2023’s Married At First Sight was filled with absolute chaos. From Harrison meddling in everyone else’s relationships to Alyssa throwing hypocritical tantrums… Let’s just say MAFS Season 10 was a LOT. While many of the couples have failed to last long-term, the same cannot be said about the friendships!
It seems like many of this year’s Married At First Sight contestants share a bond that has lasted past the end of the experiment. Curious who? Well, we’ve done a little digging…
BUT, before we get to who remains friends…let’s unpack the explosive drama that kicked off between the cast at the 63rd TV Week Logie Awards!
WATCH: Married At First Sight 2023 couples on their way to first dinner party. Article continues after video.
Speaking with our sister publication TV Week, Claire confessed that the cast wasn’t on the greatest of speaking terms.
“I thought we were, but apparently we’re not,” she said.
“Melinda hasn’t said hi to us, has completely ignored Sandy and I and a lot of us, which is a shame because I came in here open to having a good time and like, what has Sandy ever done to anyone [for her not to deserve a hello].”
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In a separate interview with Punkee, Claire said that following the show Melinda stated Claire would be the villain and couldn’t “associate” with her.
Melinda then responded to those claims, writing on her Instagram story:
“I’d like to talk on this because I am beyond being BULLIED and harassed by these mean girls,” she wrote.
“The treatment I have received during and post-experiment is not okay.”
Melinda isn’t the only star no longer in touch with Claire, as Bronte revealed in a recent interview that they were “no longer close.”
In an Instagram Q&A, Bronte discussed her ‘friendship’ with Claire and replied: “Okay, I’ve debated whether or not to talk on this because it’s quite confronting, and I actually haven’t spoken about it much, but Claire and I are obviously no longer close.”
“Do I wish her any bad, or do I want to see her not succeed? No. I still think really highly of her regardless of some of the things that have been said. I just believe that everybody makes mistakes, and I said this to Claire in the experiment when everything was happening and really hyped around her and Jesse.”
She assures fans that there was “no big fight” but rather are just “very different people” and are navigating their way through life differently.
Anyways, back to who remainds friends…
Bronte, Claire, Sandy, and Lyndall all got matching tattoos during this year’s Married At First Sight. The four brides each got an ‘X’ tattoo, which Bronte wrote on Instagram “represents ‘10’, for 10 women who all have big personalities, who all deserve love and who choose to back what they feel is right.”
Harrison, however, begs to differ, telling New Idea that the ‘X’ represents the secret they keep regarding Claire and Adam’s cheating scandal.
While this group remain close following the season’s end, fellow contestant Melinda shared some further insight into these very friendship dynamics.
Speaking to Heatworld, the 32-year-old admitted that the on-screen divide translated into real life.
Similar to Harrison, she said, “It created a huge divide, especially with the girls. It created a huge divide with the whole group, but they didn’t show any of that.”
She told the publication she remains close with Tahnee, Janelle, and Evelyn.
These relationship dynamics can be seen in their post-show interactions.
In a later interview ahead of the Logies in 2023, Melinda opened up to Yahoo Lifestyle about the “difficulties” of remaining amicable with her castmates whilst still in the spotlight.
“Everyone’s friends and we all went through the same experience, [but] we all don’t align and we all don’t have the same values.”
“So it’s very hard to be in the spotlight and be amicable, but people on the outside world think you’re a best friend or think they saw you on TV and you were friends.”
She then admitted that there were “three or four little groups” within the cast now.
Alongside liking and commenting on each other’s Instagram pages, several post-MAFS girl groups have also formed.
“Besties at first sight,” Bronte and Lyndall continue to catch up on the regular.
“The adventures of Bronte & Lyndall walked in hoping to find my one love, walked out with a new home slice🥺💕,” Bronte wrote on their friendship.
Sandy and Claire, who are both based in Victoria, have also become BFFs if their adorable snaps shared on Instagram are to be believed.
Evelyn and Janelle are another dynamic duo! While they frequently attend events and post together, the pair are also the social butterflies of the group.
Evelyn, Melinda, and Layton maintain a close friendship, with Evelyn calling herself the ‘third wheel’.
Janelle also maintains her close relationships with Cam and Jesse (of whom she formerly was rumoured to be in a relationship with).
Alongside this, she has continued to reunite with her co-stars on social media in a self-run Making Over MAFS series, where she puts her makeup skills to use on her friends.
More recently, she reunited with Josh to give him a striking transformation.
Much to the delight of fans, the 40-year-old was given a refreshing, yet masculine look.
Duncan echoed these sentiments in the comment section writing, “Don’t know what’s going on here but I like it.”
While a gorgeous couple in their own right, Duncan and Evelyn still remain close with Evelyn’s TV husband Rupert.
While the MAFS relationship experts didn’t quite hit the mark with their romantic pairing, platonically, Evelyn and Rupert are still close.
For his birthday, Evelyn and Duncan even sent their buddy a custom cake. From her current partner to her ex-partner, the bond between this trio is rather endearing if we say so ourselves.
Many of the cast have also reunited in broader group settings.
When speaking with New Idea, Harrison revealed that he’s not exactly friends with any of the women from MAFS this year, but remains “friendly”.
“I’m friendly with some of the girls; I was never particularly close to the girls that I was on the show with, just purely out of respect for the situation and the experiment itself. I will say that I’m friendly with a few of the girls from the show. But not close. I wouldn’t say I’m close with any of them.”
This tracks, as Evelyn invited Harrison as well as Hugo and Duncan to a MAFS viewing party and the four of them spent the night drinking champagne.
WATCH: Married At First Sight’s Evelyn parties with Duncan and Harrison. Article continues after video.
And as for Melinda, Layton and Harrison AKA the three MAFS contestants from this year who are constantly in a feud with each other, Harrison claims there’s no bad blood and is still in touch with them both. But we’re guessing they’re not ‘friends’.
As one of the two couples remaining couples, Ollie and Tahnee also regularly catch up with Janelle and Rupert.
The pair also joined Melissa’s Instagram live stream recently to talk about moving house.
While maintaining a further distance from the broader group, Adam also regularly posts with the MAFS Season 10 boys.
