MAFS' Morena Farina’s bizarre TV appearance before the reality show resurfaces

It’s no secret that this year’s season of Married At First Sight has been filled with former reality TV contestants. Teejay Halkias was on Big Brother in 2023, Paul Antoine was on The Real Love Boat in 2022, and Sierah Swepstone was on The Bachelor in 2021.

There are also a handful of other participants who had experience on camera before filming the show, with Jeff Gobbels appearing in three episodes of Neighbours, Carina Mirabile starring in a variety of commercials, and Veronica Cloherty acting in several films.

Eagle-eyed fans have now discovered that this season’s oldest participant Morena Farina also had a rather surprising TV appearance before her stint on MAFS alongside her son Stefan.

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Taking to Reddit this week, one person shared a photo of Morena and Stefan sitting in the audience of the Channel 10 game show Deal or No Deal. Morena is seen smiling in a hot pink blazer and matching hat, while her son is wearing a yellow jacket.

The rebooted version of the series hosted by Grant Denyer only premiered in January 2024, which means that Morena’s cameo would’ve taken place just a few months before she signed up for MAFS.

“Was just watching an old episode of Deal or No Deal and thought I saw Morena in the crowd in pink. Is it her?” the viewer wrote.

Fans poke fun at Morena's cameo

The post was quickly flooded with comments confirming it is Morena, with many people making jokes about whether her experience on Deal or No Deal was similar to her time on MAFS.

“‘I'm ranking case number 16 last. It may contain a million dollars, but it didn't talk to me’,” one person remarked, while another added, “‘Case number 16 is not giving me anything. I need something’”.

“‘Grant, let me pull out my little book and share something with the studio audience…’,” a third said, followed by someone else who wrote, “‘Grant Denyer, I’M NOT DONE WITH YOU LITTLE BOY’”.

“‘And guess what? The suitcase wants a baby, just decided to tell me now, a baby, at my age. You’d think the suitcase would’ve INFORMED ME AT THE START OF THE SHOW!’,” another laughed.

Others joked that Morena might have filmed Deal or No Deal while she was living in Sydney for MAFS and her partner Tony Mojanovski was having ‘Tony Time’.

“Well she had to fill her time somehow when Tony left her alone in Sydney,” a fan wrote, followed by a different user who said, “The Channel 10 studio is located near that hotel they stay in, and when Tony stuck his ‘Gone Fishing’ note on the fridge one morning to get three days of 'Tony Time', she figured she might as well try her luck going to Deal or No Deal”.

Morena reveals whether she'd return to reality TV

While some people interpreted Morena’s appearance on Deal or No Deal as confirmation that she went on MAFS for ‘fame’, the 57-year-old tells Yahoo Lifestyle this couldn’t be further from the truth.

“I went on Deal or No Deal for my son - it was his dream, not mine,” she asserts. “Am I interested in TV? Only if it’s something authentic and real. Otherwise, no, I’m not. I didn’t go on a show to have my life ruined, and the cruelty and nastiness from everyone involved have been beyond belief.

“I surround myself with good people, so would I ever go back for more? Absolutely not. I’m not foolish enough to give someone the chance to waste my time twice.”

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Morena adds that she’s currently figuring out how she can “change this pathetic cycle of content we all watch”.

“It’s 2025 - we should be living in a world that lifts people up, not tears them down. I’m going to turn this into something positive. Just watch me, because I will,” she remarks.

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