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

Some viewers laughed when feisty Ines Basic, made it clear she was repelled by her husband, Bronson Norrish, and yearned for “hotter” participant Sam Ball in 2019. She and Sam went on to share a steamy night on what was meant to be a romantic trip to Queensland’s Gold Coast with their actual partners. Ines was all in for Sam, but he got cold feet and abandoned the experiment – and Ines.

“It’s so embarrassing,” Ines, 34, told TV WEEK. “[The affair] being played on TV is a whole new level of cringe. I haven’t seen or spoken to him since.”

Surely you didn’t think we’d forgotten to include this gem? Arguably one of the most chaotic scenes to ever unfold on MAFS happened during its 2019 season, when Martha threatened to pour red wine on Cyrell… and actually went through with it.

The incident, which is truly a history-making moment for Aussie pop culture, happened during the final dinner party before the couples left to re-enter the real world.

Tensions between Martha, Jess and Cyrell had been building for weeks, so it came as no surprise that things really escalated.

“If [Cyrell] keeps talking to Michael I’m going to crawl across the table and gouge her eyes out,” Martha said after a heated argument with Cyrell, before strutting over and pouring wine directly onto Cyrell’s head.

Cyrell lived up to her nickname of ‘Cyclone Cyrell’ and ran after Martha, managing to splatter red wine on her white Prada frock. Following the incident, Martha admitted she felt regretful over her rash actions. “Totally, it’s embarrassing. I’m a 30-year-old grown woman,” she told 9Now. “In the moment I thought that would be the best option.”

Cheryl Maitland and Andrew Jones were left delighted when, following the implosion of their first marriages in the 2017 season, were given a second shot at love and paired up on the show. However, things were even worse the second time around when Andrew was caught making fun of his new wife during a boys’ night. He made jokes about Cheryl’s intelligence and appearance while saying his former bride, Lauren Bran, was “more fun to hang out with”.

In 2022, the infamous couples’ retreat took a turn when Domenica Calarco and her arch nemesis Olivia Frazer clashed after Olivia declared she was “bored” with hearing Domenica’s voice. An angry Domenica ended up smashing a wine glass against the table, later being accused of using it as a weapon. Allegedly, all glassware was replaced with plastic cups after the incident – what a legacy to leave!

With the LGBTQI+ community calling for the show to be cancelled, season three in 2016 saw the first same-sex couple walk down the aisle. And the timing was perfect, given Australia’s same-sex-marriage plebiscite had just been announced. Unfortunately for Andy Ankers and Craig Roach (above), it wasn’t meant to be, with the pair calling it quits just a few days after saying their “I do’s”.

While it pales in comparison to what is said on the show now, Jono Pitman saying to camera that his bride, Clare Verrall, was “not what I ordered” was all anyone could talk about when it aired in 2016. And from there, things only got worse for the newlyweds. At a painful dinner party with the rest of the couples in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney, the couple engaged in a slanging match that saw Clare call Jono a “pr**k” and abandon their marriage just two weeks into the experiment.

A cheating scandal dominated the 2018 series of MAFS, starting when Davina Rankin and Dean Wells met at the first dinner party of the season. Despite Dean being married to Tracey Jewel and Davina being paired with Ryan Gallagher, he and Davina hit it off and went on to send flirtatious messages, have controversial conversations and even share an on-screen kiss – all while hiding their lustful connection from their partners, sending viewers into a frenzy.

Before there was Cyclone Cyrell or Ines Basic, there was fiery marketing manager Clare Tamas. She sparked some of the 2015 series’ most explosive clashes, with one in particular – their infamous honeymoon fight, where she told husband Lachlan McAleer to “f*** off” for trying to sort out their schedules so they could see each other – going down in the history books.

When it comes to drama, Bryce was the MAFS gift that kept on giving. On the 2021 season, the brides and grooms were tasked with rating each other from most attractive to least attractive. And yes, it was a recipe for disaster.

Bryce hit a nerve with his bride (and now real-life wife) Melissa after he placed her photo fourth in line.

“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 told Melissa, instantly solidifying himself as season eight’s villain.

Digging himself an even bigger hole, he continued: “When I first saw you I thought, ‘Not my type’. But, I thought, she’s not… ugly?”

Melissa took the ranking to heart, saying “fourth place… you don’t even get a medal for that.”