We all love a dinner party but MAFS somehow manages to take something wholesome and turn it into a twisted display of drama, shenanigans, and enough trauma dumping to keep the psychology experts working for YEARS.
During the regular dinner party segment, we viewers watch as each of the couples enters the venue to talk about that week’s drama. The first dinner party of the season saw Tim Gromie and Katie Johnston’s marriage fully combust as Jamie Marinos piped up in defence of her friend. More drama is expected to follow as the weeks roll on.
But beneath the glitz and glamour, everything is not as it seems, a former Married at First Sight bride has now revealed.
The iconic MAFS dinner party is not what it seems
Sara Mesa, who was married to Tim Calwell in the 2024 season of Married at First Sight Australia, spoke to Yahoo Lifestyle about her time on the show and iconic dinner parties which run throughout. Though we often see the lavish table settings and gorgeous outfits, Sara said that the behind-the-scenes set is much more mundane.
“You’re sitting in a tent with a couple of magazines, like motorcycle magazines or home decor magazines, a couple of colouring books, an orange, an apple and a chocolate bar or something,” she revealed. “And if you didn’t like your partner you’re just sitting there like, ‘Oh my god’.”
Because the couples are taken into the event “probably every half an hour” the other cast members can be sat waiting for “hours” in the tent as producers attempt to “get what they want out of each couple.”
Though it’s obviously very awkward if you absolutely despise your partner, Sara noted how it could be relatively enjoyable for those in happy marriages.
Watch on TikTok
“We would just play games or talk about other people, the drama that was going on, or have a nap. They would give us blankets and stuff and it was like a carpet, so we’d just have a nap,” she added.
She also revealed how the order of arrivals is decided
Elsewhere in the interview, former bride Sara noted how producers decide which couples to bring in first and which ones to leave out in the cold tent. Essentially it’s down to which couples created the most drama that week and which ones didn’t.
“Tim and I, I remember we fought one time and we weren’t speaking, we were just silent. So they put us in a room together by ourselves and obviously we had to speak,” Sara explained.
“Or the opposite way. It could be the happiest couple goes in first, you start off really great, and then they kind of talk about what’s going on and they hash it out before they bring in the couple that’s actually fighting. And then it’s like everyone in the room has been talking about it.”
For all the latest MAFS news, scandals, gossip and updates – like The Holy Church of MAFS on Facebook.
Featured image credit: Nine
