This season of Married At First Sight has descended into chaos – and not the kind producers can neatly package into a teaser.
What began with a messy Dinner Party #2 is now spiralling into betrayals and alumni pile-ons – with Chris Nield defying producers to reveal what really happened when his wife Brook Crompton abruptly walked off the Commitment Ceremony.
For the latest edition of MAFS Insider, Daily Mail senior reporter Ali Daher spoke to Chris about the shocking conclusion of Sunday night’s episode…
The truth about Brook’s ‘abrupt’ exit
Chris says the ‘runaway bride’ moment – which wasn’t the first time Brook had tried to hightail it – was something entirely different behind the scenes.
To recap: during the show, Brook’s exit was made to look like she simply walked out, leaving Chris blindsided and humiliated.
For the latest edition of MAFS Insider, Daily Mail senior reporter Ali Daher spoke to Chris Nield about the shocking conclusion of Sunday night’s episode
Chris says Sunday night’s ‘runaway bride’ moment – which wasn’t the first time his wife Brook Crompton had tried to hightail it – was something entirely different behind the scenes
But according to Chris, they had actually made plans to leave the show at the same time on amicable terms – they had even booked their flights – until production intervened.
‘We’d already decided,’ Chris says. ‘We told them in the morning that we were done. We were leaving.’
That wasn’t what happened on screen, however.
Whatever plans they had were thrown out the window when expert Mel Schilling went for the jugular during the Commitment Ceremony, tearing shreds off Brook for her bullying behaviour at the recent Dinner Party.
In that moment, Brook decided she wanted out immediately – and wouldn’t be waiting for Chris, who was none the wiser to her sudden change of plan.
When it dawned on him that Brook – who’d slipped off the couch under the guise of using the bathroom – wasn’t coming back, he instantly knew how the producers would spin the narrative.
‘As soon as they said she’d left, I knew what they were doing,’ he says
‘I stood up and said, “We’re not f***ing doing this.” I wasn’t going to let her be framed as abandoning me.
Brook’s exit was made to look like she just walked out, leaving Chris blindsided and humiliated
But according to Chris, they had actually made plans to leave show at the same time on amicable terms – they had even booked their flights – until production intervened
‘I had booked a flight before Brook that weekend. We woke up and said, “This isn’t for us. We’re getting out of here.”‘
Chris claims that producers baulked at the idea of Chris and Brook both leaving the experiment early on good terms – which wouldn’t have made for good TV.
‘They don’t want you just going, “Okay, we’re done.” That’s not how it works,’ he says.
From the moment Brook and Chris decided to quit, producers allegedly kept Chris in the dark about what was happening around him.
He wasn’t even told his wife would be returning to last Wednesday’s Dinner Party after she had previously – briefly – left the experiment.
‘She was told not to tell anybody,’ he says. ‘I had no idea she was there.’
What followed, Chris tells me, was chaos.
Chris openly acknowledges he was in a bad mental state in the lead–up to the now–infamous Dinner Party.
‘I was f***ed mentally,’ he says bluntly. ‘So many emotions. Brook’s gone. I’m by myself. I just didn’t feel like myself.’
He claims he began drinking in the morning to cope.
‘I went to the bottle shop at like 10 in the morning. I bought a carton. By the time I got to the warehouse, I was blind.’
At one point, he says he refused to enter the party altogether.
‘I said, :I’m f***ing not going in there.”‘
Chris was crying alone in a back room before being brought out to the table.
‘I wasn’t crying because Brook left me,’ he insists. ‘The whole thing was just messing with me.’
Brook would later express concerns about her own intoxication at the Dinner Party in a legal letter to the production company.
Chris acknowledges he was in a bad mental state in the lead-up to the Dinner Party
On November 4, she sent an email to EndemolShine Australia in which she questioned whether she should have been filmed in that state.
In response, an EndemolShine representative stated that alcohol consumption was supervised at all times and that they observed no clear indicators of impairment significant enough to justify removing the footage.
Despite this, Chris claims the environment of the show itself fuelled the chaos.
‘You feel like a prisoner,’ he says.
‘You can’t leave your apartment without texting someone. You’re separated for hours. You don’t know what’s happening.’
He describes being placed alone in hotel rooms between filming segments with no timeframe for return.
‘It could be 10 minutes. It could be three hours. You just sit there. You spiral.’
He also claims that certain moments shown on screen were engineered.
Regarding his bucks night entrance – which established his portrayal as a cocky ‘villain’ – Chris claims he was encouraged to stir things up.
‘They said, “It’s boring in there, can you go in and lighten it up?”‘
He also says his wedding vows were rewritten multiple times.
‘I went back and forth at least eight times. They wanted me to call myself a simp. I said, “There’s no f***ing way I’m saying that.”‘
While he stands by his criticism of the MAFS producers, Chris also insists that he takes responsibility for his behaviour.
‘If I’ve said it, that’s me,’ he says.
‘That’s not them portraying me as a villain. That’s me.’
Still, he maintains the pressure-cooker environment amplified everything.
‘You don’t know what’s right and what’s wrong anymore. You just try to get through it.’
Meanwhile, the fallout has extended far beyond Brook and Chris…
Bec’s lies exposed
Another bombshell is set to drop at the next Dinner Party this Wednesday.
Bec Zacharia will be confronted over her claim she hadn’t had any recent contact with rival bride Gia Fleur – only for a photo to emerge of the pair enjoying cocktails together at Darling Harbour on August 31, before the party was filmed.
‘Bec goes after Gia at the Dinner Party, insisting they weren’t close. Then Gia reveals the photo,’ an inside source tells me.
This outing between Bec Zacharia and Gia Fleur – on August 31, 2025, before this Wednesday’s Dinner Party was filmed – proves Gia’s claim the two never socialised off-camera was a lie
Tensions only escalate when Bec implies Gia has ‘no friends’ left in the experiment after the exits of Brook and Rebecca Zukowski exited – and suggests her only options left are the intruders.
‘That didn’t sit well,’ says a spy. ‘Because they’d literally had drinks the day before.’
I’m told Gia confronted Bec privately about her denial, questioning why she was acting like their lunch had never happened.
‘There was a real sense of being thrown under the bus,’ adds the source. ‘From Gia’s perspective, it looked like Bec was rewriting history to suit the moment.’
When the photo of the pair is brought up at the table, the atmosphere shifts instantly.
‘It changes the tone,’ says another cast member. ‘Because once there’s proof, it’s not just hearsay anymore. The timeline speaks for itself.’
I’m told Gia confronted Bec privately about her denial, questioning why she was acting like their lunch at Darling Harbour (pictured) had never happened
Bec and Gia were seen meeting up with bride Melissa Akbay in Darling Harbour
The trio sipped cocktails, but Bec later denied spending time with Gia outside the experiment
Nine loses control
This year’s cast, I’m told, are playing dirty.
Multiple insiders say the network is struggling to keep up with their antics, with several participants allegedly cut off from certain press opportunities as the network attempts to regain control of the narrative.
‘They can’t trust some of them,’ one source says bluntly.
Interviews are reportedly being tightened and supervised, with fewer unscripted, face–to–face media opportunities being granted. Even appearances connected to the Stan after–show are said to be under closer watch.
‘There’s a real sense that they’ve lost control of parts of the cast,’ an insider says. ‘They’re scrambling to contain it.’
Why the clampdown? Because this group, more than any who came before them, is determined to rewrite their own story.
‘They’re desperate to save face. They’ll do anything to make themselves look better,’ a source says.
Leaks, counter-leaks, strategic alliances – it’s become a media chess game.
And former MAFS cast members aren’t helping.
Alumni pile-on
Former bride Jamie Marinos (left) ran into Brook and Chris at Sydney Airport the day after they quit the show. ‘I literally said, “Brook’s gonna be the problem,”‘ admits Jamie
Former MAFS bride Jamie Marinos tells me she ran into Brook and Chris at Sydney Airport the day after they quit the show.
‘It’s funny. I left the airport and literally said, “Brook’s gonna be the problem,”‘ she says.
‘There were no issues. She wasn’t rude. But my intuition does not lie on people.’
Daily Mail can reveal Nine has become increasingly concerned after discovering that several participants from seasons 10, 11 and 12 have been sliding into the DMs of the new cast members, eager to forge connections and stay relevant.
According to insiders, this year’s cast were in contact with alumni early into filming.
‘They were in last year’s cast’s DMs very early on,’ a well–placed source tells me. ‘Some even reached out before they’d walked down the aisle.’
The network is said to be uneasy about the crossover.
‘They’ve seen how some of these former cast members have become fame-hungry and are now trying to use the new stars to keep their name in the headlines. It’s creating unnecessary distractions for the show,’ says a source.
The warning has reportedly been blunt: keep the drama on screen – and keep the has-beens out of it.
And lastly… Gia’s new feud
Gia is now embroiled in a feud with 2025 bride Awhina Rutene after filming a TikTok with Awhina’s ex Adrian Araouzou – a move sources say left Awhina feeling betrayed.
‘It wasn’t just a fun video,’ an insider says. ‘There’s real hurt there.’
But for Gia, it’s not that deep. She just wanted a free meal.
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