Every season of MAFS Australia, some participants come out looking a little worse for wear, and more often than not, those brides and grooms blame it on the edit.
The show’s top boss Tara McWilliams has dismissed claims about the unfair portrayal of the participants and called them “bulls**t” in an interview with Daily Mail Australia.
However, Olivia Frazer, who was by far the most villainous bride on MAFS 2023, has fired back at the claims, saying that it’s a form of gaslighting.
What did Tara McWilliams say?
Tara McWilliams was the Executive Producer of MAFS from 2016 for six years. In 2023, she was promoted to the role of director of content at Endemol Shine Australia, the production company behind the hit reality TV show.
Tara told Daily Mail Australia that she doesn’t believe that edits on MAFS misconstrue what a participant actually said or did.
“I don’t agree that someone good gets a villain edit,” she told the publication.
“We don’t manufacture storylines or characters,” she added. “What you see is a reflection of absolutely what’s happened on the show.”
“It’s not a villain edit. It’s the edit… If you’ve got your so-called hero edit, it’s because you’re behaving well.”
What did Olivia Frazer say?
After Tara’s interview was published, ahead of MAFS Australia 2024‘s premiere on January 29, former bride Olivia Frazer took to Instagram to slam Tara’s claims.
“Let me not mince my words here: MAFS executive producers coming out and doing their yearly interview saying that their show ‘holds a mirror up to the participant’s self’ is the biggest crock of s**t,” she began.
“They’re only coming out and saying this preemptive to the show (as they do every year) to defend their editing/manipulation/detrimental choices, to coerce the audience into believe their narratives (for ratings), to gaslight participants (both past and present) and to discredit the many voices that ‘the edit’ has crucified.”
She continued, “EVERY YEAR there are more and more of us calling out the edit and that’s for a reason. Please remember that when watching any reality show. When enough voices are saying the same thing, eventually the public will have to believe it.”
Married at First Sight 2024 will premiere at 7:30pm on January 29th on Channel Nine and 9Now.
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