MAFS editors forced to re-edit the show after cheating scandal leaks
EXCLUSIVE: Ellie and Jono have since doubled down on their actions.
Warning: This article contains spoilers about MAFS!
Married At First Sight editors have been forced to re-edit the reality show after Yahoo Lifestyle published photos of Ellie Dix and Jono McCullough that suggest they’re now in a relationship.
The images showed Ellie, who is currently ‘married’ to Ben Walters on the show, and Jono, who is paired with Lauren Dunn, getting cosy at Ellie’s work Christmas party in December.
It’s now been confirmed that they are in a romantic relationship - which will unfold at the upcoming reunion - and the couple were reportedly “reprimanded” by Channel Nine and the show’s production company Endemol Shine Australia last week.
An insider told Yahoo Lifestyle that Ellie and Jono had both been “withdrawn from all media opportunities” for the foreseeable future and their co-stars were “furious at them” for spoiling the show for fans.
Despite Nine reminding the cast of their contracts, it seems the couple have since doubled down on their actions.
'They aren't going to hide their relationship'
A source tells Yahoo Lifestyle that Ellie and Jono hosted a birthday party in the Gold Coast over the weekend with their co-stars.
“Ellie sent out an invite to the entire cast asking them to join her and Jono on the Gold Coast and a lot of them went along,” they detail. “The AACTA Awards seemed to overshadow the reality stars flying into Queensland.”
The source also shares that Channel Nine will be doing new edits to “minimise their planned storylines” around the couple swap.
“They aren't going to hide their relationship and want Nine to work around them,” they add.
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Viewers have already begun to see glimpses of the couple’s relationship unfold on screen with Jono defending Ellie in his piece-to-camera interviews after she had a disagreement with Ben.
During Wednesday night’s dinner party, he also called out Ben and told the cameras: “Nothing he says seems real to me.”
Ben breaks silence after cheating scandal leaks
Following the news of Ellie and Jono’s romance, her on-screen partner Ben Walters spoke to Yahoo Lifestyle and revealed that he was always suspicious of their connection during filming.
“I saw the way they looked at each other from the start and I suspected something fishy was going on,” he said.
Ben added that although he feels like Ellie “emotionally cheated” on him, he’s happy that she and Jono found love in the experiment.
“I honestly wish them well as they seem happy together,” he remarked. “We text sometimes still. Pretty disappointing that they decided to ruin the storyline for MAFS fans.”
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