'Where’s your wife?': MAFS groom stood up by bride on radio

The morning after he said ‘I do’ to his TV bride, Natasha Spencer, Married At First Sight star Michael ‘Mikey’ Pembroke stepped out without his other half, sparking rumours that they were no longer together.

The 29-year-old operations manager arrived solo for an interview on Nova 9.69’s “Fitzy and Wippa Show” prompting questions about the newlywed’s relationship status right off the bat.

“Where’s your wife, buddy?” Wippa asked point-blank, causing his guest to squirm.

“Mate, uh... she’s not here at the moment,” the former North Shore private schoolboy stammered out, all the while avoiding eye contact.

“Don’t know why she couldn’t make it but we catch up later today on the Today show... but yeah, what a wedding!” he added by way of swiftly changing the subject.

Estranged bedfellows?

But Wippa wasn’t about to let it go and attempted to trick Mikey into spilling more details on the state of their marriage.

“Did [Natasha] get up when you got up this morning?” he asked innocently.

“Um... I’m not sure...” Mikey began to reply before catching himself about to reveal if the couple is still sharing a bed.

“Oh!” he exclaimed, “I let her sleep in, I’ve taken the reigns back and I’m doing the work!”

Natasha’s absence wasn’t lost on listeners who took to the comments section of the video of the interview on Facebook to ask, “Where’s the bride????!!”

“I’d say they aren’t together the way this interview is going,” one fan replied.

Mikey eyes off Hayley

Mikey, who used to work at the radio station, went on to admit he was ‘intimated’ by Natasha, 26, and that it was most definitely not love at first sight on their wedding day.

“You have this [preconception] of who’s going to come down [the aisle] and when it’s not what you think, I sorta just froze really,” he revealed.

“It could’ve been a lot worse,” he joked, leaving Fitzy, Wippa and Sarah McGilvray shocked.

When asked which other contestants he was attracted to, Mikey mentioned bodybuilder Hayley Vernon.

“She’s a strong character,” he said of the 32-year-old brunette.

Talking Married solo

Mikey was also on his lonesome for an appearance on episode two of 9Now’s Talking Married which aired immediately after MAFS on Tuesday night.

He told host Shelly Horton that he ‘felt extremely uncomfortable’ with his bride during their post-ceremony photoshoot.

“It wasn’t natural at all,” he said before admitting that looking at the snaps makes him ‘cringe’.

Financial analyst Natasha has been open about her ‘penchant for older men’ and describes herself as ‘outspoken and bold’.

MAFS’ ratings win

It’s still early days but Married At First Sight is already a clear winner when it comes to TV ratings, taking the top spot in Monday night’s free-to-air report.

MAFS’s drama-packed 2020 season premiere attracted a whopping 1,154,000 viewers, beating out rival reality shows MKR and Survivor as well as ratings juggernauts Seven and Nine news.

In true MAFS style, this year’s offering kicked off with a bang courtesy bride Poppy who almost walked out of her wedding reception.

After tying the knot with lonely heart Luke Eglin, 39, the 38-year-old mum of two broke down in tears, revealing she was missing her twin boys.

Married At First Sight continues on Channel Nine tonight at 7:30pm.

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