Married At First Sight 2024 will no longer feature a same-sex couple after a runway groom ‘derailed’ his wedding after getting cold feet and fleeing the country.
Daily Mail Australia can reveal despite both filming their backstories and meeting their co-stars – two gay grooms will be completely edited out of the show.
Simon Flocco, an Adelaide-based restaurant manager, is said to have completely ‘ruined’ the show’s plans to highlight a same-sex couple during their year of ‘diversity’ at the eleventh hour before his nuptials.
‘He kept having doubts, expressing his discomfort,’ a well-placed source revealed.
‘Producers, hungry for a groundbreaking narrative, persuaded him to stick around. That’s why he was at the bucks.
Married At First Sight 2024 will no longer feature a same-sex couple after a runway groom ‘derailed’ plans after getting cold feet and fleeing the country
‘He kept telling them that he didn’t feel comfortable about certain things but was eventually talked into staying.’
Daily Mail Australia understands that the behind-the-scenes madness was unparalleled to any other season.
One production insider exclaimed, ‘It’s complete and utter chaos! Simon leaving was a blindside. Everyone’s been running around like headless chickens trying to salvage the situation.’
Simon Flocco, pictured left, an Adelaide-based restaurant manager, is said to have completely ‘ruined’ the show’s plans to highlight a same-sex couple during their year of ‘diversity’ at the eleventh hour before his wedding
‘He kept having doubts, expressing his discomfort,’ a well-placed source revealed. ‘Producers, hungry for a groundbreaking narrative, persuaded him to stick around. That’s why he was at the bucks’
Breaking his silence, Simon told Daily Mail Australia: ‘MAFS wasn’t what I thought I wanted at this point in my life, that’s all.’
Expressing his remorse, he added, ‘I just felt bad for whoever they set me up with. I did initially leave, but they managed to coax me back… I gotta look out for myself.’
Breaking his silence, Simon told Daily Mail Australia: ‘MAFS wasn’t what I thought I wanted at this point in my life, that’s all’
Runway groom flees to Europe:
After quitting the Channel Nine show, Simon immediately booked a trip to Europe, where he has been since late July.
Instagram photos show Simon lapping up the European sun and sights in the arms of a mysterious friend in Florence and celebrating his birthday.
Meanwhile, producers were left to get the ‘derailed’ series back on track, deciding to edit out all scenes and storylines involving the couple.
After quitting the Channel Nine show, Simon immediately booked a trip to Europe, where he has been since late July
Instagram photos show Simon lapping up the European sun and sights in the arms of a mysterious friend in Florence and celebrating his birthday
Groom on stand by:
Daily Mail Australia understands showrunners scrambled to find a solution, trying to salvage the season’s much-anticipated gay couple storyline.
This led them to consider introducing a ‘standby’ partner for Michael, who was photographed crashing the hens’ night on July 18.
‘After the whole runaway groom incident, the production team was in crisis mode. They even considered bringing in a substitute groom for Michael. He was kept on standby, hopeful and anxious,’ the insider said.
However, after a series of meetings and considerations producers made the heart-wrenching decision to let go of the idea.
Instead of a fairy tale ending, Michael’s love journey on the show came to an abrupt halt.
Daily Mail Australia understands showrunners scrambled to find a solution, trying to salvage the season’s much-anticipated gay couple storyline
The show’s past record with LGBTQ+ representation have been shaky to say the least.
‘It’s important to get this right. We’re not just adding diversity for the sake of it, but to genuinely represent the many colours of love,’ said a source close to the set.
Expert Mel Schilling has previously confessed to the experiment’s shortcomings in representing LGBTQ+ relationships.
Expert Mel Schilling (pictured) has previously confessed to the experiment’s shortcomings in representing LGBTQ+ relationships
‘For us, it was really important to find people who genuinely wanted to find love. We didn’t want to simply match people based on sexual orientation,’ she told Metro last year.
Schilling admitted the Australian series ‘got that horribly wrong’ in the early seasons, suggesting that ‘great lessons’ could be gleaned from the experience.
Back in 2019, a spokesman for Nine told Daily Mail Australia they hadn’t included a same-sex couple due to the limited number of applications from gay singles.
‘For us, it was really important to find people who genuinely wanted to find love. We didn’t want to simply match people based on sexual orientation,’ she told Metro last year
‘Unfortunately, we didn’t feel there was a good enough match, and we didn’t want to include a gay couple just for the sake of appearances,’ they said.
While the show received a staggering 10,000 applications from heterosexual singles, only about 20 came from gay singles.
The following year, the experiment featured its first lesbian couple, with Amanda Micallef, 34, and Tash Herz, 31, tying the knot.
In 2016, MAFS Australia welcomed its first gay couple, Craig Roach and Andy John, which didn’t go as planned.
Married At First Sight will return to Channel Nine in January 2024.
In 2016, MAFS Australia welcomed its first gay couple, Craig Roach and Andy John, which didn’t go as planned
The experiment featured its first lesbian couple, with Amanda Micallef, 34, and Tash Herz, 31, tying the knot in 2020
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