Married At First Sight UK returned with a bang on E4 on Monday, September 16. The hit reality series sparked off with the cast at loggerheads shortly into the series premiere when a contentious 'wife swap' comment was made.
Before even setting eyes on his soon-to-be wife, groom Alex pondered aloud what might happen if he didn't fancy the woman paired with him and instead fancied another bride in the midst of the experiment. His speculative remarks didn't go down well with his fellow participants, leading to rising tensions behind the scenes.
The 28 year old singleton, who has been on his own for seven months, questioned: "What if I am not totally attracted to my wife? And there is another lady that I am attracted to?"
Kieran, another groom, pointedly responded: "Come in with your wife and if you are going to leave, don't leave with someone else's wife. Wife swapping shouldn't even be coming into someone's head right now."
Caspar also chimed in, stressing, "For me the idea of walking into this process and having that in my mind, that I might want someone else's wife and then see what happens, that's just ludicrous."
Alex stood his ground, clarifying: "You are coming into this and you have to consider every option, have you not? I'm not thinking about wife swapping, I haven't even met her yet. I haven't even met my wife yet, and everyone is getting on to me like I am going to go and take someone else's wife."
Viewers were left less than impressed by Alex's remarks on the show. One viewer took to social media, commenting: "Talking about wife swap when you're not even married yet is crazy," and another concurred: "Been on the show for 0.5 seconds and thinking about wife swap, keep those thoughts in your head at least? ? ? ?"
The sensational first episode of MAFS UK follows teases from relationship guru Paul C. Brunson, who appears alongside Melanie Schilling and Charlene Douglas, hinting that this year's cast is nothing short of "incredible", reports OK!.
At the grand premiere on Tuesday, Paul shared his excitement about the upcoming series: "The cast is incredible. They've been on a journey and I believe this is the strongest and it could be the most exciting series yet."
Charlene also hinted at what's to come: "It's one of E4's biggest shows and we're so proud of the brides and the grooms. There's lots of drama, lots of passion, lots of sexy moments and we know you guys are going to be on the edge of your seat as you watch the couples journey and our journey as well."
