“It’s really dangerous”: Former MAFS star's jarring claims about show
A former participant of Nine’s Married At First Sight has appeared on a rival network to drop some jarring claims about the reality TV show.
Tayla Winter, who was paired up with Hugo Armstrong on the series left Sunrise hosts David Kochie and Natalie Barr in disbelief with her chilling warning about how “dangerous” and “scary” the format is for the participants.
Winter 27, explained how she had expected “a really fun experience” going into it.
“I thought I’d meet a lot of people, we could party in Sydney – I was on a bit of a break from work – and potentially meet someone that was really nice,” she said.
“For me, the worst case scenario in my head was, I still come out with a lot of friends. I could never have imagined what it was actually like.”
Barr then asked her whether she’d “warn people not to go on MAFS” in the future.
“I think it’s really dangerous,” Winter responded.
“I know that some of my castmates are really struggling.
“I’ve been struggling … I hope that people just understand what it’s really like and that’s why I’m trying to spread a bit of awareness about it because … I truly believe someone will end their life over this show one day.”
Her response clearly stunned Barr, who then told her, “Oh, wow, that’s a serious claim. We’re sorry that happened to you.”
Winter’s relationship with Armstrong saw some of the most dramatic scenes on the 2023 season of MAFS, with the bride storming out of a commitment ceremony and declaring she was going back to (Tasmania) after a heated conversation with her TV partner.
The abrupt exit came after Armstrong allegedly called Winter the “C-word” during a vulgar spat which was overheard in an accidental “butt dial”.
Winter eventually returned to the experiment to give him “a second chance,” but was rejected by Armstrong and the couple announced their split to their castmates that night.
Winter told Sunrise that she was given “a bad edit” which had left her vulnerable to constant online trolling and abuse.
“The way the (editing) is done is unethical,” she told the hosts.
“Going into the show, I had no idea how controlled it would be. There is a lot of manipulation and coercive control and it’s pretty scary once you’re over there (on set).
“You’re not in your home state, you’re surrounded by all of these camera crews, all these people you don’t know.
“It’s quite intimidating and you say and do things under a really high-pressure environment.
“You quickly regret those things that you do and that you said.”
When Barr highlighted that reality shows are renowned for being heavily edited, Winter hit back with bold claims about producers.
“You build trust and what you think is a really strong relationship with (producers) and it’s all fake,” she said.
“There’s a lot of pressure to say things and do things that you don’t feel comfortable with.
“I slept on the couch the entire time throughout the experiment and it wasn’t seen that Hugo had the bed.
“But they needed that narrative to suit what character they wanted from me and what character they wanted from Hugo.”
A spokesperson from Nine informed news.com.au that the network takes its duties concerning the “health and wellbeing” of the show’s participants “extremely seriously”.
“All participants have access to the show psychologist during filming, during broadcast and once the program has ended,” they said.
“Nine also have an additional service for participants should they like or need further individual and confidential psychological support.
“This service gives participants access to clinicians who have been specifically engaged to support those involved in the program in relation to their experiences. This service is available to all participants for as long as they need it, it does not end.
“Nine provides all participants with ongoing support for the duration of the show and we monitor all participant’s social media accounts so that we are aware of and manage any negative commentary. We are very proactive in this space, and care for the health and wellbeing of the participants.
“As a result of the level of interest in the participant’s personal lives and volume of commentary on every post, Nine manages all individual MAFS social accounts with their permission, as an extra measure of protecting them from negativity.”
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