TV

Former MAFS bride Nicole speaks out: “Craig made me feel unsafe”

After leaving the show last season as a couple, Nicole Heir has made shocking allegations that "husband" Craig Keller was "abusive" towards her.
Nicole Heir, Craig Keller, Married at First Sight

Behind closed doors, marriage isn’t always sunshine and rainbows – let alone if it’s displayed on national television!

Just ask former Married at First Sight star Nicole Hier.

The Gold Coast teacher, 28, has fans lost for words after revealing she felt extremely “unsafe” during her TV relationship with “groom” Craig Keller last season, thanks to his battle with alcohol and prescription pain medication.

Nicole Heir and Craig Keller in happier times during last season of MAFS.

“I came home from work [on a Friday evening] and the house was a pigsty, there was a smashed glass…he’d been drinking all day,” Nicole tells News.com.au.

“He was off work on compo [worker’s compensation] so he’d been taking strong pain relief with alcohol and no sleep.”

Which of course proved a recipe for disaster, with Craig allegedly sent into an aggressive rage towards Nicole and an unnamed MAFS producer.

“He was disrespectful and abusive,” Nicole claims, also admitting they had to cancel one episode’s dinner party due to Keller’s erratic behaviour.

The couple certainly had their tense moments on the show.

After ditching the dinner date, Nicole says she decided to stay at a friend’s place for the weekend, seeking refuge from a seemingly unpredictable Craig.

So, what does the former Navy engineer have to say for himself?

Well, upon seeing Nicole’s allegation, Craig denies that he’d been mixing pills and potions, claiming there were never any plans for a dinner party, but rather a night on the town with their friends and the camera crew.

However, he does confirm they spent the evening apart, but only because of Nicole’s posh pals.

The pair’s relationship has took a turn for the worst after leaving the show last year.

“Nicole and her friends were a bit more ‘upper class’ than I am,” Craig explains to news.com.au.

“They sort of looked down on us, and my mates didn’t want a bar of it – they were disgusted.”

Meanwhile, despite Nicole and Craig committing to stay together during the show’s final episode last season, they actually called it quits as soon as the show finished airing on national TV.

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But they just can’t seem to agree on who decided to call things off.

“I knew he wasn’t the right one for me,” Nicole tells the publication. “But I didn’t want to break his heart on national TV…but we broke up the next time I saw him.”

Whereas Keller says they still were sharing smooches and going on a few dates after the show ended, before he said enough was enough.

“I ended up pulling the pin with her because of a few statements her and her mates were saying that weren’t true,” he claims.

What a mess!

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