MAFS Chanita – Producers try to stir things up but this years cast are wild

We're just a week into the new series of Married At First Sight, and it certainly hasn't been short of drama. From awkward alter encounters to honeymoon turmoil, it appears fans should be strapping in for what's to come.

And here to give us some exclusive behind-the-scenes information is OK! MAFS columnist Chanita Stephenson, who had her fair share of highs and lows while appearing on the show last season.

Debriefing on the first set of episodes, the 30-year-old has already seen some differences in this year's instalment to previous series – and has been left shocked by the recent media storm, which saw contestant Nathaniel Valentino slam the show as a 'scam'.

Telling us what she thinks of his comments, Chanita also reveals which groom has made her feel queasy and who she thinks could be a slow burn…

Drama, drama, drama

I was so shocked to watch all of the Nathaniel and Ella drama last week, it's wild. They have been sharing things to social media too, which is a bit of a shame since viewers have had it spoiled. I think it’s a bit of a car crash between them! They went from instant connection at the wedding to hating each other during the honeymoon, I have no idea what happened in the middle.

It reminded me a bit of Whitney and Duka from last year when Whitney was saying things about Duka being fake and different off camera. I'm really interested as when they say things like that, it makes you wonder what is happening off-camera. It's a show where you have to be completely yourself and you can't keep things behind closed doors, because when you do, people use it as ammunition and it explodes like it has now.

He has said that the producers are like 'goblins whispering in your ear' which is difficult for me, because everyone has a different experience. Producers know who is in there for genuine reasons and who isn’t, that creates a difference in the advice they give you too. They will say, ‘can you talk about this, or do this' so they do manipulate it in that sense, but you say what you say. You’re in control of your mind, if you’ve said something to someone or done something, that’s on you. You have to take ownership. I couldn’t say that producers don’t have input or guide things a certain way as they are trying to make a TV show and make sure it’s not boring. People like drama so they will try to stir things up, but it is on you to keep to yourself.

A stomach-churning groom

I was nearly sick in my mouth when I heard the stuff Georges was saying on his wedding day to Peggy, what the hell? He was getting married and all he spoke about was boobs, there is a way of saying it that is much nicer. I've not got much hope for Georges and Peggy, I couldn't be married to someone like that – I think there's a lot to come with him. I mean, there might be hope, as he did do some gentlemanly things like pulling her chair out, but I'm not sure.

He has also been on Celebs Go Dating before too, so I'm not sure what his intentions are, I wonder if it's for the right reasons. His best friend did the best man speech which was awful too, I think that's the worst best man speech in MAFS history. The crazy part is, he would have had to give that speech to a producer to approve before filming, so someone saw that and didn't say anything.

My couple predictions

Thomas and Rosaline are pretty awkward right now, it's a bit like they're in school! Saying that, I think they might be slow burners and get more comfortable as it goes on. Sometimes that's a good way to do it, rather than rushing in and everything getting dramatic quickly.

I think that Brad and Shona are cute, you can tell they have such a strong physical connection. The way they were looking at each other was like they wanted to rip each other's clothes off, which is exactly what you want when you're marrying a stranger! I liked that their vows were spiritual, as I'm spiritual as well.

I'm not sure about Laura and Arthur yet, on their wedding day I thought they really weren't going to work, but, I did like that they communicated on their honeymoon and seemed to get closer. I still think they might clash down the line though.

I knew as soon as I heard Terence say that he likes to DJ and stay out that his wife Porscha would have an issue with that, which she does. I'm not sure if their lifestyles are going to line up. I also wish that he would have mentioned about being a youth worker rather than just talking about DJ'ing, I think she would have warmed to that much more. Porscha seems very high-maintenance but I wish I had her confidence, I was thinking 'Go girl'.

Giving the game away

I think the cast are giving things away a lot more than we did in my series, there has been a lot of social media use and you can put things together from that. I've been looking at who has been supporting who from the cast online, and they all seem really close, but some are only sending love to half of the couple – which obviously means they've split. I think we were very good at not posting on social media at all after filming, then we did do some posts while it was on but they couldn't give anything away. We also weren't allowed to be seen with co-stars, as that could give something away. Producers made that really clear to us and we didn't want to ruin it either.

I'm not sure why but this year's cast just have a different feel to them, I think there will be a lot of drama. They seem a lot younger too, rather than a wide range of ages. Many of them have been on other shows so I think there's more of a 'reality show' feel to it, it's interesting. I'm excited to see what happens, I'm waiting for things to go bang.

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