Married at First Sight Australia to finally introduce gay grooms after pleas from fans
Stephen (left) and Mike (right) will reportedly become a couple on Married At First Sight Australia (Instagram/LinkedIn/as shared by Yahoo! Lifestyle)
Married At First Sight Australia is set to make an explosive comeback at the end of the month, featuring the first gay, male couple on the show in nearly a decade.
The dramatic reality series sees complete strangers paired by relationship experts, get hitched, and then try and embark on their lives, before choosing whether to split or stay together.
Since the show began back in 2015, it has featured only one gay male couple, Craig and Andy, in 2016 – but their relationship ended after just a few days.
In 2020, Married At First Sight Australia attempted to bring in more LGBTQ+ representation by featuring lesbian couple, Amanda and Tash.
Considering the show has been TV screens for nearly a decade, there have unsurprisingly been calls from fans for more queer couples to take part, with even the show’s own dating coach, Mel Schilling, admitting that the show has lacked LGBTQ+ romance.
However, it appears fan demands have now been answered, as the upcoming eleventh season is reportedly set to feature a gay couple in hairdresser Stephen Stewart and former Tesla salesman, Mike Felix.
Nine, the channel that hosts Married At First Sight Australia in the country, is yet to officially unveil the full cast list for the upcoming season, but has shared the names of a few of the cast members in the snippet below.
Yet Yahoo! Lifestyle appears to have got its hands on the full line-up, which features a Home and Away actor, a host of online influencers, and models.
The publication reports that Stephen will get married to Ohio-born, Melbourne-based Mike, after Mike’s original groom reportedly dropped out of filming.
Last summer, it was reported that the series would include a same-sex couple, yet unlike the other couples they were not photographed together during filming.
A groom, apparently named Simon, was allegedly photographed as part of one of the hen parties, but was not seen again after getting “cold feet”.
Last year, Married At First Sight UK made history by introducing the show’s first ever trans bride, Ella Morgan.
Married at First Sight Australia streams on Nine in Australia from January 29. A UK air date is yet to be confirmed.
