Married At First Sight's Bradley slammed for defending 'shut up' Shona remark
Married At First Sight UK star Brad Skelly has been embroiled in controversy since his stint on the hit E4 show, as viewers and dating experts alike have criticised his behaviour towards his ex-wife.
The 27-year-old model from Grimsby was matched with performing arts teacher Shona Manderson, 31, from Nottingham and while the pair's whirlwind romance started off strong, it wasn't long before things turned sour.
The show's resident dating experts eventually expressed concern about Brad's use of controlling language, as well as the extreme up-and-down nature of the couple's relationship. The tumultuous pairing eventually went south when the experts booted Brad and Shona from the show, insisting the relationship was 'unhealthy'.
Since leaving the dating experiment, Brad has broke his silence on the shocking moment he told Shona to 'shut up' at a dinner party. The tense scene left viewers wincing as Brad told his wife to 'shut up' in front of the whole cast when she was attempting to express her upset about other contestants on the show not liking them as a couple. The incident followed Brad telling Shona she was "emotionally immature" which left her feeling insecure and confused about Brad's feelings towards her - particularly after he had come on so strong and expressed his love for her right away. His behaviour prompted women's charity Woman's Aid to release a statement commending the experts for calling him out for the dangerous language he used in the show.
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Speaking on the podcast Fully Game, Brad said there was "no malice" towards his wife when he made the remark, and claimed there was a significant difference between telling someone to "shut up" and telling someone to "shut your f***ing mouth". He said: "The way that I brought that across was in a situation of somebody going 'but I just want.. but I just want people to think..' and I was like 'oh my days just shut up man' as opposed to going shut your f***ing mouth. You know what I mean? there's a difference."
Reflecting back on his relationship with Shona, Brad added: "I've been portrayed as an absolute villain. The person I was matched with, she is a great girl and I haven't got a bad word to say about her, she's such a warm, enlightening soul, but we led different walks of life. I'd gone through certain life challenges and had a different life perspective than she did, so we were sort of clashing heads at some points. There's hours and hours of filming, but they're only showing snippets, some really short snippets. Frustrations are really amplified in there. I would always be trying to help and guide - that comes across as patronising and controlling to some people, because it's as though I'm like, 'I've experienced more so I can give you this wisdom', but that's never how it's been meant to come across."
After clips of the podcast were posted on TikTok, viewers shared their thoughts, as one person claimed: "You don't get kicked off that show for nothing. they must have spotted some extreme narcissistic controlling behaviour, probably more than we saw," while another echoed: "Whatever he imagines his intentions were in the moment, it doesn't change the impact." Married At First Sight's dating expert Mel Schilling had to step in on the show when Brad admitted that he would "allow" Shona to feel how she wanted, adding that he wanted her to "learn". He said on the programme: "Not that I'm in a position of authority or to teach her, but if I allow her to get angry, is she ever going to learn?"
Following her difficult time on the show, it has been reported that Shona has found love again - with a different cast member. The arts teacher is said to be dating fitness fanatic Matt Pilmoor, one of the show's new grooms who was originally paired with Adrienne Naylor. Earlier this week MAFS viewers saw Matt and Adrienne on their honeymoon which appeared to be going well. However, it seems as if things didn't work out for the pair, as Shona was spotted out for a coffee with bodybuilder Matt as onlookers claimed they appeared to be "very relaxed in each other's company" and "must have been together for a while because they were hardly dressed to impress".
A source told The Sun: "I'm a big fan of the show so I couldn't believe it when they strolled in together because Matt's only just joined the show. I'm really disappointed I saw them to be honest because there's still a month or so to go – and now I know his marriage to Adrienne won't last." The Mirror has reached out to Shona and Matt for further comment.
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