Monday night's episode of Married at First Sight Australia featured the 'penultimate' commitment ceremony, where tensions ran high and one marriage ended in tears. The episode saw the fallout from a cheating scandal involving groom Jesse, 30, and his wife Claire, 31, which had previously thrown their marriage into crisis after Claire kissed another groom.
Despite the couple appearing to have turned things around during a four-day retreat, their progress was derailed when fellow groom Harrison, 32, brought up the past at a dinner party. Harrison claimed Claire only stayed in the marriage to protect her self-image, prompting relationship expert John Aiken to call him out for his behaviour. Aiken warned that such 'grenades' can cause untold damage to relationships, particularly those already in crisis.
Jesse admitted that Harrison's comment was 'the last straw that broke the camel's back', as it reminded him of the betrayal. He confessed he no longer felt he could continue with the marriage, despite having been 'the happiest he has been' around Claire in recent weeks. The couple ultimately left the experiment, with Claire apologising again and the group rallying round to say emotional goodbyes.
In contrast, Harrison and his wife Bronte surprised the group by both writing 'stay' at the ceremony, despite Bronte having previously said she was '100% done' with him. Harrison had broken up with Bronte via text but later vowed to let her 'redeem herself'. Fellow participant Lyndall expressed disbelief, saying she had been willing to 'go to war' for Bronte after seeing her upset.
