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Married at First Sight shock axing news

Despite strong ratings, the axing will go ahead.
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The Nine Network has officially axed plans to bring back Married At First Sight‘s sister show, Talking Married.

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The news comes as a shock to viewers, as the show had strong ratings (315, 000 metro viewers tuned in as Dan Webb and Jessika Power broke up live on air while being questioned by Jayne Azzopardi, Shelly Horton and Ben Fordham this year).

TV Blackbox revealed today that the incident between the MAFS stars is just one example of why Channel 9 has cancelled Talking Married.

A source told the publication that the decision was made “out of concern for the mental health of those involved.” 

WATCH: Jessika Power and Dan Webb had an EXPLOSIVE fight on Talking Married

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Due to the live nature of Talking Married, the process by which MAFS contestants are guided by PR teams during interviews was abandoned – resulting in some highly controversial moments.

According to the Daily Telegraph, Nine boss Hugh Marks has even demanded that some episodes of MAFS be re-edited to tone down the controversy.

“All reality TV pushes limits but I am concerned they are going one step too far and it is going to all collapse and that’s not good for the industry,” a highly placed television executive said.

“We have never seen conduct like this on Australian television before.”

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Talking Married, Jessika Power, Dan Webb
Dan Webb and Jessika Power broke up live on air while being questioned by Jayne Azzopardi, Shelly Horton and Ben Fordham this year. (Credit: Channel 9)

The publication reported that he called a meeting of key executives, including director of television Michael Healy, following an episode in which “husband and wife” Ines Basic and Bronson Norrish engaged in an ugly screaming match.

“It is true we have decided to pull back some editing, mostly though to do with Sunday night because of the PG rating,” Married At First Sight executive producer John Walsh said at the time.

Talking Married appeared to have the same issues, and as a result, will not be returning in 2020.

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