Married At First Sight has been rocked by a runaway groom scandal.
On Wednesday night’s episode, gay groom Michael was left heartbroken after learning that his match Simon had done a runner before their wedding.
He received the devastating news from the show’s relationship expert John Aitken.
‘Well Michael, it’s highly unusual for me to come and visit a participant but I’ve got some really disappointing and shocking news,’ Aikten told the stunned retail worker.
‘After the bucks and the hen’s night, your match Simon decided to send us an email saying that he no longer wanted to be a part of the experiment.’
Gay groom Michael (pictured) was left heartbroken after learning that his match Simon had done a runner before their wedding on Married At First Sight
An emotional Michael was lost for words, stuttering before burying his head in his hands.
‘Well that’s definitely a hard blow,’ he said through tears, before saying that it felt like his heart had been ‘ripped out’ of his chest.
‘I want to be understanding of his side but I would love to know why,’ he sighed.
‘After the bucks and the hen’s night, your match Simon decided to send us an email saying that he no longer wanted to be a part of the experiment,’ John Aitken said
An emotional Michael was lost for words, stuttering before burying his head in his hands
Attempting to soothe the heartbroken singleton, Aitken said, ‘I don’t want you to take this personally.’
The psychologist continued, ‘This happened because your match couldn’t cope with the experiment and the unknown and the pressure that was going to go on them.’
However, he then confirmed that himself and the show’s other relationship experts still had hope that they could find the perfect man for Michael.
‘We are now looking closely at new matches for you because we want to find you the fairytale,’ he said optimistically.
Single dad Simon (pictured) ditched the experiment after filming the buck’s night episode
Channel Nine and EndemolShine , the production company behind MAFS, are said to be ‘deeply disappointed’ with Simon’s decision to quit the show.
Breaking his silence in October, Simon told Daily Mail : ‘MAFS wasn’t what I thought I wanted at this point in my life, that’s all.’
Expressing his remorse, he added, ‘I just felt bad for whoever they set me up with. I did initially leave, but they managed to coax me back… I gotta look out for myself.’
At the time, one production insider explained: ‘It’s complete and utter chaos! Simon leaving was a blindside.’
READ MORE: First look at Married At First Sight 2024’s same-sex couple – after Channel Nine was forced to find ‘replacement’ groom
