We’ve had a few Married At First Sight (MAFS) 2025 cast members pipe up this year about feeling stuck on the show due to the contract they had signed.
Lawyer Jahan Kalantar recently told Tahnee Cook and Selina Chhaur on the Back To Reality podcast that he’s read the legal document, and described it as “scary”.
He’s a Sydney-based criminal lawyer who is the Founder and Managing Partner of Executive Law Group — so he knows his stuff! Apparently, he read the MAFS contract in detail after a client asked for advice.
“I spent hours trying to persuade my client not to go on this show,” he said. “Look, I’m telling you. I look at contracts all day, and I look at big contracts. We’re talking sales of multimillion-dollar properties and whatnot. This is a big, scary contract. It’s intimidating.”
He told Tahnee and Selina that the first page was in plain English, and compared it to a warning on a can of bug spray. He claimed the contract lets contestants know they will be portrayed however they see fit, because the network “owns” them.
“That to me, was something quite unusual,” he said. “I mean, good on them for at least putting the label up front and letting you know.
“But things like, you know, ‘We’re going to record you, you may not be aware that we’re recording you’, is a part of that particular contract — it’s staggering. Like it’s really genuinely staggering.”
Jahan compared the job of a MAFS contestant to a “galley slave”, claiming they’re required to work 12, 13, 14 hour days on set for “basically minimum wage”.
“They are telling you like ‘Based on how we feel, we very well may portray you in a way that is completely disingenuous to who you actually are. And we may very well destroy your life.’,” he claimed.
MAFS’ Richard reveals clauses from the MAFS 2024 contract
MAFS’ oldest groom ever, Richard Sauerman, recently shared some clauses from his contract on Instagram, and it’s surprising. He claimed that the entire contract was 37 pages long — which is a doozy!
Describing the clauses as “the seven rules of the game”, he showed viewers what cast members have to agree to, which include:
- You may or may not be shown in a way that you consider favourable or unfavourable.
- You may be shown in a way you consider to be embarrassing.
- You and your Partner may not result in a successful or compatible match.
- You may receive a lot of public attention, including on TV, in newspapers, social media and by paparazzi and other commentators, that may be untrue, negative or unwanted.
- You are not guaranteed financial rewards or fame by participating – this is a program where the main goal is to find love.
- Your appearance on the Program may result in others seeing or treating you differently in your personal, work or professional life.
- You may experience these things during and after your participation in the Program and its broadcast in both Australia and internationally.
That’s a lot to agree to — and there are many other pages! The MAFS cast members are stronger than me, that’s for sure.
Married At First Sight 2025 airs Sundays at 7pm and Monday – Wednesday at 7:30pm on Channel 9 and 9Now.
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