Just when you think this season of Married At First Sight can’t get any more explosive, along comes Jessika to shake things up even more.
With her marriage to farmer Mick in disarray, Jessika connected with Dan and they secretly locked lips! Now, she’s falling for him – even though he’s still with Tamara!
Jessika takes TV WEEK behind the scenes to set the record straight on…
…CHEATING ON MICK
It’s the kiss that got Australia talking. While Jessika isn’t proud of cheating on her new husband Mick, she couldn’t resist the potential she saw in father-of-one Dan – or get past Mick’s “horrible” behaviour.
“It got to the point where it was so disrespectful with how he was treating me in the experiment, I thought, ‘I’m just going to keep doing this [pursuing Dan],” Jessika, 26, admits.
“It’s so immature when I think about it, but Mick was horrible to me.
“I was making up elaborate lies, which was really hard for me, but I did it for selfish reasons. I see so much potential in Dan.”
Jessika says Mick was ‘horrible.’
…BREAKING GIRL CODE
Jessika knew she’d face scrutiny for her actions – and was so worried, she immediately called her sister to talk it over.
“I was going against girl code [with Tamara]; against my moral compass and feeling horrible doing it,” Jessika says. “I hate confrontation.”
Jessika felt ‘horrible’ about going behind Tamara’s back.
But despite knowing pursuing Dan would disrespect Mick and Tamara, Jessika followed her heart.
“I’m not proud of how I went about it and hurt people,” she says. “It wasn’t the best thing for us [Dan and her] to do to our partners.
“But we all came onto the show to find someone to be with. In real life, we’d never do this to someone we’re in a relationship with.”
…THE EMOTIONAL TOLL IT’S TAKING
Things have been also been stressful for Jessika while the cameras aren’t rolling.
“I’ve had full-blown panic attacks before the commitment ceremonies,” she says of grappling with her situation with Mick and Dan.
“I’d have four producers around me and a psych [psychologist] on the phone trying to calm me down.
“Mick and I aren’t working, and I want things to work with Dan, but things were hurting me mentally.”
Jessika set her sights on Dan shortly after his arrival.
…FALLING HARD FOR DAN
There may be drama at every turn, but there’s no denying Jessika is smitten with Dan – even if he still is with Tamara and things are chaotic right now.
“He’s an easy guy to fall in love with and picture a future with,” she says. “Our connection is crazy. My actual turning point with him was hearing him speak about his son.”
In fact, Dan being a dad makes Jessika want him even more.
“I love children and have always wanted them in my life,” she says. “I don’t want to spend my weekends partying – I’d be happy to be at playgroup and swimming lessons.
“Everything about him is perfect to me.”
Jessika’s relationship with Mick did NOT work out well.
…MOVING FOR LOVE
Dan is based on the Gold Coast and, as fate would have it, former GC girl Jessika is set to move back to sunny Queensland too.
“I was always going to move back before I was 30 to be closer to family,” she says. “But having the same location is a bonus!”
Married At First Sight airs Monday to Wednesday, 7.30pm, and Sunday, 7pm, Nine Network.
