It’s a story we’ve heard time and time again: a white damsel in distress is swept off her feet by an equally pale male, who rescues her and the pair live happily ever after.
WATCH: Married At First Sight Australia 2021 extended promo
But if that plot sounds like it should include a wicked stepmother, a pumpkin-style coach and several overly enthusiastic mice, that’s because it’s a fairy tale … and not reality.
In the real world, women rescue men, blokes date blokes and people invariably come in more than just one colour, which is why the latest MAFS participants have upset fans.
On Monday, Channel Nine gave fans a first-look at the brides and grooms – not accounting for intruders – who will say ‘I do’ at the alter on season eight of Married At First Sight.
And while the show’s producers have reportedly promised some of the “most genuine” participants we’ve ever seen this year, fans weren’t impressed by the apparent lack of diversity.
After the network shared footage of the ladies on Instagram, many fans took to the social platform to comment on the apparent lack of representation.
“Wow, all white. Because only white ppl live in Australia,” one person wrote, while another added: “They all kinda look the same.”
An equally as disgruntled fan stated: “Next season can we get more plus-sized brides and grooms? Different races and colours and please more LGBT couples?”
Meanwhile, a fourth added: “Hey @mafs I think you forgot to show that there are more than just white slim women looking for love.”
What’s more, fans seemingly weren’t impressed by the show’s follow-up post, which introduced the grooms, with one person stating: “Are there only white guys in Australia?”
Another wrote: “I didn’t know that everyone in Australia was white!!! Oh wait they’re not, it’s just on MAFS. This cast is literally the worst for the last few seasons, and it’s not even been diverse so far – was expecting better this year.”
A third person added: “Why are only white people desperate in Australia?”
Despite the backlash, MAFS experts John Aiken and Mel Schilling recently admitted to Who magazine that, unlike last year, season eight will be “very different.”
“If we look at the broader journey of MAFS it’s more of a throwback to seasons five and six in that the love stories have become more the focus,” relationship expert Mel said.
Speaking of the brides and grooms, fellow expert John hinted that there will definitely be key players in 2021, some of whom viewers will love and others they will hate.
“Some of them are very polarising and one of the great things about Married At First Sight is that it is very diverse and we get all sorts of different people of different ages, cultures, sexual orientations and so I think there’s certainly a number of them there that you will get very invested in like most series,” he said.
With that in mind, hopefully we will get to see some surprise intruders or revelations from this year’s participants, which will contribute to a more realistic representation of Australia’s diverse population.
Married At First Sight Season 8 premieres on Monday, February 22 at 7.30pm on Nine.
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