We hate to break it to you, but the latest series of Married at First Sight Australia will be coming to an end in the UK very soon. Since the next season won’t begin filming until July, that gives us plenty of time to go over all the drama series eleven gave us. Between Jono McCullough and Ellie Dix’s behind-the-scenes couple swap and Collins Christian’s amateur dramatics, we’ve got no shortage of things to discuss until series twelve.
While there is still plenty of mystery around the show, one behind-the-scenes secret that fascinates viewers every season is how much the cast of Married at First Sight are being paid to appear.
The experiment is filmed over a period of three to four months, and during that time the couples spend every single day together.
While filming, the contestants can’t leave to see their friends or family, let alone clock in a quick eight-hour shift at the office. So how much do they get paid? While we’ve previously had some contestants explain how much the show forked out for them to appear, Richard Sauerman took to the Behind the Edit podcast to shed some more light on the matter. Honestly, the number is surprising.
“I lost a lot of money being on MAFS, I lost work, as we all did. We don’t get anything out of it in that sense," he explained.
The host asked if Richard believed that the MAFS cast should be paid more given how big the show is, and he replied, “100%. And how much money it makes for Channel 9…It’s a rip off! $150 a day, that’s what you get.”
He went on to highlight the gruelling schedule and we have to admit it would be hard to hold down a job during this filming regime.
“And then you come out end of October, and then it’s November reunion, and then it’s Christmas… so I’ve got no work on, I didn’t have work on for six months… And I need to work.”
So, for any MAFS hopefuls out there, start saving now if you’re hoping to meet the one on the experiment or you’re going to have to use up a lot of sick days.
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Sarah O'Byrne has been writing about MAFS for heatworld since May 2023, and she hopes this will not affect any future applications she makes to appear on the show.