What Has Been Going On With The MAFS UK Allegations?

Two women who appeared on Married At First Sight (MAFS) UK have alleged that they were raped by their on screen husbands, while another has described sexual misconduct, according to a new report by the BBC.

An episode of Panorama, which aired earlier this week, details the allegations of three women who recently appeared on the UK version of the dating show.

One woman said she was raped by the man she was partnered with, who she also alleges threatened her with an acid attack, saying: “He said that if I told anybody what had happened, that he would get someone to throw acid at me.

“We were in our apartment, on the sofa, and he tried to have sex with me. And I kept saying no, that I didn’t want to do it. But he kept saying, ‘You can’t say no, you’re my wife’. And he just did it anyway.”

A second woman alleges she was raped by her on-screen husband, and that she “just lay there while it was happening.”

“I said, ‘I told you I didn’t want this, and he got very angry, and was like, ‘You should’ve screamed and shouted. You should’ve pushed me off’,” she said.

“When people think of rape, they don’t think of it as just this type of thing. But it is, that’s what it is.”

She says she reported this to Channel (MAFS UK’s broadcaster) and CPL (the show’s production company), but that her episodes of the show still aired.

A third woman, Shona Manderson, reported details of sexual misconduct and controlling behaviour against her partner, Bradley Skelly. Shona spoke of her alleged experience on Panorama, while the other two women chose to remain anonymous.

Channel 4 has since removed all episodes of MAFS from its online platform and is conducting an external investigation into the claims. All three men involved deny any wrong doing.

The broadcaster’s chief executive Priya Dogra has said she is “deeply sorry” for the distress caused to each of the women, as per ITV. 

“While I attempt to do my best to answer questions, I’ll ask their forbearance because there are limitations on what I can say before this review is complete late in the summer,” she said on Wednesday.

“That said I have watched the (Panorama) programme and heard the women’s accounts, which are very troubling. Their distress is clear, and for that I am, of course, deeply sorry. Welfare across all our programmes is hugely important to us, and is a primary concern.

“However, I’m sure you’ll appreciate that Channel 4 cannot investigate the specific allegations against the men, which they have denied, nor can I comment on them in any way.

“We are a broadcaster, not an adjudicator, and allegations of this type are investigated by other bodies, including when complaints are raised by the police. What I can do, and have done, as you have heard, is to commission an external review, which I did just days after being first contacted by the BBC back in April.”

MPs have since raised “serious concerns” following the allegations, with Culture Committee chair Dame Caroline Dinenage asking whether “enough is being done” to “protect people taking part in reality television”.

“The horrifying allegations about Married At First Sight raise serious concerns over whether enough is being done to protect people taking part in reality television,” she said.

“Both Channel 4 and Ofcom, as the broadcasting regulator, have urgent questions to answer.”

Police in the UK have urged the women who reported the allegations to contact them directly.