Al Perkins’ antics may have initially had Married At First Sight fans questioning his readiness for marriage, but it didn’t take long for us to fall in love with the 25-year-old larrikin.
From his love of spontaneous shoeys, mispronunciation of common words, poem-writing, worm-dancing, sliding across tables and saying all the wrong things to his wife Sam’s parents, Al is the breakout star we never knew we needed.
Affectionally dubbed a “golden retriever” by fans, Al has been a constant source of comic relief among the group – and for those of us watching along at home.
Keep scrolling to see Al’s most relatable, awkward and downright adorable MAFS moments
Al became a fan favourite following his debut shoey.
(Image: Nine)Al’s love of shoeys
The first MAFS dinner party of the season would be a little nerve-wracking for the contestants. Thankfully, Al was on-hand to provide some much-needed comic relief, even if it meant mortifying his wife Sam in the process.
“I know I told Samantha that I’m going to be on my best behaviour tonight but I did feel like I had to try and break the ice somehow, I can’t help myself,” he laughed at the cocktail party before pouring beer into his shoe and sculling it.
Whilst his on-screen wife was less than impressed, fans flocked to social media to cheer Al on.
“Honestly don’t see any problem with Al having some fun at the dinner party. There’s lot more worse and depressing ways to get through a dinner party,” one viewer wrote.
“Sure, he’s not what Sam needs or wants but Al seems like a top lad. He seems pure and a bit lil a puppy who just wants to be liked by everyone. You cannot deny that you’d never be bored and not have fun with him around,” wrote another.
Al performed a second shoey for the intruders’ “initiation”.
(Image: Nine)Al does yet another shoey
It’s clear Al’s love of shoeys knows no bounds. He got up to his old tricks again at the intruders’ first dinner party, where he performed his favourite party trick to the newcomers.
“Initiation!” he roared before pulling out his second shoey of the season.
Thankfully, this time around Sam actually managed to see the funny side, and excitedly cheered her husband on as he drank beer from his own boot.
Al then forced intruder Matt Ridley to follow his lead and do a shoey, to which he happily obliged.
Al’s blunder in front of Sam’s parents only made us love him more.
(Image: Nine)Al is a bit too honest with Sam’s parents
Just when we thought we couldn’t fall any more in love with Al, he goes and makes a complete mess of his meeting with his Sam’s parents.
Al was asked by Sam’s father Paul what he does in his spare time, to which he responded: “I like to play video games.”
Realising his answer probably wasn’t what his potential future in-laws wanted to hear, Al then corrected himself and added: “I hang out with mates and just really take it easy.”
While most viewers acknowledged it probably wasn’t the best thing to say to your on-screen wife’s parents, they praised Al for his refreshing honesty, which just made him that much more endearing.
“Ok so Al didn’t give the ‘best’ answers to the parents, however….. It only shows that he is honest to a fault and that’s not a bad thing at all. Honesty is such a rarity and he’s a little treasure,” one fan said.
Al showed he has a heart of gold when comforting Holly.
(Image: Nine)Al comforts a distraught Holly
Al proved he’s the MAFS contestant we don’t deserve after rushing to be by Holly Greenstein’s side following her argument with Andrew Davis.
During the second dinner party, Holly and Andrew came to blows, prompting our resident-sweetheart Al to pull her aside and provide some much-needed comfort.
The moment prompted viewers to affectionately brand Al a “golden retriever”, and we couldn’t have said it better ourselves.
“Omg Al is too adorable 😂 poor guy’s brain was giving error at some point,” one viewer shared online.
“Al could possibly POSSIBLY be the only trustful one here.”
Al’s poem for Sam at the couple’s retreat won her over after a fight.
(Image: Nine)Al writes an adorable poem for Sam
After hitting a rough patch with Sam during the recent couples’ retreat, Al pulled out all the stops to mend their relationship.
The larrikin wrote an adorable poem to let Sam know how much she means to him. And in that moment the whole of Australia was rooting for Al’s heartfelt words to have worked its magic on Sam.
“Dear Samantha, my beautiful wife, I want to see you in my life. It makes me sad, seeing that I let you down, I hope this week, I can turn that around,” his poem began, and someone get this man a Pulitzer Prize.
“The conversations that we have from now on, will be in more detail and I will make sure, I will not fail. You really are the apple of my eye, and it was really hard to see you cry. I will also take John’s advice and learn to grow up, Also learn not to drink from a shoe, and instead, from a cup.
“I will always cherish the memories we’ve been through together, if things don’t work out, at least we’ll be friends forever,” he finished, before presenting Sam with a rose in possibly the most tender moment we’ve seen this season.
One fan dubbed Al “the purest sweetest soul” and we couldn’t agree more.
Al dances and rips off his budgy smugglers
Al is a natural entertainer, and if he doesn’t wind up with a lucrative TV contract after this we will be having serious words with his management team.
Prior to the fourth dinner party, the 25-year-old begged Sam to join him in a surprise dance for the other couples, telling his wife he couldn’t do the “hopping bit” without her. Aww!
Unsurprisingly, Sam refused. But that didn’t stop Al from showing off his moves to the rest of the group.
“I feel like there’s so much drama between [the] new couples and I felt the tension. I felt the tension there, but I’m going to break that,” Al told the camera.
Al then performed a striptease, throwing his suit jacket off, before diving across the table and ripping off his budgy smugglers and throwing them to Sam.
Just like his other dinner party shenanigans, the dance earnt Al a chorus of applause and cheers from the other couples.
Want more on Married At First Sight season nine? Check out the links below:
Is Married At First Sight real or fake? Let’s examine the evidence
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?
The most shocking, hilarious and downright disturbing Married at First Sight bombshells
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