EXCLUSIVE: Married At First Sight is set to swing by a ‘surprise twist’ — experts force newlyweds to swap partners over the weekend and share the same bed for three days
The bombshell twist of Married at First Sight will be introduced next week.
Daily Mail Australia can reveal that Channel Nine is poised to change the experience by encouraging actors to swap partners and share the same bed for three days.
Couples will be encouraged to step out of their comfort zones and forced to live with another partner in the tiny apartment, which will see some participants directly refuse and walk out of the experience.
Relationships will be tested like never before when a partner exchange assignment is introduced.
Speaking to Daily Mail Australia, relationship expert John Aiken explained: ‘We’re constantly trying to confront couples they might encounter in the real world, but in a very intense short period of time – eight weeks.
Married At First Sight is set to introduce a new twist next week. Daily Mail Australia can reveal that Channel Nine is poised to change the experience by encouraging its cast to swap partners. Pictured: Melinda Willis and Robert Bogden pictured together at the resort
Relationships will be tested like never before when a partner exchange assignment is introduced. Pictured: John Aiken
“Some of them strengthen their bond as a result of these challenges, but other couples really start to fall apart, so how do they deal with that?”
In this series, we have some major challenges that I think really test couples, and really take them out of their comfort zone.
“That’s good because it’s year 10 and we need our participants to be constantly present and aware of what’s going on in the experiment – they can’t be complacent.”
MAFS executive producers Tara McWilliams and John Walsh said that while the challenge may have come as a surprise to participants, the idea is not new.
“I don’t think it’s a huge shift,” McWilliams explained. I won’t go into too much detail, but there are new elements to the experience this year.
“We’ve always had a swap with partners, it was lunch or dinner, where we’d have different partners to give feedback to each other,” Walsh explained.
It comes after a source told Daily Mail Australia the partner swap challenge was “hell for everyone involved”, and not all participants were willing to take part. (Photographed Alyssa Barmond leaving the hotel the week of the assignment)
Melinda was photographed looking unhappy while resting on her balcony while filming a partner swap assignment
It comes after a source told Daily Mail Australia the partner swap challenge was “hell for everyone involved”, and not all participants were willing to take part.
Not everyone was keen to participate. Layton refused to do so. They didn’t see the point of it and were like, “There’s no way this could happen in the outside world.”
It was said that Layton was furious when he was told he would be paired with Bronte Scofield and refused to participate.
Despite being reluctant, Melinda eventually agreed to move in with rival Harrison Boone (R)
Leighton (left) was said to be furious when told he would be paired with Bronte Scofield (right) and refused to participate
Although hesitant, Melinda eventually agrees to move in with rival Harrison Boone.
Meanwhile, Duncan James will be paired with Evelyn Ellis – while his “wife” Alyssa Barmond will be matched with Cameron Woods.
Another source added, “I don’t know if it was because there were way too many couples in the end and they just wanted to test who was real or not, or they just wanted to shake things up.”
Participants had to live with another partner in Skye Suites, an apartment building in Sydney where MAFS was filmed, for three days to get feedback about their relationships.
Married At First Sight continues Sunday at 7pm on Channel Nine
Meanwhile, Duncan James (left) will be paired with Evelyn Ellis (right) — while his “wife” Alyssa Barmond has been matched with Cameron Woods.