MAFS Australia viewers hit out at people saying Awhina’s name wrong
Topics: Married At First Sight, Married At First Sight Australia, Dating, Wedding, Reddit
Britt Jones
Featured Image Credit: Channel Nine
Topics: Married At First Sight, Married At First Sight Australia, Dating, Wedding, Reddit
Fans of Married At First Sight Australia are fed up with everyone who's pronouncing Awhina Rutene’s name wrong.
MAFS Australia has got off to an unfortunate start, with the police investigating one alleged incident involving groom Paul Antoine.
Now, fans are calling out the fact that a lot of people are pronouncing one of the brides' names incorrectly.
Awhina, who married Adrian Araouzou are one of the most unique couples on the show, as they are both one half of an identical twin pairing.
Advert
The two tied the knot in the third episode of the season after being matched by the experts, and thankfully, they hit it off immediately.
However, things became tense at the reception when Adrian discovered Awhina has a six-year-old son.
From there, things went from bad to worse with the couple being plagued by cheating scandals and at one point, Awhina’s hubby disappeared.
But the whole time, many viewers were getting the pronunciation of Awhina's name totally wrong.
One wrote on Reddit: "Forgive my ignorance but can anyone explain the pronunciation of Awhina’s name in relation to how it’s spelled? It’s Māori I’m assuming? It’s a pretty name."
While some commented saying it's 'said like Athena', this is actually not correct.
In Te Reo Māori, 'wh' is pronounced similar to an 'f' sound in English.
So Awhina is pronounced 'Ah-Fee-nah'.
You can hear how she says her own name in the clip below:
People took to social media to correct everyone who was saying it Athena, with one writing: "For people wondering, Awhina is a New Zealand Maori name, and in Maori "wh" is pronounced "f" so Awhina is Afina. If you hear it as Athena you're wrong. Think of "fi". She's basically Fiona (and she's not an ogre!) Love you Fi!
On Reddit, one user said: "So it’s not athina?"
Another user commented: "It is if you listen to some other idiot on this thread, but it's not of you want to say it properly."
Meanwhile an X user wrote: "So confused! How is Awhina's name pronounced? I hear 'Athena' but clearly Im wrong!"
They were promptly corrected: "It’s pronounced like Afeena."
According to the baby name website Prokerala, Awhina is a Māori name, which means ‘one who helps; a supporter’.
Since the cameras stopped rolling, many have also been wondering if the couple is still together, and it’s tricky to say whether they are or not.
Adrian was recently spotted with another woman but claimed that it wasn’t him, and it was instead his twin brother James.
However, Yahoo!Lifestyle reported that it was actually Adrian, who was identified via his tattoos.
Awhina and Billy, another MAFS contestant, and the only person from the cast to attend her birthday party, has also been seen with her.
Since then, people have been quick to question whether the pair are now an item.
To this, Awhina said as per Capital FM: "Billy and I are just really great friends. It was my birthday, and with everything that was airing on MAFS, it was very raw to him. So we were in communication, and it was a friendly catch-up, getting ice cream.
"I really value his friendship, and I think his family are really beautiful. Sorry, Australia, [it’s] friendship. I know everyone’s shipping us right now, but I’m married."