There are a few Married At First Sight (MAFS) 2025 stars who have been going rogue and lapping up airtime, including Adrian Araozou, Eliot Donovan and Jacqui Burfoot. It’s possible those who are most active on social media are looking to stay in the public eye, and Awhina Rutene believes Adrian went on MAFS purely for fame.
“Adrian 100 per cent wasn’t there for the right reasons,” she tells Chattr. “100 per cent [he] was there to get famous. I mean it’s very telling. You know, the experiment has ended and you know, I feel like those cast members that have gone rogue, they’re the ones that are going, ‘I want more limelight’.
“’I’m not getting the following I wanted from this experiment. I’m going to go out there and build my own platform again.’ So it’s very telling.”
When Awhina first met Adrian, he was apparently talking about how he did TikTok with his best friend Jasmin Weston (also known as JasminsEats) each Saturday and he had supposedly been in touch with ex-MAFS participants.
“His vision board had [social media] followers on it… he would really talk production to me, [would] talk about ‘main characters’,” Awhina claims.
“I’d never spoken to an ex-participant. I’d never watched the show before. I don’t have Facebook, I don’t have a huge social media following, I didn’t need to film TikToks. There was so much language being used… that I didn’t understand.”
So why did Awhina stay? Well, apparently she thought Adrian could possibly find fame as well as having a successful relationship with her.
“There’s a few people in here that have these online platforms, and maybe they’re not here for the right reasons, but if you’re open and you guys are a match, then cool. You get what you came in for, but you also get that bonus of building this really beautiful relationship,” she explains.
“But he wasn’t there for the right reasons… [he used to say], ‘I’m the main character. I’m holding the show on my back.’ You know, ‘there is no show without me’.”
@araz.twins Replying to @Jazmynn_ we needed a redemption and this was our turning point @Eliot Donovan #marriedatfirstsight #mafsaustralia #mafs #mafsau ♬ original sound – araz.twins
Does Awhina regret going on MAFS?
Even though Awhina has been through the wringer with Adrian, she doesn’t regret being part of the MAFS 2025 cast.
“It was so disappointing to come into this experiment… [because] I felt like I was giving up a lot to be there, and I never had any emotional support from Adrian,” she says, explaining how she had to leave her young son in Perth.
“At first, there were so many moments where I had so much regret, but when I got home… I reconnected with my son, and we never lost that connection. I’ve got this beautiful community that opened their arms to me when I got home,” she says.
“I am grateful I did this experiment, because Adrian had a huge online platform prior to coming on [MAFS], and everyone thought he was this really amazing, genuine guy. I’m so grateful I did this experiment so people can see themselves in this really harsh mirror that maybe they wouldn’t have seen if he was partnered with someone else.”
Awhina also mentions she has come away with some “beautiful people” in her life, including her best friend Jamie Marinos.
“She’s been this most amazing support person throughout the experiment and afterwards,” Awhina gushes.
Hmm. It doesn’t sound like Awhina and Adrian are on good terms at all now! It’s about time!
Married At First Sight 2025 airs Sundays at 7pm and Monday – Wednesday at 7:30pm on Channel 9 and 9Now.
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