Former cast members of Married at First Sight (Mafs) Australia have spoken out about the show's safety record, warning that it mainstreams dangerous misogynistic stereotypes and subjects participants to potentially harmful situations. The comments come after serious allegations of rape and sexual assault emerged against the UK franchise, which is produced by a different company.
Awhina Rutene, a bride on season 12 in 2025, said the show's vetting process was inadequate after it emerged her on-screen husband Adrian Araouzou had faced historical domestic abuse charges, which were dismissed before filming. 'It's wild, with hindsight,' she told Guardian Australia. 'We are strangers sleeping in a bedroom on our own on the first night, you've got no security, you're by yourselves.' She described the environment as a 'pressure cooker' where physical intimacy felt 'forced'.
Another season 12 bride, Sierah Swepstone, wrote on Instagram that the show's environment was 'characterised by control, manipulation, isolation … gaslighting, psychological dependency, triggers and deprivation of autonomy'. A former participant, speaking anonymously, said men with 'criminal or domestic violence backgrounds are cast regularly, season after season', and that women on her season experienced 'physical violence, assault, non-consensual touching'.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority has conducted 10 investigations into Mafs and received 39 complaints, with the most recent in 2025 over allegations of domestic violence themes and incorrect classification. No breaches have been found. Olivia Rutherford, a season nine cast member, said she does not believe the show can be made safely.
