'MAFS UK': 3 brides claim their grooms sexually assaulted them in bombshell doco

WARNING: This article discusses allegations of sexual assault and may be distressing to some readers. 

‘Married At First Sight UK’ has been removed from Channel 4’s streaming service, and an external review has been launched after serious allegations of sexual assault have been made by multiple former participants.

‘The Dark Side of Married At First Sight’, a BBC ‘Panorama’ investigative documentary, covered claims from three former brides of the dating experiment, including allegations of rape, abuse, and non-consensual sex acts by their on-screen husbands.

All of the accused men’s legal teams have denied the allegations.

Two women, who go by the names ‘Lizzie’ and ‘Chloe’ and are played by actresses to protect their real identities, allege they were raped during filming of the show. 

A third woman, Shona Manderson (real identity), alleged her on-screen husband ejaculated inside her without consent.

The women said they believed production company CPL Productions and broadcaster Channel 4 failed to protect them during filming.

Married at First Sight UK ‘Lizzie’ allegations:

In the documentary, Lizzie alleged that her on-screen husband became increasingly aggressive during their honeymoon.

She claims she was threatened for attempting to speak up about the alleged abuse.

According to the BBC, she claims that he told her if she told anyone about it, “He would get someone to throw acid at me.”

She also claims she was told, “You can’t say no, you’re my wife,” during a sexual encounter.

The Guardian reports that Lizzie made the show's production team, CPL Productions, aware of the threats and her bruises, but filming continued, and the show was still broadcast. 

After it aired, Lizzie claims she “took a nosedive… I had to start being honest,” and she told CPL that she was raped.

Married at First Sight UK ‘Chloe’ allegations:

Chloe alleged that after saying “no” to having sex, her on-screen husband ignored the boundary of consent. 

She claimed: “I said no. He smirked, moved my leg, climbed on top of me and proceeded to have sex with me anyway … I didn’t want him to be angry with me when the cameras came. I just lay there and stared out of the window.”

She added that he got angry with her for not attempting to push him off if she didn’t consent, claiming he said: “You’re making me feel like a rapist!”

MAFS UK Shona allegations: 

Speaking on the Panorama investigation, Shona claimed: “In bed [Bradley Skelly and I] were being intimate. Consensual, completely.”

“We were having sex, and a boundary was crossed completely. My partner came inside me without my consent,” she claimed.

“We had agreed we were pulling out. I was shocked, I was confused. We said that we weren’t doing that.”

Elsewhere, she added: “I want to share my story and hope that it can actually start a serious conversation about moving forward and putting more things in place, because at the end of the day, I shouldn't have been in that situation.”

The men’s lawyers deny claims:

Lawyers representing the men accused of the multiple assaults have denied the allegations. 

As reported by The Independent UK, the legal team for Lizzie’s on-screen husband says all sexual contact was entirely consensual. They told BBC that he also denies being violent towards her or making violent threats.

Lawyers for the man accused of assaulting Chloe said their sexual acts began consensually and that he stopped once consent was seemingly withdrawn through body language.

The lawyers for Shona’s on-screen husband, Bradley Skelly, read out a statement during the BBC investigation, saying he “categorically denies any allegations of sexual misconduct or that he was controlling”.

They claim the relationship was based on “mutual consent, care and affection”.

Channel 4’s response to ‘MAFS UK’ assault allegations:

Since the release of the Panorama investigation, Channel 4 has now removed all episodes of the programme from its streaming and linear services, alongside MAFS UK social channels.

In a statement released after BBC News broke the story, Channel 4 said it had commissioned an external review of welfare on the show last month "after being presented with serious allegations of wrongdoing".

Priya Dogra, Chief Executive of Channel 4, said: “I want to express my sympathy to contributors who have clearly been distressed after taking part in Married at First Sight UK. The well-being of our contributors is always of paramount importance.

“On the claims that Channel 4 may have failed in its duty of care, I believe that when concerns about contributor welfare were raised, and based on the information available at the time, Channel 4 acted quickly, appropriately, sensitively and with wellbeing front and centre. 

“Nevertheless, because we aspire to the highest standards of contributor welfare, I felt strongly as Channel 4’s new CEO that it was right that we look again at how we handled issues raised at the time and ask whether changes should be made to further strengthen contributor welfare.

“That’s why last month I commissioned an external review of contributor welfare on MAFS UK. That review will report to me in the coming months. 

We take these issues very seriously and are committed to ensuring that we continue to lead the industry in our duty of care for contributors.

Metropolitan Police respond:

As reported by the BBC, the Metropolitan Police is encouraging any former participant of ‘MAFS UK’ who believes they may have experienced sexual assault while involved in the experiment to come forward. 

Police confirmed no criminal reports had been formally made at this stage, but they are reportedly seeking further information from Channel 4 and the show’s production to "ensure anyone they have spoken to is aware of how to report any criminal allegations.”

"We continue to encourage anyone who believes they have been a victim of sexual assault, no matter how long ago it happened, to get in touch with us," the Met Police said via BBC.

If you or someone you know has experienced assault, help is available: 

• New Zealand Police

• Safe to talk

• Rape Prevention Education

• Te Ohaakii a Hine – National Network Ending Sexual Violence Together