theoretical last night as singles – with Chris and his bride Aimee Collins rather seamlessly absent – one groom stood out from the crowd; reserved “small town country boy” Jordan Dare.
Every season there’s always certain people picked for drama and others picked for their genuine nature and 26-year-old Jordan, who hails from Foxton, definitely falls into the latter category.
Described by expert Stephanie Dowse as “shy but outgoing,” here are all the reasons why Jordan endeared himself to us – and more importantly his new bride Anna Saxton.
He made it clear he doesn’t associate with troublesome men
Our interest first piqued when we saw his reaction to James’ outrageous comment that “Saturdays are for the boys,” and that the men needed to make sure their wives understood that.
“You’re going to have to get out of the house and get away from them. It’s going to be unhealthy,” James asserted. But Jordan wasn’t buying into it.
“Some of the things that James says makes me a little uncomfortable at times because it is very forward and quite confronting. And sometimes I try to not be so friendly with guys like that because they can start a lot of conflict.”
Well played, Jordan!
Jordan was a little uncomfortable with some of the things that went on at the Stag do.
He’s had his heart broken but he’s not afraid to love again
Perhaps what we found most endearing was his fearlessness when it comes to love. He’s loved big and has had his heart broken, but he’s still willing to put himself out there and find his ever-after.
“We fell in love almost at first sight when I was 18,” Jordan said of his former fiancée, with whom he had a seven year relationship. But the engagement came to an end after she cheated on him.
“I’ve been in love before so I know what it feels like,” he shared. “I’ve had my heart broken as well. But I’m ready to find love again I think.”
He made the cutest analogy about toast
When he likened relationships to a simple task that can easily go wrong, our hearts melted.
“I’ve always seen marriage as a simple task, yet so very easy to get wrong,” he said in his vows.
“Almost like cooking your morning toast. If you pop it out too early, you’ve just got warm bread. If you leave it in too long, you might burn the house down.”
And then backed it up with a joke about peanut butter
“I really love peanut butter on toast and I think I might have found that perfect batch of peanut butter,” he said of his new bride.
He doesn’t want to rush intimacy
Usually it’s the bride who wants to build a pillow wall on the wedding night, but in this case it was Jordan.
“I like to get to know a person first before I cuddle them in bed,” he says. But after his bride Anna objects to the wall, he agrees to take it down – as long as she agrees to be big spoon.
“This is called compromise,” he says.
“It did cross my mind that she might think that I’m not keen to be intimate with her. But that’s definitely not the case, it’s just early days so I think we’ve got to take it one step at a time.”
He’s learning fast and is off to a good start. Let’s face it – once you learn the importance of compromise, you’re halfway there to a successful relationship.
We look forward to seeing how Jordan and Anna’s marriage plays out.
