Before Married At First Sight had even started, law graduate Stacy Hampton had somehow earned herself the role of ‘villain’ in this year’s series.
WATCH: Inside Stacey’s heartbreaking confession.
But the 26-year-old has opened up about the reason she finds it so hard to let her guard down – and why that’s stopped her from finding love.
Revealing dark moments from her past on the hit reality show, Stacey reveals she’s been through a lot of trauma.
“When I was one, my father died, and then my brother took that role,” she shares.
“He was very protective. He was like my dad, but also my best friend.”
“The day my son was due to be born, I got a phone call from my mum,” the mum-of-two continues, holding back tears.
“He had a motorbike accident that day. He died.”
“Having a child is meant to be the best day of your life; so I’m going through these mixed emotions where I’ve got this beautiful blessing coming but I’ve just lost my best friend and basically my father figure. I was overwhelmed with everything that was going on.”
Stacey – whose two young sons are two and four years old – is well aware of how the devastating loss shaped her as a person, and made it difficult for her to form lasting relationships.
“I ended up stepping up for the family and I handled everything,” she reveals of the aftermath of her brother’s tragic passing.
“I had to push all my emotions aside. I think that is the reason I do have walls and I am standoffish and I don’t trust people very often. I don’t want to get hurt.”
“I’ll push people away because I don’t want to open up that side of me.”
After singing herself up as a willing participant in the thee latest season of Australia’s favourite televised social experiment, Stacey’s now hoping the experts are able to help her find a partner who will be able to help “bring her walls down and help her show affection”.
“I want to be emotional towards someone and have them do the same back,” she tells MAFS relationship expert John Aitken.
“Because I have love to give as well. I have a lot of love to give.”
Stacey has already found an enemy in former MAFS bride Jessika Power, who slammed the 2020 star on social media recently.
“What I see here is a girl who’s 25 [sic], gone on this show and just gaslighted the s–t out of [fellow participant Hayley Vernon], who has actually worked her entire ass off to be fit, healthy and brought herself out of the darkest of places,” Jessika posted on her Instagram story alongside some pictures of Stacey.
“All to be labelled and slandered by someone who is clearly insecure that someone may bag more ‘air time’ than her,” Jess continued.
“[Stacey] even wrote to me that she thought she was the new ‘me’ on the show.”
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