Reality TV

MAFS star Ella Ding reveals which contestants are still friends and who can’t stand each other

''I didn’t get good energy from her.''
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There are plenty of feuds (and a handful of successful relationships) on this season of Married At First Sight, but what about friendships? As we learned from Donkey in Shrek, you’ve gotta have friends.

But, which MAFS contestants managed to keep their bonds going beyond the experiment and which ones will “probably hate each other until we die” – let’s investigate.

This season’s biggest rivalry is between Olivia Frazer and Domenica Calarco, with tensions brewing from the beginning. The pair had been bickering for weeks when a “glassing” incident occurred at the Couple’s Retreat – and Dom’s attempts to apologise didn’t go over well with Olivia.

Ella spilled the goss on who’s still friends.

(Image: Nine)

“I think it’s absolutely disgusting that she’s getting a hero edit when she’s been revolting to her husband and other cast members,” Olivia says. “In all the major issues, Domenica is the common denominator.”

It’s fair to say they’re not friends outside of the experiment, with Olivia revealing if she had control of her Instagram account right now she wouldn’t be following Dom. Nine reps are running the contestant’s accounts in order to post in line with the show and protect them from social media bullying.

“I would completely block her. I think if there was any direct contact between us I would be absolutely appalling. It would be nothing but inappropriate,” she said in a radio interview.

Olivia actually makes a valid point, with the contestants unable to control their own Instagram accounts right now we don’t exactly know how most of the stars feel about one-another. But we have a few clues (and some intel from Ella Ding) about who is still in contact and who isn’t.

Ella has remained close with Domenica and her husband Jack.

(Image: Nine)

In an interview with WHO, Ella revealed she considers Domenica one of her best friends now.

“Domenica, she’s one of my best friends. I’ve gained a true close friend out of this experiment; she always had my back and I always had hers. She’s always got everyone’s back but people misunderstand where she’s trying to come from,” Ella said in March.

“It’s the reason why we’ve all been put on this experiment, to talk about what’s going on, and Domenica would always be that person who was like let’s talk about it – but some people would take it the wrong way of her butting in.”

Ella also added that out in the real world, where it’s been months since filming wrapped, she’s in a close friendship group with Domenica and her husband, Jack Millar, along with Brent Vitiello, Al Perkins, and Selina Chhaur.

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The spouses of Ella, Brent, Al and Selina were not mentioned in the group, which is kind of telling – but that’s literally another story, which you can read here.

“We are all so close. I’m in Sydney like every second weekend just so I can hang out with them. And we have a group chat that we talk in 500 times a day – we’re just like this little family, and the support is there. They understand what you’ve been through,” she said.

Ella also adds she had “a gut feeling” about Tamara Djordjevic and Olivia from the first time she met them – and claims her intuition was right and she’s not on friendly terms with the ladies now.

“There were definitely shifts that formed and divides that do form between the women especially, and when I look back on it on my first impressions, everything I thought was right. And everything I thought was going to happen, did happen,” she said.

“They didn’t show it, but at the hens party Tamara said something about if she didn’t like her husband, she would steal someone else’s,” Ella reveals, adding it rubbed her the wrong way.

Ella said she didn’t get “good energy” from Olivia after meeting her for the first time at the hens’ party.

(Image: Nine)

“From the get-go at the hens party, I didn’t get good energy from Olivia. She’s nice on first impressions, but I had this feeling in me that there was something else to her. I was like oooh, I don’t really know.”

While the core group of friends from the experiment is clear, there are also a few other friendships that have lasted beyond the show.

Selin Mengu, who left about halfway through the experiment, has been seen hanging out with fellow ex-bride Holly Greenstein. She’s also been spotted hanging out with the “Sydney crew” on a few occasions.

It doesn’t look like Olivia and her husband, Jackson Lonie, have been spending much time with their co-stars – but they do still appear to be together in the real world so we guess they can be each others friends?

This article originally appeared on our sister site WHO.

Want more on Married At First Sight season nine? Check out the links below:

A pro wrestler, a motivational speaker and divorcees: Meet the brides and grooms vying for love on Married At First Sight 2022

Is Married At First Sight real or fake? Let’s examine the evidence

A match made in MAFS: All the Married At First Sight couples who have stayed together after filming ended

Is Married At First Sight legal in Australia? Why the Marriage Act makes things complicated

How much do Married At First Sight contestants get paid in Australia?

What a transformation! These Married At First Sight stars are unrecognisable from their days on the show

The most shocking, hilarious and downright disturbing Married at First Sight bombshells

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