ONE of the women who was allegedly raped by her on-screen husband on Channel 4’s Married at First Sight has revealed that she had suicidal thoughts when her series aired.
The woman, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that before her series was aired.
‘Chloe’, portrayed by an actress, said she felt she completely lost her grip and started having suicidal thoughts after the show aired Credit: BBC
MAFS contestant Shona Manderson, who appeared on the show in 2023, was one of the other brides who bravely opened up about her experience Credit: BBC
She said both she and her on-screen husband had been engaging in consensual sex, but that he had proceeded on one occasion after she said no.
“Chloe“, portrayed by an actress, told Panorama: “After I left the show I felt I had completely lost my grip and I had intrusive thoughts of my own death.
- If you or anyone you know needs help with mental health problems, contact the Samaritans on 116 123, http://www.samaritans.org
“And then when the show went out that really intensified into suicidal thoughts, which is not something I had ever thought of before.
“It was frightening.”
Chloe told the programme he then said to her: “You’re making me feel like a rapist.”
She said she was speaking up now because: “I need CPL to stop allowing harm to come to people.”
Chloe claimed her onscreen husband woke her up by groping her.
She said: “I was saying: ‘No, no, stop that’, because I’d been asleep.
‘Lizzie’, portrayed by an actress, claimed said her partner on the show had said she ‘couldn’t say no’ because she was his wife Credit: BBC
Shona Manderson says she had an abortion after her on-screen partner ejaculated inside her without permission Credit: E4 How to get help
EVERY 90 minutes in the UK a life is lost to suicide
It doesn’t discriminate, touching the lives of people in every corner of society – from the homeless and unemployed to builders and doctors, reality stars and footballers.
It’s the biggest killer of people under the age of 35, more deadly than cancer and car crashes.
And men are three times more likely to take their own life than women.
Yet it’s rarely spoken of, a taboo that threatens to continue its deadly rampage unless we all stop and take notice, now.
If you, or anyone you know, needs help dealing with mental health problems, the following organisations provide support:
- CALM, www.thecalmzone.net , 0800 585 858
- Heads Together, www.headstogether.org.uk
- HUMEN www.wearehumen.org
- Mind, www.mind.org.uk , 0300 123 3393
- Papyrus, www.papyrus-uk.org , 0800 068 41 41
- Samaritans, www.samaritans.org , 116 123
“And then he got mad at me.”
She said they had sex without her consent on one occasion, but said she did not report it at the time.
Chloe said: “I switched something off inside of me where I was just like that could not have happened.
“I don’t want to be someone who that has happened to so I just buried it.”
She said she later recognised what had happened was rape when speaking to a psychiatrist.
Chloe said. “One morning he said: ‘Should we have sex?’ and I said ‘no’.
“He smirked and climbed on top of me, moved my leg and just, proceeded to have sex with me anyway.
“By that time I’d just really given up and I just didn’t want him to be angry at me when the cameras came.
The bombshell claims are made in the documentary The Dark Side of Married at First Sight Credit: Channel 9
Channel 4 has since pulled all episodes of MAFS UK Credit: E4
“I just lay there and I stared out the window.”
Chloe said he then seemed to recognise that she didn’t want this, and she told him: “I told you I didn’t want this.”
She said he then got angry.
Her “husband” challenges details of her account, his lawyers told the BBC.
A second woman, also speaking anonymously as “Lizzie” claimed her onscreen husband raped her, then “threatened to get someone to throw acid at” at her if she told anyone.
Lizzie said her partner on the show had said she “couldn’t say no” because she was his wife.
She told Panorama: “I completely froze with fear, I never thought that anything could scare me that much.”
Lizzie said: “As soon as he’d left the apartment I texted welfare and told them how he said I can’t say no because I’m his wife.”
Shona Manderson says she had an abortion after her on-screen partner ejaculated inside her without permission Credit: BBC
All three women have criticised Channel 4 for not doing enough to protect them Credit: IMDB
She said she was left with bruises from the attack.
Lizzie said she had told the production team everything except the attack itself.
The shows production team denied that they had been told about the comment.
They said she had reported the acid-throwing remark as a passing comment rather than a threat.
and CPL have said that the welfare protocols are robust and comprehensive.
Priya Dogra, chief executive of Channel 4 said: “I want to express my sympathy to contributors who have clearly been distressed after taking part in UK. The wellbeing of our contributors is always of paramount importance.
“It would be wholly inappropriate for me to comment on what are very serious allegations made against some MAFS UK contributors.
“Those allegations – which I understand are disputed by the contributors accused – are not something that Channel 4 is in a position to adjudicate on.
“We are also mindful of our ongoing duty of care to all contributors, and the need to preserve the anonymity and privacy of all involved.
“On the claims that Channel 4 may have failed in its duty of care, I believe that when concerns about contributor welfare were raised, and based on the information available at the time, Channel 4 acted quickly, appropriately, sensitively and with wellbeing front and centre.”
MAFS contestant Shona Manderson, who appeared on the show in 2023, was one of the brides who bravely opened up on her experiences.
Shona said she had an abortion after claiming her on-screen partner Bradley Skelly ejaculated inside her without permission.
She claims experts had separately picked up on her partner’s controlling way of speaking to her at the time of the incident.
She told how she later went to get the morning-after pill while accompanied by one of the show’s welfare producers.
Bradley said he understood Shona had consented to him ejaculating inside of her.
In a statement to the BBC, he said he categorically denies “any allegations of sexual misconduct” or that he was “controlling”.
He said their relationship: “was based on mutual consent, care and affection.”
But days after CPL – the production company behind the show – and Channel 4 removed the couple, Shona discovered she was pregnant.
She told Panorama: “I made the choice to go through with an abortion. It was really hard.”
Shona admitted she does not know if the pregnancy resulted from the alleged incident.
The couple stayed together for six weeks after leaving the show, but separated shortly afterwards.
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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