At the beginning of every Married At First Sight season, one question crops up again and again as the participants share news of their going on the show with their loved ones.
WATCH: This bride’s family refuses to attend her wedding and it’s heartbreaking.
Just what do the brides’ and grooms’ parents/brothers/sisters/friends/children think is about to happen when they’re invited to a family gathering along with a camera crew and TV producers?
Why do they think they’re there? Do they wonder why they’re wearing microphones, or why lighting has ben set up in their lounge rooms?
Some even wonder if the loved ones receiving the news have been told beforehand, and have to act surprised when the cameras are rolling.
But thanks to what appears to be a slip of the tongue by groom Ivan Sarakula, it seems the answer might be rather simple.
Like so many MAFS contestants before him, the real estate agent sat his parents down for a seemingly candid chat over a shared meal to reveal to them that he’s decided to marry a stranger on national television.
As he took his place at the dinner table with his mum (who, amusingly, looked and smiled at the camera several times) and dad, his opening line gave much away.
Taking a seat opposite his parents, Ivan began:
“We’re actually not here for a real estate program…”
He went on to tell him that he’s going on MAFS, but with that one line, Ivan us in on the trick producers use in an attempt to keep reactions to contestants’ news natural: they tell a little white lie about what they’re really doing there, it seems!
It sounds like Ivan had told his parents the camera crew was there for something related to his work in real estate, which goes some way to answering the question: What do the families think is going on when the film crew shows up in their kitchen?
Meanwhile, we didn’t get to see Ivan’s match Aleksandra Markovic deliver the news to her parents, as they decided not to have any part in her appearance on the show.
“Mum and dad aren’t coming to my wedding because it’s not traditionally what they would want,” the tearful bride revealed.
“I respect their decision… But it is going to be hard because I do call on my mum every day. It doesn’t matter what we’re talking about… Not having her there is going to be really hard.”
But while Aleks has to go it alone, she believes the chance for true love is worth it.
“I chose to do this experiment on my own,” she shared.
“I regard my parents so much that I seek their approval for my whole life, and this was just one thing – taking the risk of love and happiness and taking it into my own hands – and just going ‘Screw you all, I’m going to do this for myself.'”
Ivan has already hit headlines this year, sparking rumours he’s only on the show for fame after he was spotted in Instagram snaps with Cyrell Paule (MAFS class of 2019) and seasoned Bachelor villain Keira Maguire.
He also applied for another reality show before he found himself filling in the MAFS application form…
But the 30-year-old tells WHO he’s simply jumping an opportunity that came along at the right time.
“I was in a little bit of a rut, and I thought, I’m a bit lost for love… why not?” he says. “I’m a roll-with-the-punches sort of guy.”
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