It wasn’t love at first sight for Luke Fourniotis and Mel Akbay when they met at the altar on Married At First Sight.
Things only became progressively more awkward between the couple as Luke tried to make it work, while Mel pulled back.
They briefly seemed to make progress before Mel declared that she didn’t feel anything “romantic” between them.
“The past few days, I haven’t been feeling anything, and it’s making me feel anxious, because I know I’m meant to be feeling those feelings, and I’m just not,” she shared.
“I can’t keep waking up thinking, ‘maybe today is the day I’m going to develop feelings’, because it’s not happening.”
Now, they have finally left the experiment after both writing “leave” at the Commitment Ceremony that aired on Sunday, March 1.
The experts grilled Mel on whether she had given Luke a real chance, arguing that she judged him on a first impression rather than getting to know him.
“I personally feel like Mel hasn’t really tried throughout this whole experiment,” Luke said.
Mel said she was looking for an empathetic and supportive partner, with the experts pointing out she was describing Luke’s traits exactly, but she remained firm that there was no future for them.
Going to the decision, Luke revealed he had written leave, adding, “It’s been a wild ride, and I’m so grateful for this whole experiment, but there comes a point where you can’t keep going.”
While Mel said, “I couldn’t have foreseen how hard this experiment was going to be for me, and I’m really happy to have met you, and I’m sorry for everything.”
Scroll on to look back on their turbulent MAFS journey together.
What has Luke said about his relationship with Mel on MAFS?
Speaking exclusively to New Idea, Luke admitted that he was left devastated when the cast gave him the cold shoulder because of what Mel had said about him on the show.
He revealed that many of the other women began treating him differently after the Red Flag, Green Flag task, where Mel claimed he had no green flags and said he had made her life “hell”.
“I remember the following day, like, not getting the same reception from some of the other women in the experiment that I had previously. I was like, ‘What’s going on? What have I done?’ I was given the cold shoulder,” he shared.
Through tears, he admitted that he felt devastated watching the episodes back and took some time away from his phone and social media to rebuild his confidence.
“It was just horrible when, at that time, you’re trying so hard to put your best foot forward with your bride, and be the best person you can be for someone, and then you hear that they’ve said horrible stuff behind your back and that stuff is not even true. I actually can’t explain the feeling,” he added.
Despite the difficult time, Luke said that the public support has been “validating” for him after struggling through his marriage to Mel on the show.
Read our full interview with Luke here.
What happened between Mel and Luke on MAFS?
During the first Commitment Ceremony, Mel and Luke sat far apart from one another on the couch.
As she spoke, Mel reflected on their “rocky” wedding, her expectations of an instant spark, and Luke’s lateness and tardiness.
While she explained her struggles, John acknowledged that her behaviour at the first dinner party was animated with other contestants, and withdrawn when she returned to her husband.
“The thing is, I shouldn’t have been mean about it,” Mel shared. “It’s just that I thought that Luke had feelings for me because I wasn’t feeling the same; I just wanted to push him away.”
When she admitted that she was a little disappointed that Luke was not physically her type, John said she needed a “wake-up call” and needed to try to learn more about why she was matched with Luke.
Luke admitted that Mel’s attitude towards him “knocked” his confidence, and he “really tried” to support her before he got teary, which stunned the other contestants.
Looking at his emotional state, Mel admitted that she was not proud of her behaviour, and would do things differently if she could.
“Even though it has been so tough and everything with us, I don’t want to leave it on that note,” Luke began, revealing that he wrote stay, while the other participants applauded.
When it came to Mel’s decision, however, she said they were different people, and wrote leave.
Harsh truths during Revelations Week
For their final task during Revelations Week, Mel stunned the other brides when she said her husband had no green flags and that he made her life a “living hell”.
“He hates me so much that he’s trying to find any reason just to be mean, but the only thing I’ve done is not have feelings for him back,” she shared
Luke, on the other hand, praised her ability to be empathetic, but was open about his struggles.
“It’s been tough, I feel like I’ve really tried to make it work, and I’ve gone nowhere,” he shared. “She’s been pushing me away from day dot… like I don’t exist.”
“I genuinely feel like I can’t trust her.”
The confronting week saw tensions rise between the couple, with Luke walking out of their apartment, admitting he had felt “alone and isolated” after the rocky start with his new bride.
It didn’t look promising for the couple after Luke walked out of their apartment and told Mel of his intentions to go and stay with a friend for a few days.
“I’m really not happy with how this whole thing is making me feel,” he told Mel.
“Every day I try, I feel a little bit less hopeful and a little bit less positive.”
“It’s felt like more of a jail cell than a fun experience,” he added to the camera.
Mel had a shocking reaction as she told producers that his words gave her the “ick”, saying he wasn’t the “amazing person” she first met.
“When Luke tells me that his positivity and hope is starting to fade, it’s kind of giving me the ick because it seems like he’s sulking,” she said.
The unfortunate twist came after Mel admitted to having “stalked” her ex-boyfriend.
During a question challenge, Mel said she and her friends had previously driven past their exes’ houses at night to make sure they were home.
“Get in the car with my friends and drive past his house multiple times during the nighttime to make sure he was home,” she told Luke.
“Laps, laps, get a sweet treat, laps, laps. Best time of my life, and if his car was there, it meant he was home.”
Mel revealed that the house of the person they would visit would depend on “whose heart was broken that week or that month”.
Footage from her audition tape also showed Mel jokingly describing herself as a “psycho” and a “stalker.”
“I’ve never got someone saying to me ‘you’re a psycho or you’re a stalker’, because I’m not a psycho or a stalker – well, I am, but they don’t know that,” she shared.
It was another blow for the couple after Luke was left devastated over Mel ranking him in second place in the photo ranking challenge.
Mel placed him in second place, with Grayson above him in first place, with Mel admitting that she hadn’t gotten the “Bradley Cooper lookalike” that she’d asked the experts for.
“That’s just knocked me down even further, to be honest. Right now, I feel like quite massively under-confident,” Luke admitted.
Things have only been getting worse for the couple after their wedding got off to a rocky start, and the dinner party further stirred things up.
The first dinner party
Unlike other couples, Mel and Luke did not have a united entrance into the first dinner party, with both quick to express their marriage struggles with other participants.
When the brides quizzed Mel about any potential “icks”, the Sydney-based bride acknowledged that she could do more.
“I know I’m overreacting at things, I know I shouldn’t get annoyed, I know it’s not a big deal, but I can’t help it,” she shared.
“Help me, I still feel single!” she then joked.
Her open communication and subsequent laughter disheartened her groom more.
“I can see the energy in how she talks to other people in the room, but it’s completely different from how she talks to me,” he said in disbelief, adding he was fed up with his efforts not being reciprocated.
His concerns were then confirmed when she admitted that she was not putting in as much effort after she was grilled by the other couples.
“Cause I know that I’m not being the nicest person,” she admitted, adding that he was seeing a different side to her.
“I know I could try harder,” she continued.
What happened at Mel and Luke’s wedding?
The pair’s union got off to a turbulent start when it aired on Tuesday, February 3, when Luke, 30, forgot the rings, leaving his bride alone at the altar while he went back for them.
Things then went from bad to worse when Mel, 28, was left cringing over Luke chewing gum during her vows.
She appeared unimpressed by her match, despite him seeming like her perfect person on paper.
Describing her ideal man, Mel said, “I want someone who will always carry the grocery bags, I want someone who will always fix a light bulb or put air in my tyres. That’s my mission, I want to find the blue to my pink.”
And Luke seemed like her ideal match, holding those traditional values dear to him, while they both have a shared love of rom-coms.
“My dream girl would be someone who’s positive, doesn’t take themselves too seriously, someone who’s quietly confident,” Luke said.
“I’m attracted to soft features, a feminine-looking girl, someone who’s nice.”
However, things quickly went pear-shaped after Luke forgot the rings on their wedding day, meaning he had to rush back and pick them up.
The delay left Mel standing alone at the altar, with the groom having to apologise for his absence when he was the last one to arrive at the ceremony.
After the vows, Mel didn’t appear convinced about her new match, saying there were no romantic sparks between them.
“All I could think about in the back of my head was that I didn’t feel chemistry or anything like that, unfortunately,” she said.
“He doesn’t make me feel that pink feeling that I wanted to feel.”
Later, at their reception, she confided in her mother that she didn’t feel any chemistry with Luke, despite her loved ones saying he seemed like a good match for her.
Despite Luke’s repeated apologies for arriving late, things remained tense between the newlyweds as their marriage got off to a rocky start.
“I think it might be a bit of an ongoing thing for a bit,” Luke said.
“I’m not sure what he’s expecting from me after today,” Mel added to the camera.
Mel said she felt her experience had been “tainted” because of his actions, so is it all over for the couple before it has even begun?
Are Luke and Mel from Married at First Sight still together?
No, Luke and Mel from MAFS are not still together.
New Idea understands that the ring drama set the tone for Luke and Mel’s relationship, sealing their fate.
“That disaster set the tone for everything,” a source told us. “Trust issues, hurt feelings and big emotional conversations all come back to that moment.”
“Both Luke and Mel have been desperate for clarity about what actually went wrong,” they added.
“There are still so many unanswered questions.”
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