It’s the final week of Married at First Sight UK. The newlyweds have lived together 24/7 for eight weeks and it’s nearly time to see which couples stay together after the show.
One thing fans do wonder is if the contestants get paid to be on the show and if the marriages are legalised, who pays for the divorce? Surely, with them taking an extensive amount of time off work, they’ll need some form of financial support? We’ve done some digging - and it might not be as generous as you think.
Do MAFS UK contestants get paid?
E4 hasn’t disclosed whether the contestants were paid in the latest series. But a cast member from the latest series of MAFS Australia told Metro contestants are paid some money, but it’s not a lot.
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Jess Power from series six of the Aussie version told the publication that they were paid roughly £84 a day during filming. She added that in the Aussie version, you’re also not allowed to work your day job while filming the show and until the season finale.
Jess, who was matched with Mick Gould by the experts, said it’s “probably about a six-seven month process [overall]."
Unlike Love Island, the couples don’t win any prize money for staying together. But they win the ultimate prize of all - love (well, some do).
So, clearly, the contestants don’t take part for the money - or the fame, according to expert Paul C Bronson.
Who pays for the weddings on MAFS UK?
Most people, when they know they’re getting married, start saving up for the big white wedding and will have some help from their parents too. So, what happens when you’re not in charge of who you’re marrying and when or where?
Apparently, contestants of the earlier series of MAFS UK were given a budget for the big day, but it didn’t cover everything.
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Clark Sherwood, who appeared on the show in 2019, told Cosmopolitan:
“There’s no financial gain from going on the show.
“There’s budget for things – her wedding dress, a small budget for the suits. There’s some money for hen-do and stag-dos, but it was mainly out of my pocket.
“I think they put money towards travel or something. But there was genuinely no monetary gain. Lots of people think, ‘No one would do that for free,’ but actually I spent quite a lot of money on the process.”
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But remember, this was season two and before the show adopted the new Australian format under E4, so things could have changed by now.
Married at First Sight is on weeknights on E4 and available to stream online at All4.
Featured Image Credit: E4Topics: TV And Film, Married At First Sight, Channel 4