- Married at First Sight is a highly successful global TV franchise
- three women participants accused their on-screen husbands of sexual misconduct, during shoot
- Following the controversy, Channel 4 removed all seasons of Married at First Sight UK from its platform.
Married at First Sight UK, a reality show billed as a "bold social experiment", has landed in serious trouble after three women participants accused their on-screen husbands of sexual misconduct, including rape and threats of acid attack, during the shoot of the series.
The allegations came to light after the premiere of a BBC Panorama documentary, where two women claimed they were raped during the filming of the show. One woman added that the episodes were still aired despite informing Channel 4 and CPL (the independent production company that makes the UK version of the show) about the rape.
A third woman accused her on-screen husband of having non-consensual sex with her.
Responding to the controversy, Channel 4's chief content officer Ian Katz said on Monday, "They are obviously very serious allegations. We want to see the show and when we see the show we will respond."
Following the controversy, Channel 4 removed all seasons of Married at First Sight UK from its platform.
However, the network said it remains "mindful of the privacy and continuing duty of care towards all contributors" and declined to reveal further details publicly.
The broadcaster added that any decisions taken were based on the information available at the time the allegations were raised.
Allegations Of Rape, Threat And Non-Consensual Sex
A woman, who did not want to be named, told the BBC that she noticed signs of "red flags" almost immediately after the show started.
During the "honeymoon," she said, her on-screen husband often lost his temper in private.
"He would just explode, he would go into this absolute focused anger," she said.
She said he hurt her during sex even though she "kept saying stop".
The woman described what happened as "penetrative sex" and said she had "fingerprints from where he'd grabbed me and forced me".
"I just completely froze with fear and I never, ever thought anything could scare me that much," she recalled.
Another woman accused the on-screen husband of having non-consensual sex.
"He smirked and climbed on top of me, moved my leg... By that time, I'd really given up and I just didn't want him to be angry at me when the cameras came," she told the BBC.
About Married At First Sight
Married at First Sight UK — known to many as "MAFS" — sees single people agree to "marry" strangers after meeting each other for the first time at mock weddings.
The marriages are not legally binding, but viewers see the couples go on a "honeymoon", move in together and navigate their relationships, all while being filmed almost every day.
Married at First Sight is a highly successful global TV franchise. Many couples enter the show aiming to find love; others are seeking social media fame.
The UK version, which has been running for 10 seasons, is broadcast in prime time on Channel 4's sister channel E4. All episodes had been available on the streaming service All4.