MAFS brides share the REAL way experts offer advice and it proves the whole show is fake af

The backbone of MAFS Australia is the advice of the experts John Aiken, Mel Schilling, and Alessandra Rampolla as they have years of real-world experience in their belt to help couples overcome issues.

John is a registered psychologist with over 25 years of experience in his private practice, while Mel has similar qualifications from Deakin University and the University of Melbourn. Alessandra is probably the most qualified expert of them all with a master’s in marriage and family therapy, sexology, and several other impressive specialities.

Naturally, I thought that when sitting on the couches the experts were giving their own opinions based on decades of knowledge – silly me. Comments from former brides have now called into question just how expert the experts are.

Former brides have suggested the MAFS experts wear earpieces

This week, season 10’s Tahnee Cook and season nine’s Selina Chhaur dropped one hell of a bomb on their Back to Reality podcast, claiming, “The scary thing is it’s not even the experts talking. I don’t think the audience knows.”

“They wear an earpiece, you can hear it [producers talking to them],” Selina explained.

Tahnee echoed her sentiments and said it was quite “jarring” because you could hear the producers in the expert’s ears telling them what to say. At the same time, the brides and grooms are sat there being forced to pretend it’s authentically coming from the mouths of John, Mel, and Alessandra.

“You can hear, it’s so jarring. You’d sit there, probably the same distance we are now, and you can hear it,” she said. “You can literally hear what’s being said in the earpiece.”

Most Read

Adolescence director breaks down the ending’s secret meaning and it’s utterly heartbreaking

MAFS Australia 2025 bride Jacqui *finally* explains what her mysterious corporate job actually is

‘Not a nice human’: Teachers, students and parents share horrid experiences with MAFS’ Tim

This is not the first time the accusation has come up, and in a YouTube video, 2018 groom Dean Wells alleged the same thing.

“These experts are supposed to give you information and guide you through stuff and whatnot. But when you actually sit down and talk to them, you ask them a question, they don’t answer you straight away,’ he said.

“They stop, pause and go to their little headset, wait for the producers to tell them what to say, then they talk to you. It’s not actually [them] really talking to you. It’s all coming from a headset. They just sit there and get told what to say by the producers.”

Alyssa Barmonde, a bride on the 2024 season, also said the same thing on the So Dramatic podcast, stating: “They’re wearing earpieces the whole time and are being fed what to say by production. On the couch, they ask a question, you answer. Then they sit, nod and smile, and you can HEAR the voices from the earpiece telling them what to say next.”

The late Trisha Stafford denied such claims before her passing

Clinical neuro psychotherapist Trisha Stafford, who passed away in 2023, had earlier denied such claims in an interview with TV Tonight.

“It’s an unscripted television show – that’s where it’s an experiment, and like any experiment, you throw in different variables,’ she said. “We don’t do anything, we observe them and talk to them.”

Channel Nine has been approached for comment.

For all the latest MAFS news, scandals, gossip and updates – like The Holy Church of MAFS on Facebook. 

Featured image credit: Nine