We're a few weeks into this season of Married At First Sight, and as much as we've loved the beautiful weddings and dramatic dinner parties, the biggest question on our minds is which couples are still together since filming for this season wrapped up.
As we know, some MAFS contestants manage to make their love last the distance, while for others, the romance is sadly short-lived. In true reality TV fashion, public sightings and on-screen squabbles can suggest likely outcomes of the social experiment. So, here we investigate the chances of the 10 MAFS couples still being together.
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Alyssa & Duncan
Dating shows like MAFS always tease a fairytale romance each season, and Alyssa and Duncan's bond initially seemed like it. Alyssa — who has been single for 12 months since her seven-year marriage ended — was smitten by 36-year-old "Prince Charming" Duncan. He also seemed to only have eyes for her.
One of the challenges we saw Alyssa and Duncan face involved Alyssa's reserved approach towards sex due to her Mormon upbringing. Having said that, she definitely embraced the challenges during Intimacy Week, so there was definitely progress and growth for the couple on that front.
The other hurdle was around their differing views towards speaking up against cheaters, which arose when the Claire and Adam cheating scandal came out.
At the final vows, Alyssa and Duncan didn't see eye-to-eye on how their relationship would pan out in the outside world.
"When it's just the two of us it's easy and magic, you can make me feel like I'm on top of the world but the last few weeks have been increasingly difficult," Alyssa said.
She said that despite their differences in the way they think and approach things, she "can't imagine her life without Duncan" and therefore wanted to give it a go outside of the experiment.
However, Duncan chose to end things, saying, "From the start I was told who I can and can't talk to in this experiment, I also didn't feel like I got the benefit of the doubt from you even though I hadn't broken your trust.
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"I felt emotionally rejected more times than I can remember. Maybe it's our personalities, maybe it's our differing mindsets but either way the gap seems too big to bridge."
"I don't want to hurt you and I don't want to continue getting hurt, so I have to say goodbye."
Bronte & Harrison
Controversy is synonymous with Bronte and Harrison's love story on MAFS, and it all began in the first episode.
After their wedding, it was revealed that 32-year-old builder Harrison had apparently promised another woman on the outside that he would be with her after the reality show's filming wrapped. When Bronte confronted him, Harrison initially downplayed the claims, before admitting that he'd been speaking to several women just before going onto MAFS.
What was an initial physical spark at their nuptials wasn't enough to keep the pair united, and they were living in separate apartments on the show. Then we began to see them showing a more united front. When Harrison said he'd taken a woman's phone number during a night out but then deleted it, Bronte expressed no issue with it, saying she understands that other women would find her husband attractive and she trusts him to remain faithful to her.
There's a lot to process and this pair's drama could essentially make for a TV show of its own. Are Bronte and Harrison still together? There have been more arguments than tender moments, so we always knew the chances weren't looking great. Ultimately, Bronte gave Harrison the flick in the final dinner party before the final vows after getting reassurance from her sister that Harrison wasn't the one for her. The couple didn't even make it to the final vows, but something tells us there will be a lot to talk about when Harrison and Bronte come face-to-face at the reunion.
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Caitlin & Shannon
Relationships are rewarding but also demand effort, and that becomes harder when there's another person involved. It's been far from smooth sailing for Caitlin and Shannon, since Shannon admitted he still has feelings for his ex. He also told her he "thought she [Caitlin] was going to walk down the aisle and completely blow me away".
"For me, every day was like a different Shannon and I didn't know what Shannon I was going to get on that day," Caitlin reflected in an interview with 9Entertainment this week.
"I was just blindsided. I don't think you ever expect anybody to talk to you in that way or say those things. He wasn't even treating me like a human being."
She also made some telling comments when giving advice to others navigating similar situations.
"If I could give any message to anyone who has gone through something similar, it would be that sometimes the things people say to you say more about them as a person than you," she said.
"Sometimes, it has absolutely nothing to do with you. Always try to love and respect yourself enough to remove people who treat you like that from your life."
Ultimately, Caitlin and Shannon didn't last. While Shannon wrote 'Stay' in the couple's final commitment ceremony, the experts allowed Caitlin to make the final call and she chose to walk.
Claire & Jesse
Claire and Jesse have been one of the most talked about couples this season. The most recent drama has been surrounding Claire's admission that she cheated on him, kissing another groom, Adam Seed.
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Living in separate apartments has given them time to think about the future of their relationship, and it seems they have worked on resolving matters. While there was eventually some hope that these reality stars would last beyond MAFS, Jesse couldn't truly forgive and forget. In episode 25, both Jesse and Claire decided to 'leave' the show and are no longer together.
Janelle & Adam
Janelle and Adam started off as the picture-perfect couple, but they had a fair few hurdles to face. From Janelle questioning Adam's financial stability to Adam revealing that he's cheated before, there were many question marks surrounding the future of their romance. Plus, let's not forget Adam admitted to cheating on Janelle with Claire once the news was out in the open.
Before going into the show, Janelle had an additional layer of anxiety, telling Refinery29 Australia she feared her TV husband wouldn't like her because she's Asian. Adam, who has Jamaican West Indian heritage, hasn't had an issue with Han's background.
In their final commitment ceremony, both Janelle and Adam wrote 'leave' and are no longer together.
Lyndall & Cameron
Lyndall and Cameron have been branded fan favourites from the very start. The couple has navigated some serious conversations, including Lyndall opening up about having cystic fibrosis, and they've also bonded over their similar values.
However, we've recently seen some cracks in their relationship. In episode 12, Lyndall expressed her desire to raise an issue at the weekly dinner party. She had seen co-star Shannon Adams out on the weekend with another woman, and wanted to alert his wife, Caitlin McConville. But Cameron was not keen for any drama on the night, fearing it would impact their relationship as well.
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“I didn’t get married to every man and his dog here, I got married to you,” Cameron told Lyndall, to which she replied, “I’m friends with everyone here.”
Another tiff involved Cameron refusing to give Lyndall a hug when her mother suggested it to him. Overall, the pair are still looking very loved-up on-screen, and the only thing that could cast any doubt is unconfirmed speculation of Lyndall and co-star Josh getting close after filming ended.
Melinda & Layton
Melinda and Layton are a match made in heaven on paper, with their similar ambitions for success. While they got off to a rocky start, they revealed that they had smoothed over any issues and were going well at the first commitment ceremony.
Intimacy Week has probably been the most challenging for the pair so far, with biotech CEO Layton not taking one of the challenges — involving the couple staring into one another's eyes for five minutes — seriously.
Disappointed in Layton's lack of commitment to the challenge, Melinda said: "I don't feel like our relationship is a priority. I feel like if we stay how we are it's going to fizzle out because there's no substance there".
By the time final vows came around, the couple were able to rebuild what they had throughout the social experiment, choosing to stay together after the show.
"In case you're still confused with how I feel about you, let me make it clear, I love you and I want us to be together," Melinda told Layton at the final vows.
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However, rumours are swirling that the pair's relationship is on the rocks since filming wrapped up.
"Melinda and Layton are technically still together, but their relationship hasn’t blossomed like she’d hoped since filming wrapped," an alleged insider told Yahoo Lifestyle. "They’ve been doing long distance but it’s fizzled a little bit as they’re both so busy running their businesses."
Melissa & Josh
In the few weeks that their marriage aired on screen, Melissa and Josh went through many ups and downs. While there were expressions of love and compassion that made for joyful on-screen moments, there was also just as much drama and conflict that made us wonder what the outcome of this experiment would be.
The couple didn't quite see eye-to-eye on sex during the show, and this led to some heated arguments. While Melissa emphasised the importance of intimacy in a relationship, Josh withdrew and claimed, "I'm just seen as a sex object here".
When Josh challenged Mel as to what other aspects there were to her personality besides a love of sex, she gave him an ultimatum, saying the relationship will "crash and burn" if "the sex doesn't keep up".
Unfortunately the pair couldn't resolve their differences, and despite Mel writing 'Stay' at their last commitment ceremony, the show's experts allowed Josh to leave the experiment due to his wellbeing.
Sandy & Dan
Despite them appearing to be one of the sweetest couples who belong together, photographic evidence indicates otherwise. Photos published on Daily Mail reveal that Dan has moved on with nurse Samantha Symes, who happened to be a guest at Dan and Sandy's MAFS wedding. Talk about a plot twist!
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Tahnee & Ollie
Tahnee and Ollie were smitten by each other from the very first moment they laid eyes on one another, and it seems that spark is still going strong.
Photos recently published by Yahoo Lifestyle show the pair out and about in Sydney's beachside suburb, Bondi in early February, months after filming wrapped up. The pair were seen holding hands and sharing a kiss, and if that's not proof they're still together, we don't know what is.
Evelyn & Rupert
They entered the experiment as intruders, but Evelyn and Rupert have definitely made up for lost time. While they're taking things slow in the physical department, they're still one of the stronger couples otherwise.
If recent pap snaps published in Daily Mail are anything to go by, it seems Evelyn and Ellis could still be together as they were photographed enjoying breakfast together in Sydney earlier this month.
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