It’s been just over a year since Lacey Swanepoel appeared as the reluctant bride on Married at First Sight, attracting online abuse, verbal confrontations in the street and even death threats.
But even now, Lacey says she doesn’t regret her TV marriage to Luke Cederman.
“It’s like people go, ‘This person’s on reality TV, so they’ve opened themselves up to everyone’s opinions and thoughts,'” she explains. “But I have an identical twin sister and she had people coming up to her. She didn’t like it at all.”
When Lacey appeared on MAFS, she was given the nickname “The Boss”.
“During our photo shoot, I was asked to put my hands on my hips, which is quite a strong pose, but at the time, I didn’t wonder, ‘Why am I doing this?’ You aren’t seeing what other couples are being asked to do. Then suddenly, you see a picture of your face on a billboard with the label ‘boss’!”
Her TV marriage to Luke Cederman started to sour on their honeymoon and ended in a walk-out.
The public confrontations were so relentless that the Aucklander couldn’t even date without her suitor asking about her time on the show.
She tells, “I found it hard finding people who were genuine and it was hard to trust anyone.”
She’s since met someone, but Lacey, who works in professional services, is playing coy.
“There’s someone important in my life. Thankfully, it’s been so different from a TV romance.”
