A recent incident involving Married At First Sight (MAFS) couple Carina and Paul has become the subject of a NSW Police investigation after domestic violence discourse began circulating around the series.
Viewers and fellow contestants were made aware of the alleged off-camera incident when Carina revealed her husband, Paul, had “lost control” and punched a hole in the wall of their apartment.
The event reportedly occurred after Carina admitted to sleeping with a rapper whose song was playing on the radio when the couple, and fellow contestants Rhi and Jeff, were travelling back home from a double date.
Speaking about the groom’s behaviour in an interview with 9Entertainment, Carina reflected on the situation. saying: “I didn’t think a comment like that would make him react so impulsively and abruptly. He was very dramatic in the moment, and I was trying to suppress the situation and calm him down.”
“I wasn’t scared, I didn’t feel unsafe or uneasy. I was just really hurt, I was confused and I was sad. It was a very emotional time and we both were in our feelings and we both were really sad. I was disheartened by how reactive he was.”
While Carina appeared to move past the incident, it didn’t stop the show’s experts from expressing their concerns at the commitment ceremony.
In response to Paul’s attempts to excuse his behaviour as an expression of feeling “disrespected”, Alessandra Rampolla said: “It does not matter what she said. It does not matter how disrespected you felt. You do not punch doors, period. Full stop.”
“This is not normal behaviour. This is not how you show love. This is deeply troubling,” Mel Schilling added.
John Aiken joined in the group’s united stance, making it clear that Paul displayed “toxic, inappropriate and unacceptable behaviour.”
“Frankly, I don’t feel very good about this. I want you to tell us why the three experts should not kick you out of the experiment right now,” he questioned.
As Paul spluttered through tears of remorse for his actions, viewers were already expressing their concern over the show’s perceived mishandling of what was considered to be a very serious situation.
Many were quick to point out the harmful behaviour in relation to the topic of domestic violence and how, in allowing Paul to remain on the series with Carina, MAFS producers were abandoning their duty of care in favour of ratings.
Online commentary from fellow reality-tv contestant and podcaster, Yvie Jones, echoed the sentiment, calling out the producers for enabling dangerous behaviour and failing to turn the incident into a learning opportunity for the audience.
Meanwhile, a change.org petition calling for Channel 9 to implement immediate measures in relation to the show’s problematic depiction of unhealthy relationships, has (at the time of writing) amassed over 11,000 signatures.
According to Cassandra Kalpaxis, family lawyer and mediator at Kalpaxis Legal, what audiences saw play out on their screens was not only inexcusable, but should never have been aired in the first place.
“It’s not just a matter of taking him off the show,” Kalpaxis shared with marie claire. “That should’ve been a situation where the filming completely stopped, and was never televised,” – a result, that Kalpaxis agrees, only acts to platform depictions of abuse and provide alleged perpetrators with the means to make amends and be cast in a reformed light.
“Further, it’s not something that should have been celebrated by virtue of providing that person with resources and asking him to reflect on his own behaviour — it should’ve been immediately called out as entirely inappropriate.”
Not only was there a perceived lack of support and due care shown for Carina in this instance, but the televised treatment also failed to centre the discussion where it needed to.
“What that has done is give the perpetrator all of the attention that he was after, because what happened to the victim? Where was the television production around her safety, checking in or removing her?” asked Kalpaxis.
“We didn’t see any of that, because we never really do. It’s always what he needs to be able to address his behaviour, not ‘how did that profoundly impact on her?’ Or, what does she need to be able to deal with, and move on from this, as a victim in that situation.”
Are Police Investigating MAFS?
Following the continued backlash, NSW Police have confirmed they are aware of the incident and are investigating it accordingly.
“The matter has been referred to officers from South Sydney Police Area Command, who have commenced an investigation,” NSW Police confirmed in a statement. “As the investigation is current, police will not be making any further comment in relation to the matter.”
Separately, it was also confirmed that SafeWork – the workplace safety watchdog – is also responding to the reported incident with an investigation of its own.
How Have The Showrunners Responded?
In a joint statement from Channel 9 and Endemol Shine, the company acknowledged the severity of the matter and reiterated its commitment to ensuring the right processes were put in place to support the contestants at this time.
“Our first priority at all times has been the wellbeing and safety of the participants and after extensive consultation with Carina, she wanted to remain in the experiment with Paul. We continue to provide support for Carina and Paul,” the statement read.
“Nine and Endemol Shine take their obligations in respect to the health and wellbeing of the participants of this program extremely seriously. All participants have access to the show psychologist and welfare resources during filming, during broadcast and once the program has ended.”
In relation to the ongoing police investigation, the statement continued, “We would always co-operate with authorities in any investigation. We will not be making any further comment at this time.”
We will continue to update this piece.
Related articles:
- Are MAFS Couple Carina & Paul Still Together?
- 8 Ways To Know If Your Crappy Relationship Is Actually Abusive
- An Expert Breaks Down The Subtle Relationship Red Flags You’ve Missed On MAFS
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