I poppe and end D out for a sarnie ed up with a wife!
MARRIED At First Sight’s Ben Jardine has called for the show to change its name as he reveals producers scouted him to wed a stranger before he had seen an episode.
In the new series, which started on E4 last night, contestants no longer legally tie the knot – they hold a commitment ceremony instead, as seen on the Australian series.
Previously, a combination of scientific data, DNA and personal preferences would match two strangers who met for the first time at the altar and married.
Ben was wed to Stephanie Saint Remy for a year after they tied the knot in the third series in 2017.
Having become a millionaire thanks to property deals, he was still healing after a 13year relationship ended, and hints the marriage was doomed to fail before it started.
He says: “I never signed up for it. I was walking down the street, they scouted me and the next thing I was walking down to the altar.
“I popped out for a sandwich and ended up with a wife.”
Followed by cameras for a year going through his everyday life, Ben underwent psychology and IQ tests and even gave hair samples.
He says: “They go deep, but I had never seen the show so the producers made me watch one episode.”
On the new series revamp, Ben continues: “It’s upsetting they’re not really getting married.
“I never went into it for fame. I went into it for love.
“It gives me goosebumps seeing the show back – good and bad – but now it’s like Love Island so it needs a different name. Marriage is serious.”
In a bid to capitalise on the success of the Aussie series, MAFS has added Down Under dating expert Mel Schilling, 49.
The Aussies gave us fighting, cheating and scandal – something Ben is familiar with after he was dubbed a villain when he bolted abroad rather than pull the plug on Steph. Later it emerged he had a fling with Silvia Sanchis, 44, who is now the mother of his daughter Siena Grace, two. Steph claimed she only knew their marriage was over for good when she heard Ben give a radio interview. He admits: “I did the old back-door shuffle to Portugal, but I needed time.
“I was honest with Stephanie when we lived together and told her: ‘This is not going to work. I want to be your friend.’
“She said: ‘Don’t pie me off on national television.’ I’m glad I gave it a go even after all the mud-slinging – it was my fault.”
After MAFS aired, the 36-year-old jumped from a divorce meeting into the Celebrity Big Brother house, where turmoil followed yet again.
He told his housemates including Ryan Thomas and Dan Osborne about then-girlfriend Silvia’s pregnancy.
But he grew close to former Emmerdale actress Roxanne Pallett, kissing her neck and telling her that he loved her. “My life went mental,” says Ben. “I went in Big Brother for a rest. Sometimes I wish I was still in there. “I was out of a 13-year relationship when I went into Married At First Sight and was broken-hearted. During Big Brother everyone thought I was the love rat, but really I was the love mouse.”
His relationship with Silvia soured and now Ben is in a custody battle for Siena.
He says: “Ever since I got out of Big Brother I’ve had to fight for my daughter.
“Out of chaos came something beautiful. She taught me a lot.
“My daughter saved me – she’s like my nan reincarnated.
“I was breaking inside and went to dark places, because after all the highs come lows.”
Currently single, Ben had a lockdown romance with Married At First Sight’s Ines Basic, who shot to fame through her bed-hopping antics on the Aussie show.
He says: “Ines slid into my DMS. A relationship started by having something in common.
“The Aussie one was good TV throughout the pandemic.
“I did start something virtual with Ines as I was locked up on my own, had Covid, lonely.”
Despite the chaos, Ben, who has landed his first acting role in a movie about OCD, is focusing on his burgeoning boxing career.
He is in talks to get in the ring with Love Island’s Tommy Fury.
Ben adds: “I’d still recommend Married At First Sight to anyone. No regrets.
“It takes great courage to do that show and while I thought I knew what I wanted, maybe I didn’t.
“I’d say enjoy it and don’t get lost in the experience.
“If you don’t love and respect yourself, how can you love and respect anyone else?
“You’ve got to be yourself, unlike on Love Island sometimes when you can see they’re pretending.
Married At First Sight continues on E4 tonight at 9pm.