Lucinda and Timothy on MAFS
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“Really ick about the whole production side”: How MAFS producers coax the cast into opening up

"In your head, you're like, ‘Well, I think maybe it is good that I talk about it’.”

News,TV
WRITTEN BY Danica Baker / Edited BY Danica Baker
12 March 2024 , 3 minutes to read

A former Married At First Sight bride has revealed the tactics that producers use to encourage the participants to talk about their emotions on camera.

2023 MAFS Bride Alyssa Barmonde said that producers relentlessly ask the cast members to talk about their problems, even when they don’t want to be filmed.

Alyssa referred to Timothy Smith’s experience at the MAFS Couples Retreat, where he broke down about the loss of his parents to his partner Lucinda Light.

Lucinda and Timothy on MAFS. Nine.

Timothy began to break down into tears, and walked out of the bedroom where he was being filmed, saying he couldn’t handle it.

Producers would have had to “coax” Timothy

Alyssa said producers would have had to “coax” Timothy “into being on camera”

“At that point in time you’re just like, ‘I don’t want to be around anyone, I need to get out of the situation, I need to be with my feelings’, and they’re like, ‘Can you get it on camera? I need to get it on camera’,” she told Yahoo Lifestyle’s Behind the Edit podcast.

“That’s the thing that makes me feel really ick about the whole production side of things. He was probably still really in his emotions and he probably wasn’t ready to speak to the producer about what he was going through. So bravo for him to kind of pick up the pieces and do that.”

Alyssa Barmonde on MAFS 2023. Nine.

The reality star added that the producers encourage the participants to believe that speaking about their issues will be beneficial.

“So when you’re having this emotional breakdown, they’re the first ones to run after you like, ‘Are you okay? What’s going on? Do you want to talk about it? It might feel better if you talk about it a little bit. Do you need a break? Do you need some water? Can I get you anything?’,” she shared.

“So they try to, I guess, calm you down before [they say], ‘Do you think you can do just a few minutes just to get your emotions out? I feel like it’s a really important part of your story’. And then in your head, you’re like, ‘Well, I think maybe it is good that I talk about it’.”

Watch Married at First Sight Sundays at 7.00pm and Monday – Wednesday at 7.30pm on Nine and 9Now.

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