This season of Married At First Sight (MAFS) 2025 has been fraught with controversy, with Paul Antoine’s violent outburst even being investigated by NSW Police.
Paul lost his temper when he heard that his wife Carina Mirable slept with famous rapper Quavo and punched a wall. Since that incident, he has been allowed to stay on the show after being grilled by the experts during the most recent Commitment Ceremony.
Carina told MAFS Funny that as a result of his actions, Paul was banned from alcohol for the rest of the season and he had compulsory therapy sessions weekly.
However, there has been outrage from the public, past MAFS stars and experts — who believe that Paul should have been removed from the show immediately.
As a result, Indigenous not-for-profit organisation What Were You Wearing — who aim to end sexual violence in Australia — has started a petition on Change.org to hold producers and Channel 9 accountable.
At the time of writing, the petition has been signed by 8,710 people, and has been shared by past contestants such as Olivia Frazer.
“One of Australia’s most-watched reality TV programmes, Married At First Sight (MAFS) has a responsibility to uphold the highest ethical standards regarding domestic, family, and sexual violence. Reality television can shape public perceptions of relationships, making it critical that production prioritises participant safety, ethical storytelling and responsible media representation,” the petition reads.
What Were You Wearing has outlined 11 points of action for producers and the network to consider, saying these reforms are “necessary” and urging immediate action.
These include:
- Zero-Tolerance Policy for Abuse
- Real-Time Intervention and Producer Accountability
- Content Warning for Viewers
- Education on Healthy Relationships
- Responsible Editing and Storytelling
- Access to Individual Therapy for Participants
- Comprehensive Background Checks
- Onboarding an Expert Consultant
- Duty of Care
- Clear Post-Show Support and Safeguards
- Accountability and Transparency
You can read the full petition here.
MAFS viewers share their reason for signing petition
Along with signing the petition, many viewers have shared their point of view on the MAFS intimate partner violence storyline and shared why it impacted them.
“Too many women have died in this country from violence,” one person wrote.
“The people that go on MAFS deserve to be protected,” another added.
“Physical violence, intimidation and coercion is not okay and should never be normalised, and playing into this continues to put people’s lives (including children) at risk. Participants should have a right to leave if they don’t feel safe. This is so unethical,” a third remarked.
“Enabling abusive behaviour on one of the country’s biggest shows is unacceptable,” another said.
Married At First Sight 2025 airs Sundays at 7pm and Monday – Wednesday at 7:30pm on Channel 9 and 9Now.
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