‘I froze with fear’: Horrific details of claims two women were r*ped during MAFS UK filming

In the last day, it’s been revealed that Channel 4 has commissioned an external review into contributor welfare on MAFS UK, following sexual misconduct claims made by three brides on the show. Two of those brides have claimed they were r*ped by their on-screen grooms.

In April, Channel 4 was presented with serious allegations of wrongdoing against a small number of past contributors, allegations that the grooms in question have denied.

A Panorama episode titled The Dark Side of Married at First Sight aired on Monday (18th), on BBC One. It was fronted by Noor Nanji, who helped share the stories of the women. BBC warned the documentary raised “serious concerns” about the welfare of participants.

*This article contains details some may find upsetting.*

via E4

One woman whose story was told in the BBC episode said her onscreen husband r*ped her, and then threatened her with an acid attack. She now wants to pursue legal action against CPL – the independent production company that makes the show.

A second woman told both Channel 4 and CPL, before broadcast, about being allegedly r*ped by her onscreen husband. Her episodes of MAFS were still aired.

‘You can’t say no, you’re my wife’

One woman, who the BBC called “Lizzie” to protect her identity, explained that during the honeymoon part of the show, her groom would often lost his temper in private. “He would just explode, he would go into this absolute focused anger,” she said.

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Off camera, Lizzie said her partner told her and he and his ex had been “violent” towards each other. Feeling worried about this, Lizzie told CPL’s welfare team. Welfare brought it up with the groom in question, and he is said to have told the team he had been the victim of violence, not the other way around.

That night, she said, he attacked her. “We were in our apartment, on the sofa, and he tried to have s*x with me. And I kept saying no, that I didn’t want to do it,” Lizzie said. “But he kept saying, ‘You can’t say no, you’re my wife’. And he just did it anyway.”

She said: “I just completely froze with fear and I never, ever thought anything could scare me that much.” She then contacted welfare, and showed them the bruises. Welfare took photos of her injuries. Lizzie did not explain the alleged attack.

Lawyers for CPL said the bruises were described to the welfare team by Lizzie as being the result of rough, but consensual, s*x. They said Lizzie did not tell CPL about her partner having told her that she “can’t say no” to him, and that the acid-throwing remark had been reported as a passing comment, not a threat. Lawyers said CPL acted immediately when Lizzie felt unsafe.

Her onscreen husband’s lawyers have said he denies r*pe, and said that all s*xual contact was entirely consensual. He also denies being violent towards her or making violent threats to her.

via E4

‘I just lay there, and I stared out the window’

The second woman, who the BBC called Chloe, also claimed she had been r*ped. She also said she had told her partner “no” before, and one one occasion he had “grabbed my breasts and grabbed my bum” whilst Chloe was sleeping. “I was saying no, no, stop, stop that, because I’d been asleep,” she said. Chloe immediately reported the incident to the welfare team.

Lawyers for CPL said Chloe told them she had not been uncomfortable and had felt safe. They claim, at the time, Chloe did not want the welfare team to discuss what had happened with her onscreen husband.

Chloe explained she and her partner had consensual s*x, but on one occasion she had said “no” to them being intimate.  “He proceeded anyway,” she said. “He smirked and climbed on top of me, moved my leg… By that time, I’d really given up and I just didn’t want him to be angry at me when the cameras came. I just lay there, and I stared out the window.”

Chloe said her groom recognised she was not participating, and asked her: “Do you not want this?” Chloe continued: “I said, ‘I told you I didn’t want this’, and he got very angry, and was like, ‘You should’ve screamed and shouted. You should’ve pushed me off’.”

Chloe said he then said to her: “You’re making me feel like a r*pist.” Lawyers for Chloe’s onscreen husband said he challenges details of her account. He has claimed the s*x was consensual, and as soon as her body language changed to suggest she was no longer consenting, he stopped. He also denied claims he groped her while she was sleeping.

Chloe saw a psychiatrist, who told her what had happened was r*pe and described it as “serious and concerning”. CPL then told Channel 4.

Chloe told Panorama: “After I left the show I felt I had completely lost my grip and I had intrusive thoughts of my own death. And then when the show went out that really intensified into suicidal thoughts, which is not something I had ever thought of before. It was frightening.”

Channel 4 has released a statement

In a statement, Channel 4 stated that MAFS UK is produced under some of  “the most comprehensive and robust welfare protocols in the industry.” These include the most thorough background checks available, a Code of Conduct which clearly sets out behavioural standards, daily contributor check-ins with a specialist welfare team and access to additional support before, during and after filming.

It said: “The physical and psychological wellbeing of all contributors is of paramount importance throughout the process. All duty of care processes are regularly reviewed and, where appropriate, strengthened.”

The statement added: “Related to those allegations, Channel 4 was asked to respond to claims of failures in welfare protocols. Channel 4 believes that when concerns related to contributor welfare were raised through existing welfare and production protocols, prompt and appropriate action was taken, based on the information available at the time. Channel 4 strongly refutes any claim to the contrary.”

Channel 4 confirmed it expects the review to report in the coming months, and will share a summary of findings and recommendations at the appropriate time. In the meantime, the channel has pulled all previous episodes from streaming.

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