‘Frozen with fear’: Claims MAFS UK brides raped
Two women who appeared on the British version of Married At First Sight have claimed they were raped by their on screen partners.
Sam Creed – The Sun
Two brides on the UK version of reality TV powerhouse Married At First Sight have alleged they were raped by their on-screen husbands, a bombshell investigation has found.
A third accused her on-screen partner of sexual misconduct, and claimed she had to have an abortion weeks after leaving the show, The Sun reports.
Married At First Sight, based on a Danish reality TV format, has been a huge hit around the world including in Australia. The allegations are only about the British version of the show.
An investigation by UK current affairs programPanorama, from the BBC, has seen all three women criticising British broadcaster Channel 4 for not doing enough to protect them.
The broadcaster says the claims are “wholly uncorroborated and disputed”.
It has since removed all previous seasons of Married At First Sight UK (MAFS UK) from its streaming platforms.
Channel 4 said the decision was made following “very serious allegations of wrongdoing” made against a small number of past contributors.
In the programs, to be aired on Monday in the UK, MAFS contestant Shona Manderson, who appeared on the show in 2023, was one of the brides who made an allegation.
Ms Manderson said she had an abortion after claiming her on-screen partner ejaculated inside her without permission.
She claims experts had separately picked up on her partner’s controlling mannerisms at the time of the incident.
She told how she later went to get the morning-after pill while accompanied by one of the show’s welfare producers.
But days after CPL – the production company behind the show – and Channel 4 removed the couple, Ms Manderson discovered she was pregnant.
She told Panorama: “I made the choice to go through with an abortion. It was really hard”.
Ms Manderson admitted she does not know if the pregnancy resulted from the alleged incident.
The couple stayed together for six weeks after leaving the show, but separated shortly afterwards.
Another bride, who is known as “Lizzie” to protect her anonymity, alleged her on-screen husband raped her and threatened to throw acid at her.
She told how she “froze with fear” during the alleged attack, which left her with visible fingerprints where he had grabbed her.
Chloe told the program he then said to her, “you’re making me feel like a rapist”.
The BBC warned the investigation raises serious concerns that welfare procedures on the hit reality series have failed.
However, the men deny all the allegations against them.
Channel 4 and CPL have said that the welfare protocols are robust and comprehensive.
In a statement, Channel 4 said: “We have not seen the program and will comment when we know more”.
The article was published in The Sun and is reproduced with permission.
Source: https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/tv/reality-tv/married-at-first-sight/frozen-with-fear-claims-mafs-uk-brides-raped/news-story/ed9f812cc507e3304cf28ab5430c4cd0?