Married At First Sight (MAFS) may have wrapped back in April, but that doesn’t mean all the drama is over. During Sunday’s Logie Awards, the drama dirt was well and truly kicked up on the red carpet. But let me tell ya, there are plenty of different sides to this story so take it all with a grain of salt.
Got it? Good.
This year, only a select few members of the MAFS cast were invited to attend the TV WEEK Logies. Two of the three experts, John Aiken and Alessandra Rampolla, alongside a handful of this year’s contestants, Janelle Han, Rupert Bugden, Tahnee Cook, Ollie Skelton, Melinda Willis, Layton Mills, Sandy Jawanda, Claire Nomarhas, Evelyn Ellis, and Duncan James.
Speaking to Yahoo! Lifestyle a week prior to the event, Melinda hinted that she was expecting some awkward interactions with her castmates at the Logies.
“Everyone’s friends and we all went through the same experience, [but] we all don’t align and we all don’t have the same values,” she told the publication.
“I think everyone will be friends on the night, but definitely behind the scenes there’s a lot going on.”
Before they took their seats at the long, looong event, the cast paraded down the red carpet for pap pics and interviews.
While everything seemed pretty chill between the cast to onlookers at the event, the tea started to brew after Punkee posted an interview they’d done with Claire and Sandy on the carpet.
Have a peek at the vid below.
“There hasn’t been any drama as such but there’s some weird vibes, bit of tense energy from a couple of the gals,” Claire told the reporter.
“I mean Melinda didn’t say hi to us so we’re not really sure why. Maybe we’ll nut it out in there and see how we go,” before adding that Melinda distanced herself from her because of her so-called “villain edit” on the show.
Not long after that video was posted, Melinda shared a screenshot of the vid to her stories.
“I’d like to talk on this because I am beyond being BULLIED and harassed by these mean girls. The treatment I have received during and post the experiment is not okay,” she wrote over the image.
When Daily Mail Australia approached Claire for comment about the incident she replied: “We’ve never done a single thing to her.”
But of course, there are multiple sides to this tale.
According to an unnamed MAFS participant speaking to So Dramatic!, Melinda didn’t say hi to the group, deliberately distanced herself from her former co-stars and was late to walk the Logies red carpet.
“Melinda never made eye contact with any of us, we’re not going to chase her down to say hi to her,” the contestant said. They also claimed she left the event halfway through, leaving Layton to kick on to the afterparty without her.
“She’s also unfollowed all of us as well. So somehow she is the victim because people didn’t chase her down to say hi.”
However, another contestant on the show gave a totally different account to So Dramatic!, claiming that it was the entire cast that ignored Melinda, not the other way around.
“She walked in last and no one went over to speak to her except for Tahnee. They all turned their backs to her when she walked in. It was extremely awkward and cruel,” they said.
“Mel is definitely not the one who snubbed anyone. Mel was singled out by the entire group. It was ganging up, intimidating and bullying vibes.”
With all of this gossip swirling around, Melinda made a statement to So Dramatic! explaining why she was late and why she left the event early.
“We were late because Layton left his bow tie at home and we were trying to Uber one to him but the girl couldn’t find the place and during it all he dropped food on my dress.
“I missed getting my photos or calling my stylist to complete the look because I was trying to help him with his outfit and so was my makeup artist,” she explained.
She went on to add that she decided to leave the event because she had a “sore back and couldn’t sit for long” and needed to go lie down.
“It was really awkward down there at the table and as I wasn’t feeling well and I didn’t want to put myself through that when I didn’t need to. MAFS is over, this wasn’t a dinner party to be children at, it was the Logies.
“Bringing another female down and making her out to be the bad one and then trying to even get in her partner’s ear when she left behind her back, it’s not people I want to align with at all.”
Today, Melinda posted another statement about the incident on her IG.
“Dried my eyes and put on my big girl clothes today. Shutting out the noise and lies spreading through the media. Showing up today for the people in my life who need me and deserve me,” she wrote.
“Staying strong for young Mel, who wasn’t always this confident and self assured. Staying strong for all the young girls who follow me and need someone to look up to.”
She concluded the post with the hashtags “antibulling”, “women empowerment” and “self love.”
Oooft. I feel like no one is winning in this scenario. Can’t we all just get along?
PEDESTRIAN.TV has reached out to Melinda for comment.
