MAFS' Ashleigh reveals what fans didn't see from 'brutal' photo ranking challenge

Married At First Sight's Ashleigh Ackerman has spoken out about her partner Jake Luik’s disastrous photo ranking challenge and revealed there was much more that viewers didn’t see on TV during Wednesday night’s episode. The 30-year-old groom copped backlash online following his brutal approach to the task, which requires participants to rank the other brides or grooms in order of how attractive they find them.

Jake essentially roasted his female co-stars over their age, facial features, and even race, saying that Jacqui Burfoot has “crazy eyes”, Rhi Disljenkovic has “a little lazy eye”, and Sierah Swepstone has a face that screams “I could stab you in your sleep”. Jake also decided to put Ashleigh in fifth place, but later told the producers he could’ve moved her down a spot because he “wouldn’t conventionally go for someone that looks like that”.

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Ashleigh unpacks 'uncomfortable' moment: 'Tug of war'

Speaking with Yahoo Lifestyle following the episode, Ashleigh admits she was much more surprised hearing what Jake had to say about her fellow brides than seeing where he placed her in the lineup.

“I didn't have any issue with where I was placed. I think the other women are drop-dead gorgeous, so I was more than happy with where I was placed. It was more just the blindside shock horror with his comments that was quite overwhelming,” she details.

“I think I felt in that moment too like, everyone I know is going to see this and also judge me a little bit for it. You’re in that position where if I laugh along with it, I'm almost enabling it when I don't agree with it and it doesn’t align with my views. But if I speak up, I'm gonna upset my husband and it’s gonna be an uncomfortable altercation.

“I was still trying to get to know him and build a connection because it was only two weeks in, so there was like this tug of war, but I had to stand up for what I believe in.”

'Really proud of myself'

Ash admits she was “second-guessing” herself in the moment and wasn’t sure if she was overreacting or misinterpreting Jake’s comments, but she’s glad she spoke up after watching it back on TV.

“I'm actually really proud of myself for how I handled that,” she reflects.

“I was trying to also take into account what he was saying in the jokes, but he also needed to know I'm gonna stick up for my girls. If it was me, I would love to see Jamie [Marinos] or Awhina [Rutene] or Sierah stand up for me if someone was attacking my characteristics like that.

What fans didn't see from the photo ranking challenge

While the reality show aired the entirety of Jake’s cringe-worthy photo ranking challenge, Ash reveals she’s “a bit disappointed” viewers didn’t get to see her take on the task. The dance studio owner says she did hers after Jake’s and used the opportunity to show him how you could do the challenge without making rude comments about other people’s appearances.

“For example, I put Adrian [Araouzou] towards the bottom end just simply because he actually has a lot of characteristics that remind me of an ex-partner so I'm just not physically attracted to that,” she explains.

“And then Jake, I did place him around the same spot he put me, about fourth or fifth. I said he really had that Robin Williams kind of quirky, funny smile and he's a lovely guy, but if I was in a room full of people, I probably wouldn't find him attractive straight away. But that's what I was there for. I was there to have an open mind and know where I've gone wrong, so I was open to the experience.”

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As for what else unfolded during the scene, Ash says Jake acknowledged she handled the challenge much better than he did but things quickly became “a little bit uncomfortable” between them.

“He was like, ‘I guess from a woman's point of view, that was a really good way of doing it. You women know how to do this better than I would’,” she recalls.

“We had to have that conversation then and there and all I had to say was I just think he could have done it in a more tasteful way. Like, how is Jacqui gonna feel when she sees this? And I think it really shows that he didn't really think about that at the time. He didn’t mean any malice by it, but it's just the way it was delivered.”

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