Two Married At First Sight UK Brides Claim They Were Raped By On-Screen Husbands

Channel 4 has pulled all seasons of Married at First Sight UK (MAFS UK) from its streaming service following a major BBC investigation exposing allegations of rape and sexual misconduct.

The claims, detailed by BBC Panorama in a documentary titled The Dark Side of Married at First Sight (airing tonight), involve three female contestants making allegations against their on-screen husbands.

Two women said they were raped, while a third described an allegation of a non-consensual sex act. I’ll run through the specific allegations below…

First Bride (Anonymous): Claims her on-screen husband raped her after telling her, “You can’t say no, you’re my wife”. She alleges he also threatened her with an acid attack if she exposed the abuse. She is actively pursuing legal action against the production company, CPL.

Second Bride (Anonymous): Alleges she was raped by her on-screen partner during filming. She raised the issue directly with Channel 4 and CPL before her episodes aired, yet the broadcaster proceeded to stream the episodes anyway.

Third Bride (Shona Manderson): The only contestant to waive her anonymity. She states her on-screen partner, Bradley Skelly, non-consensually ejaculated inside her, which subsequently led to her undergoing an abortion.

Channel 4 promptly wiped all previous episodes and social media channels for the show.

Priya Dogra, Chief Executive of Channel 4, said in a statement that she expresses her ‘sympathy to contributors who have clearly been distressed after taking part in Married at First Sight UK’.

She continued: ‘It would be wholly inappropriate for me to comment on what are very serious allegations made against some MAFS UK contributors.

‘Those allegations – which I understand are disputed by the contributors accused – are not something that Channel 4 is in a position to adjudicate on.’

Asked whether Channel 4 failed in its duty of care, she added: ‘I believe that when concerns about contributor welfare were raised, and based on the information available at the time, Channel 4 acted quickly, appropriately, sensitively, and with wellbeing front and centre.

‘Nevertheless, because we aspire to the highest standards of contributor welfare, I felt strongly as Channel 4’s new CEO that it was right that we look again at how we handled issues raised at the time and ask whether changes should be made to further strengthen contributor welfare.’

Dogra’s new review, which she commissioned last month, will now report to her in the coming months.

She concluded her statement by saying: ‘We take these issues very seriously and are committed to ensuring that we continue to lead the industry in our duty of care for contributors.’

Absolute nightmare for everyone involved and no doubt a scandal that will seal the show’s fate. Looking back, it never did seem like a great idea to get tied down with someone immediately after meeting them, and especially on a show where production will deliberately choose personalities who will cause drama and then encourage them all to be intimate with each other. Hindsight 20/20 eh?

As Priya Dogra said though, the allegations are ‘wholly uncorroborated and disputed’ as far as Channel 4 is concerned. We’ll have to wait and see how it plays once their own investigation is complete.

For the groom who went “Oh sh*t” when he saw his bride for the first time on the show, click HERE.