Although Eliot Donovan was not on Married at First Sight for long, he definitely made quite the impression!
Not just on people watching at home, but also on the experts and his fellow participants in the experiment.
Unlucky the first time around, he returned two weeks later as an intruder after being given a second chance at love by the experts.
But marriage number two to Veronica Cloherty was short-lived. The duo were unable to see eye to eye and had several explosive fights during their time together.
Scroll on to find out about everything that happened in Eliot and Veronica’s marriage on MAFS.
Feedback Week and the Partner Swap Challenge
For Veronica, a chance to listen to an outsider’s perspective on her marriage during the partner swap challenge was a welcome opportunity.
While Eliot and Rhi were partnered up, Veronica was paired with Dave who after spending some time with quickly realised just how little she and Eliot had in common.
“Yeah, I do feel like I probably would have been better matched with Dave. But I’d also probably be better matched with almost everyone else on this floor,” she admitted to producers.
Her revelation followed speculation that she and Dave had secretly started dating after getting to know each other during the partner swap challenge.
As she returned to the apartment she shared with Eliot, Veronica was quick to tell him just how unhappy she was with him and their relationship.
“In 24 hours Dave and I have shared more with each other…and I personally feel that I have learned more about him in this short time than I have about you in four weeks.”
“I don’t have to prompt Dave to open up – he tells me things because he wants to talk to me. Dave makes me feel connected and seen, but unfortunately, I don’t feel this same way with you.”
She then added that she was “done” with Eliot.
“We’re done here. Your level of disrespect is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced in my life,” she yelled.
“I want nothing to do with you. You have no respect and I have no interest in pursuing anything with you. You’re beneath me,” she then concluded before storming out of their apartment.
Fast forward to the next Commitment Ceremony and both decided to leave the experiment.
“It’s obvious my wife hates me,” Eliot told the experts.
While Veronica denied hating him, she did agree that the only consistent thing about their marriage was that they disagreed all the time, and had very different perspectives on what had taken place between them.
An unexpected betrayal
At the third dinner party that the duo attended as a couple Veronica’s duplicity was revealed in front of the entire group when Jamie accused her of “talking sh***” about Eliot to his ex-wife Lauren – something Eliot had no prior clue about.
While Veronica did initially deny the encounter taking place, she eventually caved and attempted to rationalise her behaviour.
“We were in a bad place and I needed advice from [Lauren] – the only other person who knew you,” she explained with little success to Eliot who was still baffled why she would go to the “person who only says negative things about [him].”
“Going to someone who only has negative things to say about your partner is going to be poisonous to the relationship. Going to someone who is actively disparaging me, how can I have your back? That’s not having my back,” he vented.
Later that same week on the Commitment Ceremony couch Veronica left her husband stunned when she admitted that while they had been having a “great week”, it was because she was holding parts of herself back.
“It’s baffling to me. It seems like I’m in this experiment with someone who doesn’t really like me,” Eliot said in response.
Despite their differences, both wrote to stay once more.
Uncovering the ‘real Eliot’
Despite her attempts to give her new husband the benefit of the doubt, Veronica’s concerns over Eliot’s behaviour only worsened after she met up with Lauren to discuss their short-lived marriage.
“Eliot’s about as shallow as a pond in a desert, he literally has no depth to him. He is very narcissistic. She should run,” Lauren shared with producers after her face-to-face with Veronica.
“Even though she has her own experience with him it is really disheartening to hear that insight into Eliot. I don’t feel good,” Veronica added.
Fast forward to the photo ranking challenge and Veronica was dismayed to see that her husband was only placing value on the physical appearances of the other brides.
While Eliot ranked Veronica in the number one spot, she only ranked him third from the top.
“You’re obviously physically gorgeous, we can all see that. But the reason why I put these guys [Dave and Teejay] ahead is because I feel like there is a level of openness and vulnerability that I haven’t seen from you yet.”
Still stewing in their drastically different approaches to that challenge, the newlyweds then took part in a confessional challenge where they were tasked with writing each other letters from the heart in the hopes of bringing them closer together.
But for Veronica, Eliot’s story about his sister’s experience with diabetes as a child wasn’t vulnerable enough, leaving her frustrated to the point that she stormed out of their apartment.
“This was the perfect opportunity for him to tell me something, anything…and he chose nothing. I know that sister has diabetes and his mum cried and his dad is this stoic, emotionless man, [but] I just don’t think he [Eliot] has the capacity to even look at himself, or even think about his life that’s more than just surface level,” Veronica vented.
While she later returned, she left once more after being unable to reach a middle ground with Eliot who couldn’t understand what he was doing wrong.
The following day at their second dinner party together, Eliot returned to their shared apartment in an attempt to smoothe their relationship woes over to little success.
Expecting an apology, Veronica was left agitated, demanding he once again leave: “If you don’t believe you have a reason to apologise to me, I’m not your mother, I wasn’t brought here to fix you,” she told him.
Despite arriving separately, the couple left the dinner party together with a new sense of understanding about their relationship after the other couples encouraged Veronica to be more patient with her husband and not minimise his past experiences.
After being called “judgemental” by the experts and encouraged to show more empathy to her husband at their second Commitment Ceremony, both Veronica and Eliot chose to stay in the experiment for another week.
The first dinner party and Commitment Ceremony
Despite already hearing her husband’s recount of what had happened between him and Lauren, Veronica entered her first dinner party with an open mind.
After observing how he interacted with his ex-wife and put her down in front of the table, Veronica was left less than impressed, labeling Eliot’s behaviour and complete lack of accountability over his actions as “disgusting.”
“He needs to take accountability for his behaviour if he wants this to work,” Veronica said.
Going into their first Commitment Ceremony as a couple, Veronica was quick to share her concerns with the experts.
“Hearing Lauren’s side of the story and hearing what she went through is not a side of Eliot that I’ve ever seen.”
But upon reflection, it seemed as though Eliot was finally ready to take ownership of his wrongdoing, much to the delight of his second wife.
“I have 100% regrets over how I handled the situation. The manner in which I left. When I did that it was a panicked decision. I didn’t feel any sort of connection and I was trying to clumsily rationalise that with checkboxes.”
“Lauren, I didn’t consider your feelings in that process and I made a mistake. It might not be something that you ever forgive me for but I’m sorry nonetheless. I mean that sincerely.”
Ultimately, both he and Veronica choose to stay in the experiment for another week.
Who is Veronica Cloherty?
Despite finding a new match for Eliot, the experts still had reservations about how he would approach marriage a second time around following his disastrous relationship with Lauren.
In a piece-to-camera, the controversial groom said his one-on-one time with John Aitken made him reflect on what went wrong.
“I’m too specific and too argumentative and too, difficult I think,” he confessed, adding he wanted to do better and be more open in his second marriage.
Despite the experts’ apprehensions, he was then matched with personal trainer and actress Veronica Cloherty.
She is a two-time Miss Universe Australia finalist, and starred in the feature film Streets of Colour, the short films Fuse and While We Live, and the RIFK series. She has also dabbled in theatre and released a short film in 2024.
Hailing from Sydney, the confident and outgoing bride is tired of the dating scene and told producers she was ready to find someone to start a family with.
“It’s hard to find a partner who can match my energy plus everything else I’m looking for,” the no bullsh** bride lamented in a piece-to-camera prior to meeting Eliot.
In the lead-up to their wedding, the new pair confessed separately they were both looking for someone honest and authentic.
What happened at Eliot and Veronica’s wedding?
Smiling when they first met, Eliot asked his bride if she recognised him much to her confusion. Her friends were also wary about him when they saw nobody attending the wedding on his side.
Pushing this aside, Veronica read her vows first and Eliot said in a confessional that he liked her energy and was keen to spend more time with her.
Following his wife, Eliot shared cryptic vows that not only confused the bride but also her friends. They got their answers though when he shared that this was his second MAFS wedding, and he admitted he only stayed for a couple of days the first time around.
Despite the concerns from her friends, Eliot assured them he was ready to stick around this time.
What happened on Eliot and Veronica’s honeymoon?
As the couple learned more about one another on their romantic honeymoon in Mudgee, Veronica opened up and said that she has endometriosis, which impacts her chances of having a baby.
Upon hearing this, Eliot said he appreciated her honesty and vulnerability, which strengthened their bond.
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