The cast of this year’s Married At First Sight were left disappointed after appearing on the reality series but failing to find fame.
The 2024 contestants are “furious” that they didn’t build a social media following during their time on the show and are now frantically looking for ways to make money after quitting their regular jobs while production was underway.
According to Yahoo Lifestyleviewers of the Channel Nine series “failed to get along with the contestants like in previous years” and most cast members failed to gain enough social media followers to become influencers full time.
A source told the outlet that many brides and grooms were “banking on” their TV appearance to become famous.
The only star to receive a significantly growing fan base is Byron Bay native and fan favorite Lucinda Light, who has 139,000 followers on Instagram as of March 19.
The cast of this year’s Married At First Sight were left disappointed after appearing on the reality series but failing to find fame. Pictured: Eden Harper
Meanwhile, Lauren Dunn’s official Instagram account has 67,800 followers, Eden Harper 67,000 and Cassandra Allen 53,300.
Madeleine Maxwell, who appeared as an interloper on the show, has the fewest Instagram followers of the cast, with a dismal 1,254.
This year’s cast is a far cry from those in previous seasons, with stars like Martha Kalifatidis boasting 705,000 followers on Instagram and 135,600 on TikTok.
An anonymous Season 11 participant told the Today’s telegraph that they are now “broke” after giving up their full-time jobs to star in this year’s show.
“I couldn’t even pay my rent with what we were paid,” they told the newspaper, which revealed that participants received $150 per day and $125 in food allowance.
Contestants are “furious” that they didn’t develop a social following while on the show and are now frantically looking for ways to make money after quitting their regular jobs while production was underway. Pictured: Sara Mesa and Tim Calwell
Viewers of the Channel Nine series ‘failed to get along with the contestants like in previous years’ and most of the cast failed to gain enough social media followers to become full-time influencers . Pictured: Andrea Thompson
“We were filming late, so I ordered takeout most nights. I spent a bomb on outfits, hair and makeup, and to top it off, they didn’t even let us wear what we wanted.
In recent years, a number of former contestants have revealed what they earned on the controversial show, with most saying they barely earned enough to survive.
Speaking to the Daily Mail Australia earlier this year, series nine contestant Al Perkins admitted he earns a pittance for his time.
“MAFS will pay you a little over a thousand dollars a week… But only after the endorsements will you make money,” said Al, who appeared on the show in 2022 .
The bride and groom “banked on” their appearance on television to become famous. Pictured: Tristan Black
Domenica Calarco, who appeared on the show in 2022, also previously revealed that she receives a weekly salary of around $1,050.
Similarly, MAFS 2023 Married Jesse Burford claimed he makes almost the same amount, revealing in an Instagram Story last May that contestants on his season were paid $1,175 per week.
And Nasser Sultan, who appeared in season five in 2018, also revealed that his salary on the show didn’t even cover his living expenses.
“You get $150 for the day, that’s it,” the former music promoter told Now to Love in January 2023.
“But on top of that, you have to pay expenses – your living expenses with the woman you marry. »
Fan favorite Lucinda Light currently has 139,000 followers on Instagram
Lauren Dunn’s official Instagram account has 67,800 followers
“It’s not clear at $150. You still have to pay rent if you rent, you have to pay your rego and it’s 12-hour filming days,” he added.
Nasser, who was “married” to single mother Gabrielle Bartlett, added that none of the contestants’ grocery stores were covered and producers forced them to shop at the same expensive grocery store during filming.
“Gab and I were sometimes spending up to $70 a day to live on, so we didn’t have much left after that,” he said.
The controversial star also claimed he earned less than some of his co-stars, calling out Davina Rankin and Sarah Roza, who he claimed earned $50 more than him per day.
An anonymous season 11 contestant recently admitted he’s now “broke” after giving up his full-time job to star in this year’s show. Pictured: Tim Calwell
“Basically, the more you did for the show, the more you got,” he continued.
Mikey Pembroke from the 2020 season, meanwhile, said the contestants didn’t make a cent while filming MAFS and the only money they received was to “live on” during production.
“You don’t get paid at all — that’s one thing that needs to change,” he previously said on the I’ve Got News for You podcast.
“But the show makes an incredible amount of money. And, let’s say, you were on, you know, a TV show that’s doing really well, the actors are getting paid more and more because it’s doing really well.