Married At First Sight expert Dr Trisha Stratford has died aged 72, with her family revealing that she “died peacefully at home surrounded by her loved ones” on Sunday.
Describing her as a “matriarch” and a “wonder woman”, Trisha’s children, grandchildren, siblings and other loved ones will gather in Auckland to say their final goodbyes on Friday.
She leaves behind a daughter, Gina, and her “true love”, partner Roger Lampen.
Channel 9 confirmed the death of the clinical neuropsychotherapist on Monday, releasing a statement.
“We are deeply saddened to hear about the passing of Dr Trisha Stratford.”
“Our sincerest condolences and heartfelt sympathies go out to her family and those closest during this difficult time.”
Dr Stratford joined the experimental TV series when it first launched in 2015, joining fellow experts John Aiken and Sabina Read.
Following news of her death, John paid tribute to his former colleague in a statement provided to 9Entertainment.
“I’m heartbroken and devastated that my friend and dear colleague Trisha has passed away,” he said.
“We shared an amazing seven seasons of MAFS together. She loved everything New Zealand, relationships, the All Blacks, the Black Caps, French wine and travelling the world. I’ll miss you Tish.”
“Thank you for all the memories.”
Dr Trisha worked in developmental psychology, neuropsychotherapy, corporate training, executive coaching and the media before appearing on MAFS.
She starred alongside John and Sabina until her departure in 2020, telling Woman’s Day New Zealand at the time that she didn’t agree with the direction of the show.
“By the end, I couldn’t compromise my professional and personal standards because there were participants on the show who I felt shouldn’t have been there,” she said at the time.
“It got supersized, a bit like MasterChef, into what we know as MAFS now. The participants we got in season six and seven were so outrageous and outside the norm that it wasn’t what I signed up for.
“At a couple of dinner parties, I felt sick. I felt in my guts that this wasn’t what I’d want to be watching at home on TV.”
Alongside her work on Married at First Sight, Dr Trisha also produced and directed more than 20 primetime TV documentaries through her own production company and published two books.
No cause of death has been revealed.
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