MAFS: Body language expert reveals surprising take on Tori and Jack: 'Lots of deceptive indicators'

There’s been much speculation about the remaining Married At First Sight couples, with many fans questioning whether Tori Adams, Jack Dunkley and Sara Mesa are there for the right reasons. The general consensus is that Jack is a walking red flag, and his ‘boss b*tch’ wife Tori has been furiously defending him.

To get an insight into non-verbal clues that participants have been showing on screen, we reached out to body language expert Scott Taylor. The security, risk and safety professional trained with the former head of the FBI Behaviour Unit, and has been glued to his couch during this year’s season of MAFS. So, who’s here to find love, and who’s here for a fast track to influencer fame?

Tori Adams and Jack Dunkley

Scott is convinced that Tori and Jack are faking their relationship for the cameras, and while they’re putting on a united front, he’s not buying it. “When they’re getting questioned about the relationship or the longevity of the relationship, there’s lots of deceptive indicators,” he tells Yahoo Lifestyle. “[Tori] shows lip compression, [meaning] discomfort and withholding information, and both Tori and Jack have ring fidgeting and regular self-touching, which is a self-pacifying gesture.”

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The couple raised alarm bells for Scott when they were distant during a car ride apart from touching their fingertips together. “It’s called distal touching and that’s a sign that they’re doing it for show,” he explains. “It’s not close contact. [Even] when they’re sitting on the lounge [at the cocktail party], there [has been] less touching. It’s because of that it’s not genuine affection.”

According to Psychology Today, “distal touching” can be a sign that a relationship is about to crumble, a “subconscious way of touching those we dislike or can barely tolerate”. Yikes.

He predicts that Tori will continue to deflect Jack’s behaviour until she reaches breaking point. “Then she’ll get more of a voice just to try and rally some public support for when she gets out. So that’s why I think they’re fake, and that’s how I think the relationship’s trajectory will go,” he says.

Sara Mesa and Tim Calwell

Fans turned on Sara Mesa after her shady behaviour with her ex was exposed. The Colombian-born bride has since been attempting to “make it up” to ‘husband’ Tim, but Scott thinks she has ulterior motives.

“I don’t believe that she is there for the right reasons. I believe that she’s not committed to the relationship, and she’s more focused on external opinion and perception rather than the actual relationship itself,” Scott explains. “When she’s been questioned, she’s shown lots of deceptive indicators.”

According to the body language expert, a spike in blink rate, swallowing excessively and licking lips can be non-verbal clues that a person is lying. “Our bodies under stress release cortisol… and it slows down our saliva production,” he says. “So when people have a high level of discomfort, and especially from deceptive behaviour, they swallow more and they do lick their mouth.”

Lucinda Light and Timothy Smith

Lucinda Light and Timothy Smith were tipped to become a rare MAFS success story. Sadly, Lucinda was left disappointed by Timothy’s actions during Homestays week and it’s looking bleak.

However, Scott believes there’s still a chance that they’ll reconnect later. The pressure in the experiment has been overwhelming for Timothy, who showed many signs of stress during the last commitment ceremony.

“He had a lot of tells with his arm scratching, he showed stress by regularly grabbing onto the lounges and showed tension in a whole range of things,” Scott says. “He [needs] to have a bit of a stop and enter a reconsolidating phase before doing something within the relationship, so whilst they may end up longer term in the relationship, I think you’ll find…they will probably be close friends for a while and then may spark again.”

Eden Harper and Jayden Eynaud

Eden Harper and Jayden Eynaud have suddenly leapt into a fiery pit of drama, with Jayden seemingly more concerned with Tim and Sara’s relationship than his own. But Scott thinks that Jayden’s decision to out Eden during Sunday night’s commitment ceremony wasn’t his idea.

“As soon as he did it, we saw a range of things. We saw his blink rate spike, and we saw his lips compress more… I would believe that there was probably some producer prompting [behind] it,” he explains.

Producer interference aside, Scott believes they’re the real deal. “They’ve been relaxed in their affection and their words…[they’re genuine] from what I’ve seen with the contact, their wording and with their openness – that’s a natural thing that people don’t really think of,” he says.

Lauren Dunn and Jonathan McCullough

Though we know by now that Jonathan McCulloch ends up with Ellie Dix, at this point in the experiment, his feelings for ‘wife’ Lauren Dunn are real.

During his chat with the experts on Sunday night, Jonathan displayed no signs of stress or deception. Scott tells us that there were no changes to his gestures, facial expressions and his speaking cadence or tone, meaning that he’s being “genuine”.

“When he said [he] was ‘missing her’ and ‘missing her company’, he was being truthful with that. So I think he actually gets on well and likes her,” Scott says.

Jade Pywell and Ridge Barredo

At first, Ridge Barredo seemed like an Al Perkins 2.0: an immature party boy who was paired with the single mum for drama. While he is immature, there’s also a sweet side to him and he’s already met Jade's seven-year-old daughter.

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When Jade first dropped the bombshell about being a mum during their wedding, Scott says that Ridge’s reaction didn’t ring any alarm bells. “There was no spark of concern or other parts in that, it was great…he’s shown some moments of good maturity during that time.”

“There’s genuine, relaxed contact, they’re comfortable with the contact, it’s not controlling and it’s not for show,” he adds.

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