Married At First Sight (MAFS) bride Mel Akbay was left waiting awkwardly at the altar during her wedding, after groom Luke Fourniotis had to make a mad dash home to pick up the rings. She was furious with her groom and didn’t forgive him for embarrassing her, even though he tried his best to make it up to the bride.
However, MAFS fans are convinced this entire situation was planned by producers, because Mel could have been told to wait and not walk down the aisle until Luke returned.
“There’s no way that wasn’t fully set up. All three went in to get the rings. He goes upstairs when he knows they’re downstairs. Then cameras and all, they let her walk down the aisle instead of getting her car to drive around another couple of minutes. That whole set up was a joke,” one fan wrote on Facebook.
“Sure was, it was just awful MAFS does this, just crap,” another agreed.
“Yeah the producers arranged this one, and they could have held Mel’s car up,” a third added.
“Can’t the producers speak to each other to say what happened and get her to wait? Such a set up,” another remarked.
Luke’s chewing gum act divides viewers
While Luke wasn’t seen as a bad guy for being late, right before he said his vows, he spat out his chewing gum and handed it to his sister. It gave Mel the ick, with some MAFS fans on her side.
“Is Luke chewing gum? FFS bro. Deal breaker. Off with his head,” a fan wrote on Reddit.
“The gum chewing would drive me crazy. I don’t mind having gum in the mouth but just refrain from chewing for five minutes,” another said.
“Why is old mate chewing chewy at the altar…. ick. I can handle the fact he was late, but not chewing chewy,” a third chimed in.
However, some criticised Mel for being too harsh on Luke, despite his chewing gum faux pas.
“He is never going to be good enough for her in her eyes. If she’s that precious about him being a bit late and chewing gum, how the heck is she going to cope with any real issues?” one fan asked.
“I think he is a cutie and just very excited to get to the altar. She is very unforgiving even after talking to her mum who was spot on,” another pointed out.
“What a horrible girl! She doesn’t deserve him!” a third exclaimed.
“If you have high expectations [in] a partner then don’t go on this show! Honestly, these people,” another added.
If you’re curious to know if Mel and Luke are still together now, we’ve got all the details here. Otherwise, we’ll have to wait and see what plays out during their honeymoon.
Married at First Sight (MAFS) 2026 airs Monday – Thursday at 7:30pm this week on Channel 9 and 9Now.
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