MARRIED IN SECRET!
The Bachelor stars had to postpone their celebration but made things official anyway...yy
Like so many other brides and grooms-to-be around the globe, Bachelor lovebirds “Matty J” Johnson and Laura Byrne made the heartbreaking decision to postpone their wedding earlier this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Yet it appears the loved-up reality TV couple couldn’t wait to be husband and wife, rushing to the registry office in order to say “I do” in secret!
Matty, 33, appeared to let the cat out of the bag last week in an interview, where he casually referred to Laura, 31, as his wife.
Talking about their six-yearold Bull Arab rescue dog, Matty said, “My wife, Laura, fostered Buster before we met. I never had a dog of my own and he’s an adopted family member now.”
The pair have done little to quash rumours, with Laura taking to Instagram days later to wish “co-pilot” Matty a happy birthday on behalf of herself and their one-year-old daughter Marlie-mae.
“Nobody can make us laugh like you can. WE LOVE YOU,” she gushed. And they’ve certainly been in celebration mode, taking Marlie-mae with them on a romantic getaway to the NSW south coast, where they shared countless snaps wining and dining last week.
Matty and Laura announced their engagement while on holiday in Fiji last April, a month before Laura gave birth to their adorable little girl. The couple are considered one of the most successful pairings to come out of The Bachelor franchise after they met in 2017.
Season nine of The Voice has proven to be the most controversial ever! With cheating scandals, feuding coaches, disgruntled contestants and a pandemic threatening to undermine the show, Woman’s Day now hears whispers it could be dramatically overhauled – or even be put to rest for good.
“It is very costly to produce, and a lot goes into bringing it to life,” one TV insider explains. “There’s a lot riding on it to be successful and to rate. Things need to change if they want to keep people tuning in.”
CONTESTANTS HIT BACK
With the ratings slipping below Ten’s Masterchef this year, the show has come under fire for its “manufactured drama”.
Last week, 2017 winner Judah Kelly issued a dire warning to this year’s contestants. “People aren’t really fans of you – they’re fans of the show,” he said.
“They might stick around on social media [after the show] and give you a ‘like’, but when it comes to paying for tickets and buying albums, the numbers don’t translate,” the 23-year-old said of the competition’s failure to produce a post-show success.
Another former contestant, who asked to remain anonymous, agrees. “Yep, it’s all about the coaches! You realise that the minute you arrive on set.
“It’s not a show that’s going to launch your career – fans should know that... it’s a show made for ratings.”
FANS ARE FED UP
Viewers are also fed up, with many flocking to social media to criticise the show’s decision to prioritise onscreen drama.
“It’s all about Kelly [Rowland] and the drama,” sneered one fan. “They’re turning The Voice into a soapie,” wrote another.
This year, many of the episodes and promos have revolved around the feud between Kelly, 39, and fellow coach Guy Sebastian. There
was “buzzer-gate” which ich saw Guy, 38, turn his chair, despite already havingg a full team. Then the pair had d a stoush over contestants nts Johnny Manuel and Mongolian throat singer er Bukhu Ganburged, which ich resulted in Kelly storminging off.
CRITICS CLOSE IN
Now, even music expertsrts are weighing in on the show’s w’s’s insistence on drama.
“It’s almost like it focuses cuses on making the best TV show each year… and they fifigure figure there’ll be more singersrs next year,” music writer Cameron Adams criticised. “Whereas The X Factor in particular had Simon Cowell, who came from a record industry background and really wanted to see people from the show in the charts, not just on TV.”
With the show’s fifinale finale just a week away, there’s never been more pressure on the coaches to produce a knockout star.