Married At First Sight groom Clint Rice has opened up about his decision to boycott Wednesday night’s dinner party alongside his on-screen wife Lauren Hall.
The controversial couple decided to stay home and have their own dinner party, rather than face bride Jamie Marinos.
Speaking exclusively to Daily Mail , the 43-year-old groom didn’t hold back as he described the dinner parties as an ‘absolute circus.’
‘I remember sitting down at the first dinner party, and we’re like a minute in, and Loz and I looked at each other and said, “What the f*** are we doing here?”‘ Clint revealed.
He admitted that witnessing the constant chaos and shouting matches made him realise he wanted no part in the environment.
‘It started to spiral downhill quickly. It was mainly Loz who wanted to leave at first, but I felt the same way about the dinner parties and then the retreat.’
Married At First Sight groom Clint Rice has opened up about his decision to boycott Wednesday night’s dinner party alongside his on-screen wife Lauren Hall. Both pictured
The controversial couple decided to stay home and have their own dinner party, rather than face bride Jamie Marinos
Clint recalled how he was the first to suggest leaving the retreat after just one day, feeling completely out of place in the highly charged atmosphere.
‘I woke up after the first day and was like, “I’ve got to get the f*** out of here”. This is not where I want to be,’ he said.
‘I’d only known Lauren for a few weeks, but I didn’t think she needed to be there either. We were pretty keen to bail.’
Despite his eagerness to leave, Clint says Lauren unfairly copped the blame for their decision.
‘She got thrown under the bus, and it was made out like it was all her wanting to leave, but actually, it was me at the couples’ retreat who wanted out’ he said.
Clint went on to explain why he found the group settings so unbearable.
‘I think most of the cast are actually decent people when they’re by themselves, but when they get together, I just couldn’t stand the environment’ he explained.
‘People yelling, being disrespectful, trying to get louder than the next person – I don’t like to hang out in places like that.
Speaking exclusively to Daily Mail , the 43-year-old groom didn’t hold back as he described the dinner parties as an ‘absolute circus’
‘I remember sitting down at the first dinner party, and we’re like a minute in, and Loz and I looked at each other and said, ‘What the f*** are we doing here?” Clint revealed
‘I prefer a nice dinner with respectful conversation. I don’t mind a rational debate, but you can’t even get heard.’
He admitted that he’s never been one to seek attention, saying, ‘I don’t need to be yelling and carrying on to get the limelight. I’m happy having a one-on-one or group conversation, but it has to be respectful.’
Was Clint edited out of the show?
While Clint and Lauren’s relationship was one of the more stable ones on the show, he believes this led to them getting little airtime.
‘I don’t think Lauren and I had a lot of drama, and it’s interesting watching all the other couples unfold with constant issues,’ he said.
‘We actually got along really well. We lived together for three or four weeks, and any issues that came up, we’d chat about it in private over a few margaritas or a couple of glasses of red.’
Clint claims their decision to avoid drama at dinner parties also meant producers didn’t find them entertaining enough for major screen time.
‘We weren’t going to throw each other under the bus at a dinner party. We just wanted to turn up, enjoy the company, and have great conversation.’
Clint admitted there were only a handful of contestants he’d want to keep in touch with after the show
However, Clint didn’t hold back when speaking about Ryan Donnelly, left, who has been under fire for his treatment of bride Jacqui Burfoot, who is now dating Clint. Rhi pictured right
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His take on the cast
Clint admitted there were only a handful of contestants he’d want to keep in touch with after the show.
‘Dave Hand’s a good guy, Sierah (Swepstone)’s nice, Jacqui (Burfoot)’s nice, Awhina Rutene too. I also had a FaceTime with Adrian and Eliot (Donovan) the other day.’
As for controversial groom Adrian Araouzou, Clint said he didn’t know him well but believes he is misunderstood.
‘I think Adrian does well with what he knows. I didn’t get to know him a lot, but I see a lot of hate towards him.
‘No one deserves to be copping the level of backlash that he has. It’s awful.’
Explosive claims about Ryan Donnelly and Rhi Disljenkovic
However, Clint didn’t hold back when speaking about Ryan Donnelly, who has been under fire for his treatment of bride Jacqui Burfoot, who is now dating Clint.
‘Ryan, the self-proclaimed ‘warrior’… I’d probably use another W-word to describe him,’ Clint quipped.
‘From what I’ve heard, he’s actually quite destructive behind the scenes. Some of his behaviour was so bad it couldn’t even make it to air.’
Clint alleged that Ryan’s off-camera actions were ‘pretty awful’ and suggested viewers were only seeing a fraction of his controversial behaviour.
As the season continues to air, Clint hopes viewers realise that not everything they see on screen is the full story
‘There’s a lot we aren’t seeing, and I think it’s hard to watch knowing what some of the cast are really like’ he said
He also sensationally claimed that certain cast members, including Rhi Disljenkovic, had manipulated narratives and spread false accusations.
‘Rhi got into Lauren’s ear about Jackie, saying she texted Jeff. But when I saw the actual texts, there was nothing there. It was a lie.’
‘They can create a massive scandal out of nothing, and the person on the receiving end suffers, mentally and emotionally.
‘I feel for Sierah, for example. She’s copping some pretty bad treatment right now.’
As the season continues to air, Clint hopes viewers realise that not everything they see on screen is the full story.
‘There’s a lot we aren’t seeing, and I think it’s hard to watch knowing what some of the cast are really like.’
Married At First Sight continues Sunday at 7.30pm on Channel Nine