'Beyond saving': Why MAFS producers almost axed the show

Married At First Sight producers were reportedly very close to shutting down the 2020 season and ditching the entire cast to start all over again because so much was going on behind the scenes they feared the show wouldn't make sense.

And considering the number of cast members who have slammed Channel 9 and the show's producers on social media, they may be wishing they'd gone through with the axing.

An insider has reportedly told Who Magazine, "Producers were considering starting from scratch because they had lost so many couples, missed capturing so much drama and the storylines didn't make sense anymore."

This could include situations like Michael Goonan and Hayley Vernon cheating on their respective partners with each other or perhaps Aleks Markovic reportedly cheating on her 'husband' Ivan Sarakula.

Production was reportedly struggling to tie events that had happened off camera into the show's on-screen narrative.

An unnamed contestant also reportedly spoke to the publication, saying a producer went so far as to tell the contestants the show might be scrapped.

"The executive producer Tara held meetings with all of the contestants. She was crying and saying how the show is now beyond saving. She told us she was casting for new contestants and scrapping the show completely because we were too boring," they said.

The stars of this season have been more vocal than ever about their experiences on the show. Poppy Jenkins, who left the show early on, even threatened to sue the network.

Poppy left the show following a "deeply traumatic" event involving her and 'husband' Luke Eglin that occurred off camera. She's since revealed that Nine tried to cover the whole thing up and have prevented her from speaking about it.

Speaking with the publication, Poppy revealed that during an upcoming girls' night on the show, she told her co-stars exactly what happened between the pair and she was "dragged out" as MAFS producers believed it to be damaging information.

"The times I had said what he did on camera was never going to be shown," she said.

"The girls started asking me questions about why I left and I started to get upset on camera. Then I got dragged out, told off, and wasn't allowed to talk about what happened with Luke because it was too controversial. I could never say my truth."

Josh Philak has also recently slammed the show's producers for editing his homestay episode to make his 'wife' Cathy Evans appear as a victim and him as the villain.

"Watching back last night, what transpired and what actually happened is an absolute joke," he said.

He spoke about how he wasn't happy that his mother and brother were receiving death threats, urging fans who are interested in signing up for the show to "seriously think" about it.

"I just can't stress enough to people who are thinking about trying out for this show... have a good hard think because when you sign that contract, any footage and audio can be spliced and cut up however they choose," he said.

"It says in the fine print, 'you may or may not be received in a positive light' and me being naive, I thought, why not? It is so disappointing to see how they made that come across and how much they left out."

Other contestants including Stacey Hampton and Mishel Karen have also spoken out, seemingly breaking their contracts by doing so.

According to Who, Nine's official statement on their participant's health and safety reads, “Nine takes its obligations in respect to the health and wellbeing of the participants of this program extremely seriously.

"All participants have access to the show psychologist during filming, during broadcast and once the program has ended. Nine has arranged an additional service for participants should they like or need further individual and confidential psychological support.

"This service gives participants access to psychologists who have been specifically engaged to support those involved in the program in relation to their experiences. This service is a dedicated helpline from which participants can also arrange face to face sessions and is an ongoing service available to them all after the series has ended.”

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