Not even a pandemic could stop Married At First Sight Australia coming back for an eighth season. That’s right, 2021 marked the eighth time the experts have huddled around and matched up a host of interesting Aussie individuals looking for love.
Excluding the 2021 season, only three couples out of a whopping 60 are still together – season two’s Erin Bateman and Bryce Mohr, season six’s Martha Kalifatidis and Michael Brunelli (who became engaged in 2021) and season six’s Cam Merchant and Jules Robinson (who became legally married in 2019).
But according to MAFS’ Mel Schilling, she and her fellow experts may be able to do the scientific matching side of the experiment, but it’s only as helpful as getting the couple to the altar.
“We can’t control the spark so when people do get together one of the unknowns is whether they’re going to physically spark with each other,” she previously told WHO, adding that it’s also unknown how each individual as well as each couple will work under pressure.
“Then of course there’s the group dynamic and the impact of that pressure and judgement of other people on them so there are so many factors that we can’t control.”
By the end of the season, however, not one but three couples left the experiment with their partner. But where are they now?
Keep scrolling as we keep you updated on which couples are still together, and who’s joined the MAFS alumni majority.
READ ALSO: Which Married At First Sight Season 9 contestants are still together? A look at the 2022 couples.
Melissa and Bryce – Married with Twin Boys!
The season’s most controversial couple didn’t make many fans along the way – but Bryce and Melissa are very much still together.
Fans first suspected this was the case when both shared photos of themselves indoor rock climbing to their individual profiles and by January, Canberra-based Bryce shared some photos of himself down in Melissa’s hometown of Melbourne.
Bryce later told WHO exclusively that he’d not only moved to Melbourne but that he’s also been helping Melissa out with all the attention from the media and MAFS fans – we doubt you’d do that if there had been a messy break up.
In July 2021, the couple then revealed to New Idea that they were not only engaged but that Melissa was pregnant…with twins!
“It’s all happened very fast,” Bryce admitted to the mag.
“It’s been a whirlwind, but we’re so incredibly happy,” Mel added.
They welcomed their twin boys in October 2021, making them the second MAFS couple to have children after meeting on the show (the first being Jules and Cam).
Rebecca and Jake – Oh so over
Jake may have liked what he saw when his bride approached him at the altar, but it was quite the opposite for her.
“He’s looking at me like I am sex on a stick,” Rebecca stated, before rattling off a list of his bad qualities including his lack of a tie and that his tattoos were visible.
Though they had their moments (like when Jake called out Bryce for swearing about Beck), the signs were there early on that things didn’t work out, namely that they were staying put in their respective hometowns.
After *that* finale bombshell when footage emerged of Beck kissing a mystery ex (not her brother as it turns out), things ended for good.
Jake then had a short-lived love affair with fitness influencer, Sophie Guidolin, but later found love with his new girlfriend Clare. Meanwhile, Beck is dating boyfriend Ben Michell – with whom she’s welcomed her first child.
Samantha and Cameron – Fizzled out
The attraction was instant for Samantha and Cameron on their wedding day and it appeared the experts nailed it. But things went downhill as soon as Cam slept with Sam and then admitted that he had no emotional connection with her.
Cameron also cosied up to bride Coco and shared a secret smooch with her before both he and Samantha decided to leave the experiment.
“I came here for somebody real, I came here for a man,” Samantha said on the couch at their final Commitment Ceremony.
“I didn’t come into this with a lot of hope. I’ve really given it my all, I’ve given this everything.”
Booka and Brett – Hero to zero
It seemed from the get-go that Booka and Brett would be the season’s couple goals but sadly it was not meant to be.
Things started to go downhill after The Wash noticed via Instagram that rock musician and mental health worker Booka enjoyed a MAFS viewing party in her hometown of Perth when her wedding aired but Brett was not in attendance. And the pics show her looking a bit glum.
Booka also released a rather telling song (and an even more telling music video) that she’s all but confirmed is about Brett – the lyrics include “Boy, there’s some bulls*** on your face I’m coming,” and “You’re so predictable and you’ve lost all your appeal. You’re so basic my hymen has gone resealed.”
Booka has also been rumoured to start an affair with Jake and Brett confessed to WHO that he should’ve been matched with “a mum”.
It is no surprise then that the couple decided to call it quits at the last Commitment Ceremony.
“I’ve written leave but it’s a smiley face and a love heart because Brett’s a legend,” Booka said, remarking that the romantic side had faded.
“I think there was such a tug of war going on between us to try and understand one another and then things eventually exploded and then once the dust settled things evened out and I think we found where we were with one another,” Brett added.
Coco and Sam – Bye bye
With Coco’s loud shrieks and Sam’s side-eye, their wedding wasn’t exactly the fairytale day either probably expected.
Insults were fired, tears cried and the chemistry was non-existent. And after their first Commitment Ceremony it didn’t look like things could be salvaged.
The two jointly decided to bow out of the experiment.
“It’s been a fun ride buddy,” the bubbly bride told Sam.
Jo and James – So long
It wouldn’t be MAFS without a questionable pairing – fans were confused from the get-go when insecure mum and barber Jo was matched with fellow parent and prestige car company owner James.
“We’re getting along like a house on fire, but I noticed that he has this Rolex watch, so I am worried that we are from completely different worlds,” Jo admitted on their wedding day.
After James jokingly confessed that he was in love with expert Alessandra at their second Commitment Ceremony, things went from bad to worse and it all ended with the two deciding to leave.
“I don’t think he likes to be told by a woman. It wasn’t worth leaving my boys to be with someone like him,” Jo told WHO.
Alana and Jason – All spark and no fire
There was a lot of shy awkwardness when teacher Alana and construction estimator Jason met at the altar but after confessing their strong physical connection, fans had high hopes for these two.
Speaking to the Hit Network’s Bec, Cosi & Lehmo in February, Alana was asked how she and Jason were going and though she made sure not to give any spoilers, the MAFS bride hinted that they were still an item.
“I think we’re going pretty good,” she told the radio trio.
Despite saying they’d stay together at the final vows, Alana and Jason revealed they’d ended things at the reunion and according to So Dramatic! podcast, Jason dumped his TV wife via text after she called him out for the leaked homophobic video he made about bisexual contestant, Liam Cooper.
“The reason Jason dumped Alana via text after the final vows was because she called him out for his “homophobic bulls**t” and told him she didn’t agree with the video he made about Liam and it was not acceptable behaviour!”
Belinda and Patrick – Holy guacamole we thought they’d go the distance
The nerves were there when they met at the altar but we were swooning when Patrick said that Belinda was one of the most beautiful girls he’s seen.
Fans first suspected Patrick and Belinda were still an item when pics obtained by The Wash taken in February emerged of Patrick dancing up a storm in Sydney with friends wearing his wedding ring on.
Though they dated for a few months, the couple announced their split in July 2021 with Belinda exclusively telling WHO that though they had “a wonderful relationship” their “perspectives on love and life goals ultimately didn’t align.”
“As you move forward into the future, it’s pretty important to be heading in the same direction towards the shared future that you both want,” she revealed.
Beth and Russell – Unsurprisingly over
We have to admit, this pairing wasn’t one of the experts’ best.
Beth and Russell were like chalk and cheese on their wedding day and didn’t even have their family and friends there to make it a little less awkward due to COVID restrictions and even before the couple decided to leave at the second Commitment Ceremony, clues surfaced that the two weren’t a thing.
Three months before the show aired, The Wash received a DM from a woman who met Russell at a Sydney bar and the groom ended up spilling a lot of spoilers, including what happened with his wife.
“He kept showing his empty ring finger when everyone asked if he was still together,” the woman’s message said.
“I think he told me he made it to about week 6 from memory hahahah.”
Georgia and Liam – Up in smoke
Fans were outraged when Liam, the show’s first openly bisexual groom, was outed in front of the rest of the MAFS cast but he and Georgia seem to be off to a good start.
“Honestly I so believe that whatever things you did before, it all led you to be here and the person you are. As long as you’re the person for me,” Georgia told her husband after he asked if she has a problem with his sexuality.
However despite sharing some happy memories, the couple had their clashes, particularly when it came to the way Liam spoke to his wife at the final dinner party plus, the shock homophobic video that Georgia participated in.
0The couples’ final vows and reunion dinner party was icy to say the least but it seems the two are on good terms now, despite the fact that their love story is over.
“I really wish things had worked out differently for us G. I wish we didn’t let people get inside our heads and I wish we were better at communicating. I wish you all the best with your life journey and I hope you find the guy you are looking for. I am sorry that wasn’t me,” Liam wrote on Instagram after the show’s final episode aired.
Kerry and Johnny – Love is (still) in the air
It was love (or at least attraction) at first sight when Kerry and Johnny met at the altar, and whilst they both had been married before it clearly was meant to be for “Jerry.”
The couple romantically vowed to commit to one another at the final vows and are very much still an item.
To mark the six-month anniversary since their TV wedding, Johnny described the experience and his bride on Instagram as: “The greatest risk I have ever taken. The greatest reward.”
The pair not only live together in Brisbane but are also parents to their fur baby, Enzo and officially tied the knot in January 2023.
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Jaimie and Chris – RIP to the shortest MAFS marriage ever
If this “princess” and her groom had stayed together, we would have been flummoxed.
Things were a tad awkward at their wedding but when Jaimie accused her groom of not washing his hands at their honeymoon and called him a “dirty grot”, we knew this wasn’t going to be a happily ever after.
Fans suspected the couple were over when Jaimie was snapped by The Wash holidaying in Byron Bay in December with 2020 Bachelorette star Aggi, but barely a week after their wedding episode Chris walked from the show after Jaimie allegedly said she wrote stay at their first and last Commitment Ceremony for the cameras and that she had plans for how they would exit the show.
“I came in here to give my heart and to put everything in and I did. I hope that I will actually find the one that I’m supposed to be with and they just want to be with me too,” Chris said upon leaving.
Jaimie responded with a rather cryptic post that featured the telling line: “Masking my own truth and being held accountable for someone else’s insecurities has been utterly exhausting.”
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