It’s safe to say that Matt Murray had a turbulent time on the latest series of Married At First Sight UK.
Not only did his marriage to Gemma Rose break down, but Matt also shared a secret kiss with Whitney Hughes before their blossoming romance was exposed to other brides and grooms.
Matt and Whitney were allowed to return to the experiment as a new couple after receiving the dating experts’ seal of approval and they stayed together until after filming finished. However, it came to light that they were longer an item at the reunion.
Now, after weeks of speculation, Matt has finally confirmed he’s dating Marilyse Corrigan from the 2021 series of MAFS UK.
Matt and Marilyse first sparked romance rumours last month when they jetted off on holiday to Turkey together. At the time, a source told The Sun, "He's been growing close to Marilyse from last year's series after meeting on social media. Initially they were just friends - Marilyse was keen to offer support to Matt as the show aired and he started getting a lot of backlash.
“They've been meeting up for secret dates - even though Matt was supposed to be keeping up appearances that he was still in a relationship with Whitney until the end of the series aired."
Despite the rumours Matt always insisted his relationship with Marilyse was platonic, with a spokesperson for the reality star saying, "Marilyse is being nothing more than a supportive friend to Matt, she knows oh too well how the public backlash to the storylines curated through the editing of the show can impact the men in the cast as it did affect Frankie. There is no romance, they are just good friends."
However, the pair have now done a major u-turn after he shared a picture of them kissing on Instagram.
Alongside the romantic snap, Matt wrote, "Reality TV is not the real world. This is. Good came from the bad."
His followers took to the comments section to congratulate him on his new relationship, including one who wrote, "You seem happy together.. I hope this one lasts 🤞."
Another added, "I love this, can I just say I think you both look awesome together. Everything happens for a reason and you both deserve every happiness x x."
A third commented, "You defo chose the right one this time!! 🔥❤️."
This all comes after Matt took to social media to speak out against the show for the way his relationship with Gemma was edited.
Addressing the drama, he said, "I've not been watching the episodes. I don't really need to, I was there and I also get enough feedback from you guys - which I appreciate, by the way. I do. Obviously, starting this process, I didn't want anyone to get hurt. There was no intention for anybody to end up upset. It's just not me as a person.
"I do think that the edits are adding longer pauses to things and making things seem very very dramatic, but that's TV. It's a TV show at the end of the day, guys. It is there for your entertainment."
Matt continued, "I spent a lot of time inside that experiment constantly feeling the need to defend myself, defend my decisions, to validate them in front of complete strangers and I'm just going to let the episodes play out. However the edit is is however the edit is.
"I was there. I know my truth and I know who I am. I'm not claiming to be a perfect person. Nobody's perfect, everybody's got their own downfalls, everybody's got their own flaws, their own insecurities. Just take everything with a pinch of salt."
Elsewhere on his Instagram, Matt gave fans a glimpse at what he looked like pre-fame and let's just say, he's not always been the tattooed Adonis he is today. Earlier this year, the reality star, barber and calisthenics athlete shared a throwback snap of him with less tattoos (and a lip ring) alongside a recent picture of his newly-jacked body.
What a transformation, eh?
Who is Matt Murray?
Matt is a reality star who rose to fame on the seventh series of Married At First Sight UK in September 2022 when he joined the show as an "intruder" groom midway through the experiment.
How old is Matt from Married At First Sight UK?
Matt is 32 years old.
Where is Matt Murray from?
Matt is from Huddersfield.
What is Matt from Married At First Sight UK's job outside of the show?
Outside of MAFS UK, Matt works as a barber and also trains as a calisthenics athlete. No, we had no clue either, but according to Google, calisthenics is a form of strength training using your own body weight.
Are Matt and Gemma from Married At First Sight UK still together?
It was love (or at least lust) at first sight for Matt and Gemma when they walked down the aisle on their wedding day, but their relationship soon soured when he found it hard to deal with her sexual comments on their honeymoon. At the couple's first commitment ceremony, Matt accused Gemma of touching herself inappropriately at a restaurant - although she insisted it was just her "sense of humour".
After initially trying to put their difference aside and progress their relationship, Matt continued to be turned off by Gemma's sense of humour and instead started bonding with Whitney.
The rest of the couples then found out that Whitney and Matt were getting to know each other, whilst married to their original partner, which resulted in a rather dramatic dinner party that saw Gemma storm off. Both Whitney and Matt then broke off their marriages with their original partners and started pursuing a relationship together.
After much debate, Matt and Whitney were told that they could remain in the experiment, however only as a dating couple. They declared their love, with Matt getting a tattoo dedicated to Whitney, however when the reunion came around it turns out they had split due to long distance.
Does Matt from Married At First Sight have Instagram?
He does, you can follow Matt on Instagram at @matt_b_murray.