The ex-wife of Married at First Sight (MAFS) star Tyson Gordon has spoken out about why their relationship ended, and whether she agrees with his controversial anti-woke views.
Tove Thoreson, who has now remarried and lives in Utah, told Daily Mail Australia that she and Tyson met in 2018 when he was visiting a ski resort in her home state, and the pair began a long-distance relationship.
“Tyson and I met in 2018 when he and his family happened to visit the ski resort in Utah where I was working,” she said.
“What started as a chance meeting turned into a long-distance relationship, and for about a year and a half, we travelled back and forth between Australia and the United States before eventually getting married in Utah.”
The couple tied the knot in 2019, but their marriage was short-lived and they split not long after. However, Tove stressed that their hasty marriage wasn’t an attempt to get an Australian visa.
“I am Mormon and Tyson is not. After we married, I moved to Australia and lived there for about a year. Because of that, claims that we only knew each other or were married for 30 days, or that I was some sort of internet girlfriend trying to obtain Australian citizenship, simply aren’t true.”
Why did Tyson and his ex-wife split up?
In Tyson’s MAFS intro package, he explained that he was married about five years ago, but the couple’s differing views on cleaning had a lot to do with their split.
“I met this girl in Utah, got married, and she came to Australia to live. But, she was a little bit messy around the house, and there’s a few other things you know, plates in the kitchen sink, but basically it couldn’t work out because after a certain period of time, we couldn’t stand to live with each other,” he said.
In the interview, Tove touched on their breakup and revealed that she and Tyson are no longer in contact
“Our relationship ultimately became unhealthy and difficult, which is why it ended,” she said. “The reasons for that are personal and not something I’m willing to discuss publicly.”
“Tyson and I are not friends, and we do not speak, as that period of my life was very difficult and I have no interest in revisiting it publicly.”
Tyson has made it abundantly clear on MAFS that he has traditional values and believes that women should be the family carers while the man is the provider. Tove told the publication that her own values don’t necessarily align with Tyson’s.
“I do not support or agree with the behaviour he has shown on television or what I experienced in real life,” she said.
“We were both young [when we met] — I was only 21. I wasn’t even aware of those terms back then in regard to being ‘trad’. A lot of people may assume, because I am Mormon, that Mormon women are like that, but that’s not the case.
“Yes, we are more traditional, possibly, but with Mormon women today, we are not ‘submissive’ at all,” she added. “I can’t comment on his views, now versus then, as I haven’t spoken to him in six years.”
Tove concluded by saying that despite their difficult history, she holds no ill will towards her ex-husband.
“I do not wish Tyson ill, and I sincerely hope that through everything happening publicly right now, there can ultimately be some light and healing for him”
Married at First Sight (MAFS) 2026 airs Sunday – Wednesday at 7:30pm on Channel 9 and 9Now.
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