‘It’s such an intense process – from casting to the very end’
Like Love Island here in the UK, it seems that MAFS Australia’s casting process is a combination of producers approaching potential contestants and applications. And Heidi tells Closer that after years of dating the wrong guys, she decided to apply to the show – but was not prepared for the intensity of both the application process, and the show itself.
Heidi, 40, says, “I applied for the show on the very last day they were accepting applications – I was at a point in my life where I’d resigned from my job, I’d moved to a new town and I really wanted to meet someone. So I thought, ‘Stuff it!’ and applied. It was such an intense process! You have to fill out millions of forms and questionnaires, and send videos and more photos. And then you do that again and again. They test you so much – it was relentless! Three months later, I was walking down the aisle, and I had only been told two weeks before that I’d be on the show.”
Heidi – who was paired up with groom Mike – continues, “I really thought that the experiment itself would be a light, fun thing to do and, if I also met the person of my dreams, that would be amazing, but if I didn’t, I’d still learn a lot. How wrong I was! It was full-on and definitely the most intense thing I’ve ever done, from start to finish. It wasn’t fun, it was deep. You’re filming so much, you’re with your partner 24/7 and it’s so confrontational. You learn a lot about yourself, whether you want to or not. There’s nowhere to hide.”