As Married at First Sight (MAFS) prepares to unleash its Season 13 cast into the spotlight in a mere matter of months, one former bride is offering up her time and advice to current participants filming.
Katie Johnston had a short-lived but memorable stint on MAFS, with the Season 12 bride going through the absolute wringer with her match Tim Gromie, who didn’t even try to give her a chance.
With those days behind her, and Katie surviving and thriving post-MAFS experience, she took to Instagram to pen a heartfelt message to the 2026 cast members.
“I’ve seen something recently where the MAFS 2026 cast have been branded ‘ick’ when reaching out for help (mind you I think this would have been taken out of context by the publication but I have not seen the original content). It’s absolutely not ‘ick’ to ask for help (call it ‘coaching’, ‘mentoring’, ‘a friendly chat with people with shared experience’),” Katie wrote.
“Breeding shame around people for seeking help isn’t OK. Some people don’t have the capacity to help, that’s ok too. If you guys and gals need help you just reach out to me, somethings aren’t easy to share in that environment, things are hard to navigate after that environment (knowing what’s fair or not)… and it’s hard to trust as there is an agenda during filming and that is filming a story (not necessarily an accurate one reflecting your perspective or reality). My time was brief but enough to witness the way it works. Be safe xxx.”
MAFS’ Katie reveals advice for Season 13 cast: ‘Everything comes to light eventually’
Katie revealed to Chattr that she’s had numerous upcoming MAFS participants reach out to her, but didn’t disclose their names.
She credited Andie Thompson and Lucinda Light as two former participants who were generous with their time after her stint on MAFS.
“I connected with Andie after I got home (a fellow Sunshine Coast local) she was such an amazing support and really understood,” she told us. “Later I got amazing advice from Lucinda too. The absence of gatekeeping was so refreshing with these two.”
On advice for the upcoming participants, Katie had this to say.
“Reach out to trusted ex-cast – it’s such a unique experience and not many people get all the nuances. There are a lot of sharks out there too, so exploitation is a real thing. Having a support system with people who are transparent and have no agenda to make money off you is crucial.
“I wish I knew ruthless the media are to generate clicks – unfortunately there is not much you can do but I would have been more mentally prepared for it,” she continues. “Seeing my fellow cast shrink and be overshadowed by whoever was the loudest and most ruthless was a microcosm of the world at large… sometimes there is nothing to do other than understand and know your truth. Everything comes to the light eventually.”
You can stream Married At First Sight on 9Now.
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