They’ve been making a concerted effort to put on a united front whenever possible, despite swirling rumours that their TV marriage is over.
But while Married At First Sight’s Sarah Roza, 38, and Telv Williams, 33, may believe they appear the image of a happy couple, body language expert Diederik Gelderman isn’t convinced.
Speaking exclusively to Daily Mail Australia on Friday, Diederik weighed in on the body language displayed by Sarah and Telv at Virgin Australia Fashion Festival on Thursday night.
Hands in pockets, contrived smiles and refusing to touch: Body language expert Diederik Gelderman says Telv Williams and Sarah Roza showed a ‘lack of intimacy’ at Virgin Australia Fashion Festival on Thursday night
‘I’ve looked closely at these pictures and in no image do I see any form of intimacy,’ said the expert, adding: ‘Cordiality, friendliness – yes – but no intimacy. This bothers me.’
Diederik went on: ‘Sarah’s smile also seems contrived, stiff, false. His is more genuine. But the way he has his hands in his pockets with thumbs on view is a very arrogant, brash body language cue.’
‘You would expect that a ‘new’ couple would be all over each other, but in one image their bodies are at 45 degrees. This shows that there is a relationship and that they are comfortable with each other, but the lack of intimacy, touch, hand-holding indicates a ‘distance’ between them. ‘
‘I’ve looked closely at these pictures and in no image do I see any form of intimacy’: Diederik cited the lack of touching or hand-holding as a key indicator of their relationship status
When quizzed on whether he believes the pair have already called it quits on their marriage, Diederik remarked: ‘They are definitely putting on a united front. Whether they have broken up, it’s hard to say. Certainly there’s a high possibility.’
Indeed, the couple are believed to have split weeks ago, after Daily Mail Australia obtained a leaked email Telv had sent to a MAFS producer, in which he referred to Sarah as ‘crazy’ and said that he had ‘blocked her number.’
The spotlight-loving twosome recently told OK! magazine that they felt pressure to stay together because ‘the public are obsessed’ with their romance.
‘Their bodies are at 45 degrees’: Diederik remarked upon the position of the pair’s bodies the red carpet, claiming that it showed friendship rather than intimacy
‘The public are obsessed with our relationship [which has] added pressure… You don’t want to disappoint the fans, but at the same time, you can’t be fake,’ Sarah confessed.
‘You have to be honest about how you’re feeling,’ she continued.
The red-haired bombshell added that her and Telv’s interactions have been put under the microscope since appearing on the show, which can make things hard.
‘There’s a lot of pressure to stay together and every tiny gesture, comment or sideways look is read into and dissected into a million pieces,’ Sarah said.
‘Sarah’s smile also seems contrived, stiff, false’: He claimed that Sarah appeared to be putting on a front, albeit unconvincingly
Telv, who was recently embroiled in a scandal when footage of him allegedly snorting a white powder off a woman’s body was published, also weighed in.
Admitting there were issues they needed to work through, Telv said effort is always needed for a relationship to flourish.
‘You’ve got to work through your differences in order to grow as a couple. Even when times are tough,’ he explained.
The couple have been facing backlash in recent days after a string of controversies were made public.
As well as the white powder video, Telv was also caught ‘liking’ racy photos of other women on social media.
Tension: The couple have been facing backlash in recent days after a string of controversies were made public