MAFS UK was ‘relentless’ and ‘I fell into a depression’ says Keye, six months on from show

Keye has spoken out about his experience on MAFS UK, six months after his journey first started on the show. Keye was matched with Davide, and they made it to the end of the show together. However, it was later confirmed they had split since filming, and The Tab revealed this was because Keye had been on dating apps whilst the experiment was taking place.

The show has just aired a second reunion, in which the final bits of drama have finally made it to air. At the same time, Keye has shared all about the toll the show had on him.

“Nothing prepared me for MAFS,” he said, in a piece he wrote for The Mirror. “I went from an idyllic, queer affirming space on the show, surrounded by an incredible team, back to ‘normal life’.”

via Channel 4

Keye explained: “Going into MAFS, I wanted to be myself – maybe for the first time in my adult life. I wanted to be the person my younger self needed to see on screen. I put pressure on myself to be an example instead of simply being a person; when you represent a community, you carry more than your own story.

“So yes, I was loud and brash, I got overly excited about giraffes, I threw hissy fits when ambushed by cats or after a few too many wines. But there were quiet moments too, vulnerable ones that made me uncomfortable, yet mattered, because none of us are one-dimensional.”

But after the show, things changed. Keye said he had put too much pressure on himself during filming, and afterwards needed to change. “After spending my life tailoring my personality to my audience, my mind eventually said no more. The leading man walked off set, the spotlight went out,” he said.

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“I fell into a depression that silenced the high-energy, bubbly persona people knew. I couldn’t leave my bed and my thoughts were relentless, trying to untangle what was truly me and what had been performance. I needed the noise to stop.”

He explained that at one of his lowest points, the work of MindOut charity helped to “carry me through”. He has since represented the charity when running a marathon.

via Channel 4

In the piece, Keye concluded: “Representation matters, seeing yourself on screen can shift the trajectory of a life. But if my time on MAFS taught me anything, it is that being understood is far more powerful than simply being seen and, if my mental health journey has taught me anything, it is that asking for help is not weakness. It is courage.

“So I will keep showing up as the loud one, the soft one, the excitable one, the vulnerable one. Not a caricature. Not an archetype. Just me. Because the most powerful thing any of us can be, on television or off, is whole.”

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