Taranaki connection in MAFS
The latest season of Married At
First Sight NZ will have special relevance for Taranaki with two of its singles hailing from the province.
The second season of the show that pairs up strangers who first meet when they get married, kicked off last night.
Among the cast of 12 singles are Taranaki’s Tayler Morgan and Wayne McIntosh.
Although 29-year-old Morgan now lives in Christchurch he was born and schooled in New Plymouth and regularly returns to visit family and friends.
The self-described romantic who has little ‘‘game’’ said it was a spontaneous decision to apply for the show, mostly motivated by a longing for his ‘‘happily ever after’’.
However, he soon came to realise marrying a stranger was ‘‘damn scary’’.
‘‘But so exciting at the same time,’’ Morgan said. ‘‘Standing at the altar was, like, it was just the two of us in the room.’’
The apprentice electrician can’t reveal much about his marriage but said he was rather happy with his match up.
‘‘I can’t say any more than that,’’ he said.
‘‘There is no awkwardness between us now we’ve spent more time together. We work really hard at communicating.’’
McIntosh appeared equally delighted with his union, which came about after the helicopter engineer quit his job to take part in the show.
The 32-year-old, who moved to Taranaki from Australia three years ago, said it was a big, and potentially ‘‘stupid’’, decision to hand in his resignation.
But he has no regrets.
‘‘I was quite happy with where I was in life... the one thing I was missing was a partner and love,’’ he said. ‘‘Love’s pretty important to me.’’
McIntosh was tired of always being the third wheel when out with friends, and was struggling to find the ‘‘one’’.
He decided enlisting the help of a reality show was his best bet – and he wasn’t wrong.
‘‘I’ve definitely found love.’’ While it took him some time to get used to having cameras following him around, he said the scariest part of being involved with the show was waiting at the altar for his future partner.
‘‘I was looking around at trees and random things just to get my mind off how nervous I was’’.
But it all paid off, and now the newly married man is in negotiation with his partner over their future.
‘‘It’s something that hasn’t been solidified yet... we’ve still got filming to go.
‘‘I’m definitely happy to get back to little ol’ quiet Taranaki and play with my helicopters.’’