EXPERTS WAGE WAR ON CAST!
Alessandra, John and Mel have to deliver or face the firing line
Still stinging from the fierce viewer backlash they faced last year, Woman’s Day hears that Married At First Sight Australia experts Alessandra Rampolla, Mel Schilling and John Aiken are taking no prisoners this season, making it known that they have no time for any antics!
“Mel, John and Alessandra all take their jobs very seriously,” says our on-set spy, adding, “so when a couple doesn’t work out, they are genuinely saddened. It also reflects poorly on them and their work, so this year, they really tried to get the couples to work through their issues – no matter how hard they pushed sometimes.”
REVVING IT UP FOR RATINGS
With the judges already so invested, another source tells us the producers were asking the experts to grill the couples a little more than usual in a bid to keep the drama up.
“The pressure was on this year – it was the first season with a new executive producer,” tells our insider, explaining that the show’s “mastermind” Tara McWilliams was promoted and is no longer directly involved.
“The producers were really getting into the ears of the experts – quite literally yelling from their couches – asking for more, more, more,” says the source, noting that some of the weddings lasted more than 12 hours. “The commitment ceremonies went forever because the experts had to keep redirecting their line of questioning to suit the producers.”
However, the desire for higher ratings did little for the contestants, who were said to have complained “on more than one occasion” about the treatment they were receiving from the experts.
“One contestant was even seen crying her eyes out to producers,” our source adds.
It comes after whispers that yet another couple will be kicked off the show this year, following in the footsteps of last season’s Daniel Holmes and Carolina Santos.