MAFS Bride Rachel Gilmore Breaks Silence on Retreat Joke Fallout
Rachel Gilmore has finally spoken out after a crude joke about her intimacy with husband Steven Danyluk transformed a major relationship milestone into one of the most uncomfortable moments of Married At First Sight's explosive retreat week. In an exclusive interview with Daily Mail, the 35-year-old bride confessed she was left feeling 'singled out', 'embarrassed' and 'really silly' after what should have been a celebratory moment with Steven spiralled into chaos when fellow bride Bec made an inappropriate remark about their sex life.
'A Massive Wedge' Driven Between Couple
Steven Danyluk also weighed in on the incident, admitting the comment initially seemed humorous before the fallout quickly turned 'very pear-shaped' and ended up driving 'a massive wedge' between the couple. Rachel explained that she only opened up to the group about their relationship progress because sharing milestones felt natural within the experimental setting of the show.
'We've got to remember, this is not a normal social situation, right? We are in an experiment that is about relationships and sharing milestones around intimacy and where your relationship is at is really normal in that setting,' she told Daily Mail. 'I wanted to celebrate it. Because we have been a slower burn and I do think there were questions around mine and Steven's intimacy.'
Shock and Polarisation
The situation deteriorated rapidly after Rachel's announcement. 'When the lovely punchline came out, I was just like, polarised. I was in shock, to be completely honest,' Rachel revealed. 'I was so shocked by what had just been said because in my mind, I'm like, where has this come from?' She insisted there had been no private conversation beforehand that could have prompted the joke, clarifying that Bec learned about the milestone at the same time as the rest of the group.
Rachel described feeling particularly vulnerable because the incident occurred in front of people she barely knew. 'We're in a group of people, which, yes, we're all friends, but we are all still new friends, and I felt singled out for an intimate act, and embarrassment, bit of shame, all these things, and overall, I just felt really silly,' she explained.
Inadequate Support and Invalidated Feelings
The bride also expressed disappointment with the immediate response from other cast members, who she said tried to dismiss her reaction rather than validate it. 'When I left, a lot of people were coming at me being like, "It's just humour, it's just a joke," and I felt like in that moment, I'm like, guys, I'm allowed to actually feel quite shocked and have my feelings about this,' Rachel stated. 'I did feel support, but it was support in the way of like, 'It's a joke.' It wasn't support in the way of like, 'Your feelings are valid. It's okay. Go get some rest and it'll all be okay.'
Rachel confirmed that Bec later apologised during girls' night, but claimed the apology didn't fully address her concerns. 'Bec did apologise. She actually did apologise at girls' night,' she said. 'What I find though is Bec was apologising for the words used, it was not an apology for how they had made me feel. It felt like she didn't want to listen, she just wanted to respond to me and basically tell me, get over it.'
Impact on Marriage and Intimacy
The incident had significant consequences for Rachel and Steven's relationship. 'Retreat in general impacted mine and Steven's intimacy,' Rachel admitted. 'It very much put our relationship on ice and put us back because Steven also struggled to understand why it had upset me as well, even though I could clearly articulate why.' She added that she spent much of the retreat trying to explain her feelings, which she believes shouldn't have been necessary.
Steven corroborated this account, telling Daily Mail: 'This is the big week for me and Rachel. It was all going well until Bec decided to say a comment, and it went very pear-shaped very quickly from then onwards.' He acknowledged initially laughing along with the remark but quickly realised the seriousness of the situation. 'When it actually settled in and hit a couple minutes after that, especially after seeing Rach, I was like, "Oh shit, no, this is not okay." This is not funny, and this is quite offensive.'
Moving Forward and Friendship Repair
Despite the tension viewers are witnessing on screen, Rachel insisted she and Bec have since repaired their friendship. 'At the end of the day, Bec and I are friends,' she said. 'Bec and I are friends and I am so grateful for her friendship. That moment was months ago. The forgiveness was given then and we've really grown our friendship from there.'
Rachel also reflected on what she might have done differently, expressing regret about not addressing the situation more directly with Bec immediately. 'I think I wish I took charge of the situation more in terms of just approaching Bec and taking her to the side and just being like, right, let's just squash this now,' she admitted. 'That's probably one of my biggest regrets, is not actually running after her and saying, right, let's just resolve this because I hated fighting with her. She's my friend.'
Group Dynamics and Retrospective Insights
The bride also shared insights about shifting alliances within the group during the retreat, revealing she now views some interactions differently in hindsight. 'With Gia and Juliette, when they were speaking to me, I genuinely thought that they were coming to me with empathy and sharing these things with me out of concern,' Rachel explained. 'I can see now a bit of mustard was laid on these things. Looking back, there might have been a bit of like, if we can get Rachel on side, then that will instantly pull other girls across as well and isolate Bec. And I'm really glad that I was able to snap out of that.'
Rachel made it clear she is ready to move past the ordeal. 'I just can't wait for it to be over. Let's move on to next week, shall we?' she concluded. Steven echoed this sentiment while acknowledging the complexity of the situation, particularly regarding his friendship with fellow groom Danny. 'It's a very difficult situation because I want to support Rachel and validate her feelings because she has every right to feel this way,' he said. 'But as the retreat goes on as well, I don't want to feel like that I'm turning against her or anything and I'm sort of like, 'Can we move on a little bit?''
