IT’S hard to believe that anyone would sign up to a TV show where they marry a stranger.
But Marilyse Corrigan, who wed Franky Spencer on last year’s series of Married At First Sight, has revealed how producers guard against cast getting cold feet.
Marilyse Corrigan has opened up about her time on Married At First Sight
She married Franky Spencer on the show
Speaking exclusively to The Celeb Report, the 38-year-old personal trainer says: “We all were convinced that we were going to walk away with a husband.
“All the way up to the wedding, after applying, I was changing my mind about doing it. I was ringing up the show saying to them, ‘I don’t want to do this, it’s not for me, it’s way out of my comfort zone, I’m going to have to withdraw’.
“Every time I rang them up to tell them that I couldn’t do it, someone at the end of the line would be so good at persuading me to do it, like ‘you can do it, we’ve got your husband.’
“The only thing that kept me going was thinking, ‘If I have got a husband at the end of it, and I don’t do it, I’m going to regret it’.”
ON MARRIED AT FIRST SIGHT
Couples on the show often clash when they move into an apartment together in a shared block with other contestants.
Marilyse says there are strict rules in place at this stage, and likened it to being at “boarding school”.
She claims they were banned from socialising with other MAFS couples off-camera – partly due to filming taking place in the pandemic, but also to ensure they captured all the drama.
Marilyse recalls: “On an evening, we would go into each other’s rooms, and then one of the producers would find out, come back in and be banging and banging and banging!
Contestants weren’t allowed to socialise off-camera
“She’d come in and be like, ‘Get to your room!’ You felt like you were at boarding school.”
Other rules included not going anywhere around Brighton without a chaperone.
She says they also weren’t allowed to have any contact with friends and family – although Marilyse says most people “snuck in iPads”, like her co-star Morag Crichton.
Strict rules
Married At First Sight producers gave strict rules for the apartments
Marilyse says: “They only film what you see in the apartments – you would expect them to be filming you a lot more than what they did.
“We’d have days where we weren’t getting filmed at all, and we’d miss it a bit, because there was nothing else to do because it was COVID, so we couldn’t even go out.
“When we were in the apartments, we weren’t allowed to go anywhere.
“If we wanted to go out we had to ring up the producers and say, ‘Can you send a chaperone because we want to go for a walk?’ and then they’d take us out into Brighton.
“But we weren’t allowed to go and have a drink in any of the bars or anything like that.”
Marilyse recalls a time she wanted to go out to buy a dress because she’d run out of outfits, and had to be accompanied by a chaperone.
She explains: “She had to go into Zara and she had to show me clothes through the window. I wanted to come in and try them on but wasn’t allowed!”
Franky portrayed badly
Marilyse insists Franky was portrayed badly on the show – and they’re still friends
Marilyse’s ex-husband Franky was labelled “controlling” and “scary” by viewers of the show last year, after multiple outbursts.
But Marilyse insists he isn’t like that in reality.
“Absolutely loads wasn’t shown,” she insists. “We had so much fun together, he was great.
“When he was doing the commitment ceremonies, they just showed the awkwardness, but Frankie was actually pouring his heart out to the experts saying how much he adores me.
“Honestly, he made me feel like a princess by what he said, and they didn’t share any of that. And it’s really sad.”
She says Franky has a “fantastic” personality and is very different to how he came across on TV.
Marilyse remembers a romantic surprise Franky put on for her on her birthday while they lived together, which wasn’t filmed.
She recalls: “He’d set up this really romantic meal in the room and he took me out for a walk from Brighton.
“When I came back I was greeted with this lovely set up in the kitchen of a romantic three-course meal and loads of balloons all around the room.”
Marilyse and Franky didn’t work out, and she’s still single, but the pair remain “very good friends”.
“He actually sent me a five-minute voice note yesterday,” the mum-of-two says.
“We keep in touch quite often, a couple of times a week, even though he’s back in Dubai.
“He is in touch with my kids, they’re always sending him messages.”
New challenge
Marilyse and Franky are still good friends
For now, Marilyse is training for the London Marathon, which she’s running in aid of kidney research – only 11 months after donating her kidney to her children’s dad.
She says: “It’s a massive challenge for me doing this because it is out of my comfort zone.
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“I haven’t set myself a training plan, but I’m just thinking I’ll do what I can on the day.
“I’m not going to put myself under any pressure – even if I end up having to walk half the marathon, as long as I complete it, that’s all I’m bothered about.”
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