'No fake tan': MAFS star hits back at transformation critics

Former MAFS star Sam Ball has turned heads with a dramatic transformation of late, but he has slammed claims that he is doing anything other than hitting the gym and rocking his natural glow.

It looks like the former reality TV groom is taking isolation fitness more seriously than most, looking almost unrecognisable in recent muscle snaps.

Posting a mixture of mirror selfies and active shots, the former Married At First Sight star has left fans baffled as to his sudden transformation.

With a darker, more dramatic haircut, a trimmed beard and moustache and a noticeably athletic frame, opinions have been divided over the new look.

“Your followers are impressed mate,” one man wrote.

Sam weathers ‘very negative’ comments

Sam tells Yahoo Lifestyle however, that not all the responses have been positive.

“I have seen some very negative comments but it’s okay,” he says.

In comments on photos, there were a few whose fandom did not extend to the reality alumni’s new look.

“What have you done to yourself?” one woman wondered.

“Doesn’t look like you need much of a tan,” another wrote on a singlet selfie, with another agreeing it was ‘too much’.

One didn’t recognise the former ‘villain’ asking, ‘who is he?’.

Even fellow castmate Mick Gould got in on the ribbing, jokingly asking Sam to teach him his editing tricks.

“You need to teach me how to edit photos like this mate,” Mick teased on a shirtless snap, though the pair seemed to laugh it out in the comments.

‘I don’t fake tan’ says Sam

Sam has hit back at the criticism however, saying he is simply returning to his former fit self, after a horror injury left him out of the gym for months following last year’s stint on MAFS.

“I do this for me as it makes me feel amazing,” he says.

And though he is looking heavily bronzed, the groom insists he is simply rocking his natural glow.

“I don’t use any tan,” he insists. “I’ve always been tan so I don’t understand why people think I look different.”

Many fans are on board, heaping the fitness fanatic with praise for his new bulky frame.

“Keep it up!” one wrote.

“Getting it done,” another admired.

The dramatic new look even has the former groom considering a future in muscle gains. He tells Yahoo Lifestyle he is considering bodybuilding competitions in the future.

It’s not the first time the groom has turned heads with a full-blown transformation.

After cheating on ‘wife’ Lizzie Sobinoff on last year’s show with fellow bride Ines, Sam sensationally returned for the reunion looking like a different person.

With a shaved face and noticeably lighter hair, the groom seems to be more of a chameleon than his former wife Lizzie, who similarly shocked fans ahead of her return with a transformation of her own.

Got a story tip or just want to get in touch? Email us at lifestyle.tips@verizonmedia.com.