They fell in love on one of Australia’s most watched reality shows – but life after Married At First Sight for Stella Mickunaite and Filip Gregov now looks refreshingly ordinary.
The newly engaged couple, who are living together in Sydney’s Sutherland Shire, say that despite the whirlwind of the experiment, settling into real life together has felt surprisingly natural.
“Nothing has even changed,” Stella tells Woman’s Day. “It seems like life is actually the same. We’re the same people. It seems like [MAFS is] just a thing that you did in the past – like, you finish school and the school years are done and you just live your life.”
Filip agrees – though he’s candid about the come-down that followed the show’s adrenaline-fuelled pace. “It’s been amazing coming out after the experiment, but it’s been a massive dopamine detox, I’ll be honest,” he says. “A big crash after a big high. But life’s good. We’re just going about it.”
The couple have settled into easy domesticity, complete with a new dog named Bobby.
WEDDING BELLS – EVENTUALLY
Fans eager for a wedding date will need to sit tight a little longer. The pair say they’d love to tie the knot next year, with an overseas ceremony on the cards, but are refreshingly real about the fact that love doesn’t pay the bills.
“Ideally, it would be amazing to get married next year,” Stella says. “But it’s also real life. It’s also the bills. We’re not exempt from anything.”
Filip, who says he’ll likely head back to work on the tools in the meantime, is characteristically upbeat about the timeline – if a little dreamy. “I’m a little bit more positive and delusional,” he admits with a grin. “I’m like, ‘yeah, we’re going to do this’. But at the end of the day, we still need to figure out the logistics of it.”
Both agree that after such a rapid start to their relationship, slowing down has been the right call. “Since we had such a fast-paced beginning, having a little bit of time and just adapting to our new reality – adapting to a new life with a new person instead of rushing and going 100 miles an hour – that’s where we are,” Stella explains.
THE PRESSURE IS REAL
It’s not all smooth sailing, of course. The couple acknowledges that life post-MAFS comes with a unique kind of pressure – one that most newly-coupled-up pairs don’t face.
“Coming out of the experiment, we’ve got a unique set of challenges,” Stella says. “There’s pressure to stay together, pressure to have kids, pressure to have it all sorted. But we’re just navigating it.”
The question of children is one that seems to come up constantly. “Every second person is basically asking ‘where’s the kids’?” Stella says. “And I’m like, ‘woah!’ All in due time.”
Filip echoes her sentiment: “I just have to appreciate what season we’re in. At the moment, we’re absorbing the wave. We’ve just come off the wave, we’re still getting used to each other. Because at the end of the day, we are still fresh – in the whole scheme of things.”
That freshness is something the couple doesn’t take for granted. As Filip notes, it has only been ten months since their journey began – a milestone that still catches him off-guard. “It’s coming up to our one year anniversary. It’s crazy.”
GOING AT THEIR OWN PACE
As for their upcoming anniversary celebrations? Filip’s lips are sealed – but there’s clearly something being planned. “We’ll see, we’ll see,” he teases.
What’s evident is that Stella and Filip are navigating post-MAFS life on their own terms, and tuning out any outside noise. “We’re just enjoying it all and lapping it up,” Filip says.
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