MAFS' Janelle defends Alyssa amid 'hypocritical' backlash: 'Manipulative'

Married At First Sight’s Janelle Han has defended her co-star Alyssa Barmonde after fans labelled her a ‘hypocrite’ for her actions at the latest dinner party.

Alyssa fiercely supported Janelle and Jesse Burford when it came out that their respective partners Adam Seed and Claire Nomarhas had shared a kiss and subsequently lied about it. However, viewers were quick to slam the mother-of-one for her strong views after she had previously revealed during Confessions Week that she had been involved in an affair with a married man.

Speaking with Yahoo Lifestyle following the dinner party, Janelle admits she is upset social media users have been attacking Alyssa when they don’t know the entire context.

“Watching the show and checking Twitter and scrolling through the live Reddit thread as I always do for every episode, my heart was absolutely breaking for Alyssa because she was receiving a lot of hate,” she shares.

“And she was really the one that was the rock for me throughout the entire experiment. She was one of my best friends on the show and I said to her, ‘I don't know if I can do this, I don't know if I'm strong enough’. And she said, ‘Don’t worry Janelle, I'm standing here by your side, I will be the voice for you if you can’t’.”

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Janelle went on to describe Alyssa as one of her best friends in the experiment with “such a beautiful soul”, and emphasises that there’s much more to her story than what’s been shown on TV.

“She was being called a hypocrite, but a lot of people don't know the full story,” she adds. “She was in a manipulative relationship and it really affected her and that's why she was so passionate about cheating because she knows how much it can damage a family.

“She was 23, it was her boss, and this boss had completely manipulated the situation where he lied to her about being married saying it was a Green Card marriage. So she was innocently believing this narcissist and that was her first experience with a narcissist.

“It's not really my story to tell, but it's a really sad story and she feels very passionate about it. There's so much more to the story than her just being the other woman.”

'Attack the behaviour, not the person'

While she’s understandably disappointed with how her marriage evolved on the reality show, the Perth beauty influencer says she’s proud of the way she handled herself.

“I had a lot of mixed feelings watching the dinner party on TV because I knew I was going to stand on my own and be strong and powerful,” she reflects.

“In the forefront of my mind, I wanted to remember the advice that one of my older cousins gave me, she's like a big sister to me. She said, ‘attack the behaviour, not the person’. So I really wanted to make sure that when I was defending myself I made it extremely clear that I was shedding light on behaviour throughout the experiment.”

Janelle adds that she’s so grateful for the support she’s received online and the fact that so many people are standing behind her.

“It’s a really good feeling,” she says. “It’s not difficult to be on my side, especially because Adam just presents himself as such a slimy, lying, gaslighting man.

“I know I’m a lot more composed than a lot of the other contestants, which can sometimes come across as being fake or emotionless, but I’m glad people appreciate how I carry myself.”

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