If there’s one thing we can safely say about Married At First Sight (MAFS) 2025 it’s that the show is constantly keeping us on our toes when it comes to who falls into the hero or villain category of this season.
With early ‘villains’ starting to win over fans, and loved contestants starting to face backlash over certain behaviours depicted on screen, this season of MAFS isn’t as clear-cut as other seasons when it comes to who Australia is backing.
Take Eliot Donovan, for example: when the 35-year-old was first introduced to MAFS fans, he wasn’t well-received due to his extensive list of requirements of what he wanted in a partner, including someone who was under 30 and who wasn’t a career woman. Many fans sympathised with his bride Lauren Hall after the two fell out during their honeymoons and Eliot took off, never to be seen again.
Or so we thought.
When Eliot returned for his intruder wedding and second attempt on the show, he came back a “changed” man. He was seemingly ready to give things a crack with Veronica Cloherty, and had thrown away his outdated list. Lauren also returned but didn’t win fans (or the group) over with her abrasive nature, snide comments, and seemingly snobby attitude, with many saying they understood why Eliot had walked out.
Then, with Eliot and Veronica clashing in some heated arguments including one where Veronica told Eliot to not raise his voice at her (after he had seemingly been talking in a normal tone to her the whole time) fans started to rally around Eliot.
MAFS cast are rewriting their narrative using TikTok and fans are now apologising to Eliot Donovan
It’s no secret that usually MAFS participants don’t have control over their social media account until well after the show finishes, so they can’t just be jumping on Instagram to unpack their edit as the episodes air and tell their side of the story.
This year’s cast however has found aways around this, with many using business accounts, other private accounts, or starting brand new TikTok accounts to defy the strict rules. Jacqui Burfoot has been busy debunking things as they air, Dave Hand has been keeping fans thirsty over on his business TikTok (until this week’s edit of him anyway), and now Eliot and Adrian Araouzou are using TikTok to poke fun at their own storylines.
Eliot, in particular, has won over a new legion of fans as he paints himself in a jovial light on the app while poking fun at his failed relationships and taking the time to reply to many comments. His tongue-in-cheek TikToks have people commenting things like “we all owe you an apology,” and “my favourite thing is you being THE most hated person at the start of the season to now the least problematic out of the entire cast.”
@not_eliotd Replying to @.. What they didn’t show on TV… #mafs #mafsau #marriedatfirstsight #marriedatfirstsightaustrailia ♬ original sound – Eliot Donovan
MAFS fans have even started labelling Eliot the “people’s princess” and saying he’s the “next favourite contestant after Jamie.”
If MAFS fans are learning from the edit, should they then be going easier on the new ‘villians’?
As Eliot reworks his edit by using TikTok and basks in the change of heart from MAFS fans, the wrath once saved for him has turned onto the women he was matched with, as well as new “villains” like Dave, Paul Antoine, and Carina Mirable.
“Dude, I LOATHED you the first episodes and now I’m like….that freakin show tricked us! Sorry…” one person apologised to Eliot, with the MAFS star saying, “As long as you love me now.”
The irony, however, is that if Eliot’s initial edit was so inaccurate and fooled so many fans, then should people be wary of coming after the new “villains”? Why are people now tearing down Veronica, David, and more as their storylines propel them into villain territory without taking into account that the show is making us believe a certain, dramatised narrative about them too?
MAFS’ Eliot Vs. Veronica
Many of Eliot’s TikToks are now fuelling the fire behind the growing dislike for Veronica, as he uses their storyline to win over new fans while using her voice, quotes, and issues with him as fodder.
Eliot has even taken to the app to heavily imply in a “joking” way that something did happen between Veronica and Dave during Feedback Week, something Dave and Jamie Marinos have both gone on record to deny.
@not_eliotd I’m gonna go get that hot sauce ðŸŒ¶ï¸ #mafs #mafsau #marriedatfirstsight #fyp ♬ original sound – Eliot Donovan
While Eliot and Veronica were clearly not well-matched and while Veronica’s reactions to Eliot may seem disproportionate, it can’t be dismissed that we’re not seeing the whole storyline here, just like we perhaps didn’t see the whole storyline with Eliot and Lauren at the very start when he was painted in a negative light.
@not_eliotd It’s a full time job. 👷ðŸ»â™‚ï¸#mafs #mafsau #marriedatfirstsight #fyp ♬ Hard Work – U.S. Drill Sergeant Field Recordings
The person you’d think would be the most understanding or perhaps sympathetic to a bad edit and the intense wave of hatred that can come from fans would be Eliot himself. But now the heat is off him and he’s been able to rework the narrative in his favour, it can’t be ignored that he’s now leveraged other people’s villain edits to get out of his own. And that’s not exactly something that should be praised.
Married At First Sight 2025 airs Sundays at 7pm and Monday – Wednesday at 7:30pm on Channel 9 and 9Now.
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