Topics: Married At First Sight, Married at First Sight UK, TV And Film, Reality TV, Channel 4, Sex and Relationships
With the 2024 series of Married At First Sight UK just around the corner, fans have been reflecting on some of the show's biggest scandals.
And as fans of the hit reality series simply won't be able to deny, one of the most controversial incidents occurred back in 2020, when a groom informed his bride he'd cheated on her over the radio.
We are, of course, talking about former contestants Ben Jardine and Stephanie Saint Remy, who appeared on MAFS UK all the way back in 2017.
If you can't quite remember the Channel 4 duo, property consultancy Ben and police officer Stephanie were paired up by the show's resident 'love experts', and viewers instantly noticed the chemistry between the pair, who were pretty hands-on in their relationship from the get-go.
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Despite a promising start to their romance - following a loved-up honeymoon - the couple hit their first obstacles after moving in with one another.
Viewers often endured Stephanie becoming teary-eyed at the prospect of parting ways with her hubby, and in the final episode of the series, relief was felt when Ben insisted he was willing to give their relationship another go.
Naturally, therefore, fans were blindsided when - just a matter of weeks later - Ben announced he and Stephanie and gone their separate ways, after he'd struck up a relationship with another woman just days after their on-screen honeymoon.
It wasn't just what he revealed about their break-up and his infidelity that shocked fans at the time, however, but the way he did so.
He broke the news live on the radio before even telling Stephanie he'd called off their romance. I know, savage.
Though Ben claimed the duo did have a conversation about where their relationship stands, Stephanie denied all knowledge that he'd cheated on her with another woman.
Speaking on social media at the time, she reflected: "He was divorcing me. He had cheated on me. He was announcing it on the radio.
"There are very few moments in your life that truly rock you to your core."
Stephanie went on to explain: "Ben called me later that night and we talked for an hour.
"I asked why he had lied to me about the cheating, but he swore on his mother’s life to me that he had never even kissed another girl since the day we were matched.
"I told him I had listened to it and heard the words come out of his mouth that he had had a ‘kiss and a cuddle’ which is how he refers to sex. I asked how he could say that if it wasn’t true and he replied ‘well, it’s just what you say isn’t it’."
Within a year, Ben announced that he was to appear as a contestant on Celebrity Big Brother - but not before revealing that, amid his split with Stephanie, he'd actually gotten another woman pregnant, later revealed to be yoga teacher Silvia Sanchis.
"They say, 'God loves to turn purposeless chaos into something beautiful' and He (or She!) really has in my life," he told The Sun at the time.
"I have been blessed. Out of all the chaos of this past year something beautiful has happened, which I will forever protect and be grateful for.
"I never thought it would happen to me. Everything happens for a reason. It's going to make a man out of me and I'll be a great dad."
If you ask me, Stephanie made a lucky escape!
