Married At First Sight’s (MAFS) Ellie Dix and Jonathan McCullough cemented their villain status this week, with the new pair ruffling feathers during the two reunion episodes.
After seeing Ellie call either Lauren Dunn or Sara Mesa a “fucking bitch” and pointedly asking if Lauren was hurt by her romance with Jono, it seems Australia would like to throw this new couple in the bin.
Though Ellie and Jono have been swanning around on a press redemption tour, plenty of hate and vitriol has been thrown their way. One of her besties has come out to defend the MAFS bride, blaming the edit for skewing her behaviour on screen.
“It’s extraordinarily concerning, the differences between what actually occurred during filming to what managed to reach screens and what viewers saw,” Tahli Passeri claimed in an interview with Yahoo! Lifestyle.
She continued: “This week’s episode portrayed both Ellie and Jono in an extremely poor form, yes certain things were said, and they did look happy, however producers appear to have used certain scenes and moments to depict them being quite arrogant and inconsiderate.”
Tahli attended Ellie’s original MAFS wedding to Ben Walters, but no friends or family were present during the two reunion episodes.
Tahli claimed most of the MAFS cast were happy for Ellie and Jono, which matches what an insider source told PEDESTRIAN.TV earlier this week.
“I think Ellie has copped the most unfair [edit] of everyone in that episode. She’s honestly so nice,” our source said.
They continued: “Everyone was actually really supportive of them being together which wasn’t shown, however I do think people [were] expecting them to be a bit more understanding of Lauren.”
But while contestants complain about their edit each year, expert Alessandra Rampola previously told PEDESTRIAN.TV that the show is an accurate portrayal.
“I really wasn’t sure reading the commentary if what we would see on film at the end was actually happened, because there’s so many theories,” she said.
“But really my experience very happily is that MAFS represents what happens.”
Ellie’s workplace targeted by trolls
Ellie currently works as a cosmetic injector at the Aesthetics Clinic at Varsity Lakes in the Gold Coast, and the business has found itself caught in the crossfire. Owner Dr Drew Cronin told the Gold Coast Bulletin his staff have been unfairly targeted, with angry MAFS fans flooding the business with negative Google reviews.
“People who have never been patients in our clinic, that have never met me, never had anything to do with the surgical or non-surgical business feel entitled to make permanent one-star reviews based on their disagreement with the actions of one subcontractor aired on television 12 hours ago,” he said.
“What they probably don’t realise is they’re hurting and attacking an entire group of people who are completely separate to, and innocent of, any actions taken by anyone on that show.”
It hasn’t stopped at online trolling either, with people calling the clinic and “harassing” the receptionists working. The owner went on to say that Ellie has been contracting at the aesthetic clinic for a year, and had no issues with her work.
“To suggest that you can instantly fire staff because of what they’ve done in their personal lives is ridiculous,” he said.
Lauren calls out trolls despite their beef
The harassment has reached a point where even Lauren has called for people to calm down. After seeing Ellie’s workplace was targeted, Lauren shared a simple statement on her Instagram Story urging fans to stop.
“To everyone trolling and attacking Ellie at her workplace, please stop immediately. What you see on TV is only a small portion of what goes on. Regardless of what you saw on TV (filmed six months ago), I have no problems with Jono and Ellie and neither of them deserve to be bullied,” Lauren said.
She continued: “Please can everyone let them be happy and let’s all move on x.”
Ellie’s bestie calls out MAFS fans for sending hateful comments
Tahli, who has been friends with Ellie for almost two decades, says Ellie has been “extraordinarily traumatised” and is “so upset” by the backlash.
“It is disturbing the hate and revolting comments Ellie is receiving… she is one of the most kindest, most genuine, loyal, compassionate and loving people I know,” Tahli said.
She added: “To see her receive so much hate and derogatory comments based on a substantially edited television show, is saddening and troubling for the people in today’s society.”
Yikes. It seems the couple were hoping to be the next Duncan James and Evelyn Ellis, but have come out more like Carolina Santos and Daniel Holmes. But, in the end, if they really did find *love* – isn’t that the greatest gift of all?
