MAFS' Ashleigh reveals how watching the show made her dump her ex

With Married At First Sight currently in its twelfth season, it’s no surprise that some participants were big fans of the series before taking part in the experiment themselves. One of this year’s self-proclaimed super fans is Ashleigh Ackerman, who went on the reality show hoping to find her own ‘Jules and Cam’ love story.

Similar to 2024 bride Andrea Thompson who learned about gaslighting by watching previous seasons, Ashleigh tells Yahoo Lifestyle that MAFS taught her a lot about toxic relationships which encouraged her to break up with her ex. She explains that she decided to apply for the show following her split, but “didn’t think in a million years” she would get on.

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“Honestly, watching last season, I was in a relationship and I actually saw a lot of traits on the show in situations that were actually happening in my real life,” she details. “Every year I see things that I learn from on the show, like I didn't really understand what healthy boundaries were and gaslighting and things like that until I actually saw it on the show and it's pointed out.

“I ended up going, ‘Oh my god, what am I doing? This is not the foundation of what I want in a partner when I have kids. I’m getting too old now to waste my time and I refuse’. So I kind of jokingly went, maybe I should just apply? And all my friends and family and dance mums egged me on and I was like, you know what? I’m just going to do it.”

Ashleigh spills on 'intense' filming experience

Despite entering the experiment with an idea of what to expect from watching the show, Ashleigh admits that nothing could’ve prepared her for the actual experience of being ‘married’ to a stranger.

“I don't think anything can mentally prepare you for it because it is intense and it's a lot,” she says. “But I did kind of feel if you go in open, honest and just give everything a really good, hard crack, it would be a great opportunity - even just for yourself.

“You see year after year everyone learns so much more about themselves, and I really wanted to get a bit of feedback on myself. This was a great opportunity for the experts to give me some hard feedback that even if I don't want to hear it, I want to learn and grow as well because I don't want to be single for the rest of my life.”

'I'm done wasting my time'

Sunday night’s episode saw Ashleigh left heartbroken when her partner Jake Luik wrote ‘leave’ at the first commitment ceremony following a disastrous photo ranking challenge. While their future in the experiment remains uncertain, Ashleigh admits she went onto the show with an open mind that things might not work out.

“I thought, at least I'm gonna throw myself out there on such a big scale that surely if it doesn't work out with my husband, it's gonna work out with someone that's gonna see me on the show and thinks ‘she's the bee's knees’ and maybe just come up and approach me out in public,” she shares.

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“I genuinely want to find a partner. I’ve done the big career thing, I’ve had a hugely successful business, and I’ve scaled back over the last three years because I was kind of in a position where I went, you know what? I really want to be a full-time mum and let my career kind of take a back seat. I'm ready for that next phase of life and I'm done wasting my time.”

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