Mafs bride legally married to Sensing Murder psychic
One of the brides in the new season of Married at First Sight NZ is legally married to Sensing Murder psychic Kelvin Cruickshank.
Rosemary Cruickshank, nee Wright, will star in the third season of the scandal-plagued reality show, premiering on Three this Sunday.
But the 45-year-old beautician remains married to Cruickshank — her third husband — following their split last June, just 14 months after their wedding in April 2017.
Kelvin Cruickshank confirmed to the Herald yesterday the couple remained legally married.
“I heard that Rosemary was to be on Married At First Sight a few months ago and I was happy for her until just recently when I discovered she has taken my name into the show.
“This has disappointed me no end. I’m a public figure and Rosemary appears to be riding my name to get status for herself.
“She immediately went back to her maiden name [upon their separation] but as soon as she got accepted into Married at First Sight, she dragged me into it — and my children, and my family, and my friends. It’s pretty shit.”
But Rosemary insists the only reason she is using the Cruickshank name is that MediaWorks — Three’s parent company — required her to use her legal name when she applied to feature in the show.
“Cruickshank . . . is on my passport and my driver’s licence,” she said.
“Of course I know that Kelvin is going to be upset . . . but I was married to him and that’s a fact.
“I would love to divorce him. I have to wait two years. He can go and serve me papers and I’ll happily sign them tomorrow.”
In a statement, MediaWorks said it used contestants’ legal names for the show unless otherwise requested.
“Rosemary . . . applied using the last name Cruickshank, and it was on all legal documents supplied as part of the application,” a spokeswoman said.
“Like last season, the marriages are not legal.”
The situation is another embarrassment for the show, which cut another contestant, Chris Mansfield, last week, over his failure to declare he was facing charges related to domestic violence allegations in the United States.
That scandal came after another bride from the forthcoming season, Anna Saxton, spoke out late last month, claiming a former partner had betrayed her trust and leaked a sex tape of the pair online.
It also again raises questions over the validity of the show, which scrapped legally binding marriages after the first season. The change came after groom Haydn Daniels was forced to take legal action to annul his marriage to wife Bel Clarke after tying the knot in season one. The kicker for Kelvin Cruickshank came when he learned of a connection between him and the man who became Rosemary’s fourth “husband” during her time on Married at First Sight.
“It turns out that one of my clients — her ex-husband is the guy she got hooked up with on the show. Which is kind of freaky.”