Later in the evening when things had calmed down, Romina tried to broach the subject again, which caused Marcus to storm off to pack his bags. Trying to intercept him as he went to leave, Romina used the ill-advised words, ‘You can’t go’ – triggering an escalation that no one saw coming.
‘You’re going to try and hold me prisoner!’ Marcus raved. ‘I’m just calling the cops to say I’m being held against my will.’
Dialling triple-0, Marcus told the emergency operator, ‘I’m just being held against my will in a house at the moment.
‘I’m really trying to leave and they’re not letting me so it’s a police matter. I’ve got people blocking the door, not letting me leave.’
Fuel was thrown onto the fire when Tyler grabbed one of Marcus’s suitcases, leading the distressed spouse to complain, ‘You’re actually holding me against my will right now.’
That was the end of it, as Marcus departed to grab an Uber. He later confessed to producers, ‘When people all start coming at you it’s kind of fight or flight.’
