Married At First Sight’s JJ defends relationship with Ella

Married At First Sight star JJ Slater has boldly defended Ella Morgan Clarke and his blossoming relationship with her as the pair re-enter the show as a couple.

JJ and Ella had a rocky start, after forming a connection while they were ‘married’ to other people on the Channel 4 reality series.

After briefly leaving the series when their original marriages fell apart, the pair shocked their fellow castmates and viewers at home when they officially returned as a couple.

Since admitting his feelings for Clarke, Slater, who was originally paired up with bride Bianca Petronzi, is the latest castmate to face transphobic hate.

Clarke, who came out as transgender to her castmates early on in the series, has been subject to so many vile comments since MAFS aired that she has announced last week that she would need to take a break from social media.

Slater, however, is ready to take down any disgusting trolls who might look his way.

During a TikTok live, filmed with his Married At First Sight castmate Luke Worley, Slater was quick to shut down anyone who came at him with ignorant comments.

In the live, seen by The Sun, Slater shut down one comment that rubbed him up the wrong way.

“Am I bi now? No. I see Ella as a girl. I don’t know how many times I have to say that.

“The thing is everyone in the experiment saw Ella as a woman and a girl because that’s what she is.”

Luke then chimed in: “Ella to me is a woman. I have never been around someone trans so I had to be personally educated.

“I look at trans people totally different now. I had to have this conversation with Ella because I needed to be educated as well.

“Speak to your friends about it in your group chat or privately not on a comment or a post. Speak about it privately if you want to have a rant. I think people forget. They think we’re just characters. We aren’t.”

Before signing off from social media last week, Clarke commented on the hate messages she had been sent after it was revealed that she had a connection with Slater.

“I don’t feel I deserve to have transphobic abuse written about me,” she wrote.

“My transition has nothing to do with what happened tonight. It is entirely irrelevant.”

Elsewhere in her statement, she explained that she “wasn’t thinking properly” when she started acting on her feelings toward Slater while they were both still technically in marriages with other people on Married At First Sight, adding that she particularly regretted hurting Petronzi.

“I felt a spark that I’d never had before and I felt overwhelmed that a straight guy liked me for me and accepted me for the first time in my life,” she wrote.

“JJ saw me as Ella and that was a feeling I’ve not experienced before. I wanted to ignore my feelings but this was easier said than done.”

It’s unclear whether or not Slater and Clarke are still together outside of the show, but on Married At First Sight, they’re about to make a bombshell reappearance.