Married At First Sight’s Bryce Ruthven and Melissa Rawson are undoubtedly one of the most controversial couples on the show this season.
WATCH BELOW: MAFS’ Melissa asks Bryce’s friends about his ‘secret girlfriend’
So much so, that over 13,000 fans – and counting – have signed a Change.org petition that calls for Channel Nine to issue an apology for airing “triggering” scenes involving the couple.
“There is a clear failure of duty of care to Melissa during filming of the show, allowing her to remain in a toxic and dangerous environment with her partner for the “benefit” of the network,” the petition states.
“She is being subject to gaslighting, emotional manipulation, isolation, and countless other textbook signs of a controlling and or abusive relationship,” it continued to claim.
The petition also calls for Nine to acknowledge its alleged “failure of duty of care” towards Melissa.
Now, a week after the petition was created, Channel Nine have issued a statement regarding the allegations.
On Wednesday, MAFS’ executive producer John Walsh released a statement, denying that Melissa and Bryce’s relationship was “characterised by domestic violence.”
“The petition in question does not reflect the nature of Bryce and Melissa’s relationship and at no time did Endemol Shine Australia or Nine consider Bryce and Melissa’s relationship to be characterised by domestic violence or the like. If that had been the case we would have intervened immediately,” he said.
He added that the first priority in making MAFS is to “make sure all the participants feel they are operating in a safe environment”, and that at a briefing of participants before filming, the importance of alerting production if they felt unsafe or uncomfortable with their partners at any time was reinforced.
“We understand meeting and marrying someone at first sight and living with them for eight weeks can be a potentially daunting experience and we would not persist with a scenario where someone does not feel safe,” John said.
He also said that there are “rigorous processes” used during filming to protect participants from toxic situations, including giving them access to a dedicated psychologist.
Bryce first stunned viewers early on in the season when he confessed to Melissa that she was “not his type.” Soon after, viewers were left shocked when he placed her fourth when asked to rank the MAFS women in terms of who he was most attracted to.
He has also been involved in drama with other couples on the show almost every week, where in one instance, things got rather heated when Bryce threw his drink at another groom during an argument.
The controversial groom landed in hot water yet again when he kissed fellow bride Beck Zemeck on the cheek without her consent. Beck went on to reveal she shared her complaint with production which led to the show being “shut down” for a day.
The drama really stepped up a notch after a commitment ceremony where Bryce wrote “leave” but crossed it out then changed his decision to “stay”, leaving everyone, including Melissa, shocked.
The 31-year-old himself has since addressed the claims that he is exhibiting gaslighting behaviour, after The Wash ran into Bryce at an airport with Melissa, where he was asked about his portrayal on the show.
“I didn’t know what [gaslighting] was, I had to Google it,” Bryce told the publication.
He then went on to say that the public can decide what’s true for themselves.
“The edit is definitely part of me, good parts and bad parts. I think everyone else can work that out,” he said.
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