Married At First Sight might not have the best track record for creating lasting love but the show sure is great at creating villains.
Over the 12-season run, we’ve witnessed the wild and shocking behaviour of many villains including cheating scandals, throwing glasses of wine, body-shaming comments and general gaslighting and toxic behaviour.
While editing definitely plays a part, there are some storylines that are too wild for even a MAFS producer to conjure up.
Here are the biggest villains in MAFS history, ranked:
9. Cyrell Paule
Coming in at last place is Cyrell Paule from season six.
Cyrell was quickly given the nickname “Cyclone Cyrell” when her season aired in 2018 and she gave the audience plenty of entertainment.
And while she did some pretty wild things over the season — like throwing a glass of red wine over her fellow contestant Martha Kalifatidis and smashing a fruit bowl — she also kind of won our hearts with her hilarious personality and commentary.
Since MAFS, Cyrell has brought her trademark drama to The Amazing Race: Celebrity Edition, which she appeared in with her now-partner Love Island’s Eden Dally, and the current season of I’m A Celeb, where she’s already clashing with singer Deni Hines.
8. Lauren Hall
Australia really had Lauren’s back when she first walked down the aisle on the 2025 season of MAFS to her groom Elliot, who quickly decided he wasn’t into her.
However, when she re-entered the experiment with Clint as her new groom, she quickly became the villain. It was pretty clear she didn’t want to be matched with Clint and she didn’t think much of the other contestants.
During the couples’ retreat, Lauren stormed off from Girls’ Night after calling the other female contestants “boganic”. She also called Jamie Marinos a “troll”.
7. Ryan Donnelly
Ryan Donnelly shocked viewers with his strange behaviour on the 2025 season of Married At First Sight.
Ryan was paired with Jacqui Burfoot, with the couple butting heads throughout the season and going on to take AVOs out against each other.
In the Final Vows, Jacqui said: “Ryan, in a world of red flags, you are the red carpet”, to which he responded “be gone with you, you horrible woman”.
6. Olivia Fraser
Olivia Fraser spent most of her season of MAFS clashing with fellow contestant Domenica Calarco.
While editing may have played a role here, Olivia seemed to bait Dom throughout the season until she would meltdown.
During the couples’ retreat, Olivia lashed out at Dom and criticised her speaking voice, which Dom said she had experienced all of her life because of her Italian heritage.
Later in the season, Olivia also shared an image from Dom’s then-defunct OnlyFans page with the rest of the group, sparking outrage.
5. Davina Rankin
Davina was the other half of MAFS’ first cheating scandal in 2018 when she secretly met up with Dean Wells in season 5.
She was quickly labelled a villain, not only because she interfered with Tracey Jewel’s marriage to Dean but because she also went behind her onscreen husband Ryan Gallagher’s back, who was on the show hoping to make a genuine connection.
When he later appeared on I’m A Celeb, Ryan claimed Davina had planned to cheat on him from the get-go.
“We were on the honeymoon, and we were intimate and stuff like that. You sort of get lost in the moment,” he said.
“As we’re flying back from the honeymoon, as we were landing, she goes, ‘You know when we get back we meet other people and you can hook up with anyone’
“I had to take her to my parents’ place. I’ve only introduced four girls to my family,” he revealed. “I didn’t tell mum and dad what happened. I knew they would treat her different, so I left it. But Davina apparently had other plans. She told my mum [about the affair]. She started crying and everything.”
4. Bryce Ruthven
Bryce was matched with Melissa Rawson on the show and quickly became the season’s villain for what was deemed as gaslighting, toxic behaviour and even having a secret girlfriend before entering the experiment.
During their honeymoon, Bryce told Melissa she wasn’t his “type”.
“I’ll be completely honest. Not 100 per cent,” he said.
“I’ve always gone for the blonde hair, blue eyes, tan kinda girl. And usually tall. I can’t say 100 per cent I’d come up to you in a bar and buy you a drink,” he continued.
“When I first saw you I thought, ‘Not my type.’ But, I thought, she’s not… ugly?”
He then ranked her fourth in terms of which women he was most attracted to in the experiment.
The couple continued to butt heads with the other contestants throughout the season, before leaving the show together and welcoming twin boys.
3. Jack Toole
Jack quickly revealed himself as the villain on the 2024 season of Married At First Sight.
He was paired with Tori on the show and made several comments about her appearance throughout the season, telling her she wasn’t his “type”.
During a heated conversation with Lauren Dunne at one of the dinner parties, Jack asked her partner Jonathan “Can you muzzle your woman?”, sending the other contestants and the rest of Australia reeling.
Later, during the couples’ retreat, he made a comment about “whales” while some of the other contestants, including Timothy Smith and Tristan Black, were lying beside the pool.
Jack later defended his comments to TV Week, saying he was actually talking about some of the female contestants.
“I walked into the pool and said, ‘The whales are out’ – meaning me, Lauren and Jade,” he said at the time.
“It was a self-deprecating joke, and the girls laughed their a**es off. They clearly aren’t whales – they looked amazing. Now, Timothy, my arch-nemesis, brings the moment to light, claiming I’ve called everyone a whale, knowing it would trigger Tristan [who has body confidence issues]. I was disgusted. I said, ‘Timothy, I would never say that to anyone who wouldn’t find it funny.’”
2. Harrison Boon
Harrison was the main villain on the 2023 season of MAFS.
He was partnered with Bronte Schofield on the show and was called out by the other contestants for constantly gaslighting her. He also made several comments about Bronte’s body throughout the season including “You’re not as shredded as you were,” “You’ve let yourself go,” and “You’re fluffy now”.
After the show, Harrison really lived up to his villain persona by posting the dating profiles of some of the MAFS brides, including Bronte, and calling them “unmarryables”.
He also called ex-Bachelor contestant Abbie Chatfield “another unmarryable”.
1. Dean Wells
Coming in at number 1, is Dean Wells from season 5.
Dean was partnered with Tracey Jewel on the show, but mid-season he began to have an affair with Davina Rankin.
The pair started exchanging flirty messages before meeting up for a secret drink, and sneaking away from the dinner party for a secret conversation, where they decided “this is a thing”.
However, before the next commitment ceremony, Dean slept with Tracey.
“It meant something more than just a physical thing, and seemed to mean a bit more last night, I felt,” he told the experts at the commitment ceremony while Tracey nodded and Davina looked shocked.
After Davina and her partner Ryan left the experiment, Dean once again shocked viewers by asking whether any of the other male contestants would like to “bang” Tracey during the Boys’ Night.
“What about Tracey guys, she’s hot? Can someone just say they want to bang Tracey?” he said.
Despite all of this, Dean professed his love for Tracey at the Final Vows and said he wanted to start a life with her.
Thankfully, Tracey told him he “doesn’t deserve her” and walked away.
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