That time I was on MAFS

Yes, it’s true. I was that guy. The celebrant on the first season of Married at First Sight Australia.

I said “I do” to Channel Nine. I probably shouldn’t have, it wasn’t anywhere near as fun, soul-fulfilling, or good for business as we imagined.

Let me tell you a few behind-the-scenes truths that no one asked for but I’m going to share anyway — partly because it’s still one of the weirdest chapters in my celebrant career, and partly because people still ask.

11 things you probably didn’t know about MAFS

1. Each wedding was filmed at least three times. That meant three and more fake reveals, five aisle walks, five kisses. You’ve never seen “OK, take it from the top” kill the vibe quite like this.
2. The first look was real. The couples legit hadn’t seen each other until that moment. That part wasn’t TV magic — that was real-life chaos.
3. Their families were there, awkwardly. Each set of guests sat opposite each other, staring across the aisle for about an hour before the ceremony started. Tension, meet awkward eye contact.
4. I had to give the groom the silent treatment. Producers told me not to talk to the groom and to be very serious. It’s weird watching the clips back because I’m never that serious im a wedding.
5. Michelle and James got married at Jonah’s at Whale Beach. Stunning venue. One of my all-time favourites, even post-MAFS trauma.
6. I wrote that wedding ceremony in a BP service station on the Sunshine Coast. I was flat out doing actual weddings at the time — flying in and out between real love stories and reality TV nonsense. The producers sent me some real bad ceremony scripts and they said if I wanted to do my own thing they needed it that day.
7. I got paid $600. I thought TV money was going to be new jetski money. Intead I got Lego jetski money. Better than nothing though, from what I understand most celebrants have not been paid at all, doing it all for exposure.
8. I genuinely thought Michelle and James would make it. They were sweet. Had a great little connection. I still wonder how they’re going.
9. I didn’t meet the couples until they were walking down the aisle. So I had to write ceremonies for strangers. Awful. Also, I read from a script — the last time I ever did that. Reading from paper on camera? Horrible. Never again.
10. I filmed a whole “Celebrant of MAFS” web series with Nine. Never released. Still bitter. If any Channel Nine producer is reading this, I’d love to see that footage again. For nostalgia. Or blackmail.
11. The US version tricked me. Britt and I watched it before signing on. It was gentle, sweet, and focused on psychology. Spoiler: the Aussie version did not stay on that track.

What no one tells you about being on TV

You don’t get to control the edit. As someone who built a career on live radio and real ceremonies, I wasn’t ready to be cut up and reassembled for maximum drama.

I carefully wrote my scripts so I wasn’t legally marrying anyone — you can’t just fake-marry people on Aussie TV when you’re authorised by the Commonwealth - they need to consent and give one month’s notice, so these “weddings” were really commitment ceremonies. But it didn’t matter. Once it hit the edit suite, everything got chopped, changed, and recontextualised.

I ended up copping heat from:

• the Attorney-General’s Department,
• the celebrant community,
• and even some parts of the LGBTQIA+ community (understandably, as same-sex marriage still wasn’t legal at the time and here I was on TV “marrying” strangers for ratings).

It was a mess.

I said no to every season after

They kept asking me to come back. I kept politely declining — until I stopped being polite. I wouldn’t go near it again.

Not because I hate TV, or even the idea of experimenting with marriage. But because the experience taught me a few really valuable lessons.

The one good thing I took away

The best part of the whole experience was working with a genuinely kind and creative team. I’d only known toxic creative environments before then. But on that set, the director pulled me aside and said something I still remember:

Our job is to make you look amazing. Everyone here wants the same thing.

That stuck with me. And now I pass it on to every couple I work with: your photographer, your videographer, your celebrant — they’re not your enemies. They’re on your team. They want to make you look and feel incredible.

So yeah. I was on MAFS. And no, I don’t regret it. But I learned from it.

And if you’re wondering — I’m much happier these days celebrating real love, not reality TV.