19 October 2023 , 20:13
917
0
Married At First Sight star Nathanial Valentino surprised E4 viewers when he revealed he'd quit the series early, but now one final contestant has addressed whether the groom broke any rules.
Nathanial hit out at the production team in a bombshell interview where he told The Mirror that producers knew he wanted to "marry a man or a woman with a very masculine energy". He also shared his deal breakers were that "she didn’t smoke and didn’t work in the sex industry".
On the show, he was matched with 29-year-old transgender nurse Ella Morgan, who is a former stripper and a smoker. Nathanial's criticism of the series left viewers stunned as couples are told they must keep the outcome of their marriages a secret while the show airs.
In an exclusive interview, former contestant Matt Jameson, who married Daniel McKee in the 2021 series, spoke out on the rules you have to follow on the show. He said: "You have agreements with the channel and the production company.
Pictured: Nathanial & Ella"In our series, we started filming the end of March and we finished filming in June, and then the series didn’t air till the end of August, so we had to completely keep it under wraps on whether we were together or not while the show was on. You're not supposed to announce whether you're still together or not until he finishes airing because obviously they want to keep that suspense so people keep guessing whether or not you are still together."
Pregnant Married at First Sight star 'devastated' after learning sex of her baby
Addressing this year's controversy, he continued: "I think Nathanial has broken some rules there by outing himself that he's left the process already.It's filmed months ago so for him to say he left the process, it's a big no no. You do sign an NDA and you're not supposed to reveal anything about the show or the production.
Nathanial told The Mirror he didn't want to marry Ella (Channel 4)"I think there's a timeframe after the show, from memory, that you keep your mouth shut, but I guess he feels begrudged by the show and the production because of the situation that he's in. I think [he spoke out] because he may be getting a negative backlash because of what they're showing and people have said to me, ‘He's coming across as quite aggressive.’
"And Ella is just wanting to kind of have that romantic connection, whereas he's very standoffish towards that. If he is getting quite a lot of negative, negative comments, he's wanting to tell his side of the story, but I will say I don't think he's gone about it in the best way."
Matt and Daniel subsequently split after two years together last December, with Matt now working in the role of Chief Operating Officer for LGBTQ+ charity, Out Together back in his hometown of Leeds.