MAFS groom Ben's surprising reality TV past revealed after wedding confession

The big question that came from Thursday night’s episode of Married At First Sight was whether it’s ok for participants to take part in the social experiment in the pursuit of both love and fame.

Seeing as MAFS is one of the most popular reality shows in the country and has produced several overnight celebrities, it would be naive to think that the season 11 brides and grooms had no desire to gain a public profile - and hundreds of thousands of followers - when they applied for the series.

However, Newcastle-based groom Ben Walters seems to be the only participant so far who has been called out for acknowledging that.

After revealing at his wedding that he hosts a podcast as a “hobby”, the 39-year-old travel guide was grilled by his wife Ellie Dix’s family on why he wanted to go on MAFS.

“They’re trying to sus you out and see if you’re here just to start an OnlyFans,” Ellie joked, to which Ben replied, “No one would pay to see this”.

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He was then taken aside by Ellie’s cousin Jordan for another interrogation where he confessed that he had been interested in applying for the show for “a few years”.

“I nearly made it [in] 2021, I met all the hosts and then they said, ‘Sorry, we’re closed up’,” he said, adding that producers from other reality shows have contacted him in the past.

When asked directly if he was on the show to promote his podcast and travel business, Ben admitted he could see why Jordan came to that conclusion.

“If that does happen out of it, that’s one sort of silver lining,” he said. “But if love happens out of it, great.”

What other reality shows did Ben almost appear on?

So Dramatic! first reported in May last year that Ben was tipped to star in the eleventh season of The Bachelors Australia. Channel 10 then officially announced the three new leads in July - Wesley Senna Cortes, Ben Waddell and Luke Bateman - with Ben noticeably absent from the lineup.

An insider tells Yahoo Lifestyle that The Bachelors producers had reached out to Ben about appearing on the dating show and he didn’t apply himself.

“People are saying he was dropped at the last minute but he actually only made it a few steps into the casting process,” they share.

The source adds that Ben had also been contacted to appear on Channel Nine’s adventure reality show The Summit last year, which is produced by MAFS' production company Endemol Shine, but MAFS is the only reality show he’s applied for.

Ellie shares teaser about her relationship with Ben

In an exclusive chat with Yahoo Lifestyle on Friday, Ellie kept her cards close to her chest when asked if she believes you can go on a show like MAFS for love as well as fame.

However, she did reveal some interesting details that could allude to her and Ben's journey to come.

“I feel like, after watching it last night that, you know, there were red flags with Ben. It was interesting to watch it back. And I think maybe he was there for both reasons,” she said.

“Without saying too much. I feel like Ben really didn't let his walls down completely.”

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