The dust on Sunday night’s Married At First Sight (MAFS) episode has barely settled and newly-split couple Melissa Sheppard and Josh White have spoken out about their tumultuous time in the experiment.
Josh (AKA Disney Daddy) appeared on NOVA’s Fitzy & Wippa on Monday morning to unpack everything that happened on the commitment ceremony couch after he managed to pick himself up and leave once Melissa was done absolutely decimating his self-esteem.
He said it was “a bit overwhelming” to feel an outpouring of support from everyone after rewatching his harrowing last moments in the MAFS experiment.
“It was difficult to watch but it’s been nice having friends and family and then all the strangers across the Internet reach out, which has been very nice,” he said.
Josh said he knew about the show’s reputation and history of divisive couples, but was determined to be his genuine self throughout his time on the show.
“I went in there hoping to meet someone and then I kind of conceded that if it didn’t work, then maybe someone will watch it and say that’s quite a nice guy that I would want to spend the rest of my life with,” he said.
“So that was my motivation going in.”
But despite the way things went for him and Melissa on the show, he doesn’t want people to bully her online for what she said on the commitment couch.
Fitzy quizzed him on whether he had anything to say to Melissa after Sunday night’s explosive episode and he instead asked that people leave her alone.
“Not necessarily to Melissa but just you know, the Australian public maybe just stop attacking her and bullying her online,” Josh said.
“I don’t enjoy reading any of those comments. It doesn’t raise me up or make me feel good in myself in any way.”
Meanwhile, Melissa jumped on the Kyle & Jackie O show on Monday morning to give her perspective on everything, including his claims she tried to control his behaviour and habits.
Kyle Sandilands was quick to call Josh a “pussy”, a “little bitch” and a “Ned Flanders” which is a whole other kettle of rancid fish.
“The last time that we were intimate I wouldn’t really say it was hot [and] heavy,” she said.
“It was just really sloppy and messy. I took sex off the table. I was like ‘alright I want to get to know this guy, he’s only seeing me as this sex siren and there’s more elements to me’. I could see they were pushing the sex element on him a lot.”
Melissa then went on to double down and explain the “sloppy, messy sex” they had was “very transactional” that involved no kissing, was very awkward and agreed with Sandilands who said it was “like having sex with a prostitute”. (His words, not ours.)
“I knew that Josh had stepped out of the relationship before then,” she said.
Melissa also claimed that she told expert John Aiken to let Josh leave MAFS, despite writing stay on her commitment card after speaking with the producers.
“I really feel like everything that I put on my list and everything Josh put on his list, we couldn’t have been more opposite,” she said.
“I think this was already a train wreck that was going to happen and it was a matter of time.”
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