With a new season of Married At First Sight almost in full swing for yet another year, we’re only just being introduced to the season nine contestants—and of course, counting down the days until their fairy tale.
But while we eagerly wait the new scandals on the horizon, it makes sense that many want to know who stood the test of time… last year.
If we’re to believe the experts in the lead up to the Channel Nine social experiment, season eight’s cast showcased “real” love stories—and there’s no doubt that sparks were flying for the first crop of couples.
Speaking in conversation with The Latch, series experts Mel Schilling, John Aiken and newcomer clinical sexologist, Alessandra Rampolla, initially touched on what fans could expect to see transpire between the couples back in 2021.
When asked if there were “any love stories” between contestants that year, Schilling enthusiastically said: “Yes!”.
But what she right? Below, an investigation into which Married At First Sight season eight couples are still together.
Samantha & Cameron
It was an instant connection for MAFS couple Sam and Cam on their wedding day, but if recent teasers are anything to go by it looks like the groom lands himself in hot water later in the season.
Thanks to an editing mishap, eagle-eyed fans have seen an unfaithful partnership revealed—and it proved that Cam cheated on his new TV bride.
In a piece of juicy footage, two contestants could be seen out of focus and only from the knees down. The groom in question can be seen holding another by the leg, saying “I wish that the experts matched us.”
And as we know, the two contestants turned out to be Cameron and bride Coco. Soon after, Cameron and Coco began meeting up in secret after their respective marriages started going downhill. And while many speculated that Coco and Cameron would re-enter the experiment together, it didn’t happen.
Booka & Brett
MAFS’ resident quirky couple Booka and Brett quickly stole the hearts of the nation when sparks flew at their wedding, but their relationship began to crumble rather quickly.
Following their nuptials, gossip site The Wash noted that Melbourne-based Brett was noticeably absent from Booka’s MAFS viewing party in Perth, while fans noticed that while Brett was following his new bride on Instagram, she wasn’t following him back (the tell-tale sign of all good relationships, really).
Viewers may have guessed that meant the couple were no longer together, but Pedestrian did some further digging and found a sneaky comment on Facebook that quickly debunked this theory.
“I’m not giving away any spoilers talk but this insta sh*t means zero. I don’t follow anyone from the show cos that’s the rulessss. Brett clearly gives zero fu*ks about rules. That is all. As you were bows,” she wrote.
However, reality TV podcast So Dramatic! revealed that multiple sources have confirmed to host Megan Pustetto that the couple didn’t make it out of the experiment.
Melissa & Bryce
Despite a rocky start to the relationship, potential for Bryce and Melissa’s long-term relationship began to surface throughout the season and following filming.
Of course, by July 2021, the couple confirmed that not only were they engaged to be married, but they were expecting twins.
In a cover shoot with New Idea, the couple have announced that not only are they engaged, but that Melissa is pregnant with twins.
Speaking to the publication, Bryce revealed that the sudden life milestones “all happened very fast”.
In the couple’s photoshoot, Bryce is seen cradling Melissa’s baby bump as the pair hold up a sonogram of their two bundles of joy.
“We’re not doing this for anybody else, it’s about us—we’re cementing our love,” Bryce said. “Melissa deserves to be happy and I’m apparently very good at that, so I’m looking forward to making it all official.”
On October 16 2021, the couple announced that they’d welcomed two twin boys, named Levi and Tate, 10 weeks earlier than expected.
“Our love for them is greater than anything we could have ever imagined and while these next 9 weeks are going to be agony as the battle their way through NICU and SCN,” Melissa wrote on Instagram. “I cannot wait for that moment where they are in my arms on their way home.”
Jake & Beck
While Jake was initially smitten with his new bride, the affection wasn’t quite reciprocated after Beck claimed her new groom was looking at her like she was a “piece of meat.”
Appearing on Nova 96.9’s Fitzy & Wippa Beck spoke about her former relationship with the 32-year-old charity CEO, revealing they didn’t “choose each other.”
“I don’t choose Jake. Jake doesn’t choose me,” she said.
By the end of the season, it became no secret that Jake and Beck didn’t leave the show on the best of terms. After the explosive season finale, Beck was called out by experts for kissing a mystery man at the end of a video call, while she visited Perth during filming to be by her unwell dog. Upon watching the footage, she later confessed to being unfaithful, well, sort of.
“I do consider it to an extent cheating. But do I think cheating like that is a hard boundary that should end a relationship? No, I don’t,” she said.
“Jake and I weren’t obviously broken up at time, however, at the time that it did happen, I had written leave… I think it was 12 hours before that kiss,” she added.
Since the end of the show, the two went their separate ways, with Beck moving on with her new boyfriend Ben Michell. And in December 2021, she and Michell announced that they were pregnant and expecting a baby girl in 2022.
Coco & Sam
While Coco admitted she knew how “extra” she could be, the bride put it all on the line during her wedding to Sam. Although, it looked like he wasn’t really willing to see how things work out.
And of course, it comes as no surprise that the pair never rekindled their marriage.
While fans hoped that Coco and Sam might re-enter the experiment together, it never happened.
Sam told Nine Now in an interview that “there was a conversation to see if we could come back to the experiment together, but it just wasn’t the case.”
He added, “What made it hard to pursue that afterwards was that we were right in the midst of COVID and in different states. I was going to Queensland and she was staying in Sydney.”
Currently, Coco appears to be single, while rumours claim that Sam has been dating Sandra Rato, who starred on The Bachelor Australia in 2015.
Alana & Jason
Despite having their ups-and-downs, Alana and Jason’s time on the social experiment looked to be rather successful. While fans had hoped that the pair would go their separate ways, they ended filming by deciding to stay married.
However, it seems that they are no longer together.
In August 2021, Alana opened up about why the pair separated after the series ended.
In an interview with Yahoo Lifestyle, she opened up about controversy around her husband, after a video of himself and other contestants making fun of bisexual groom Liam Cooper surfaced.
“Well, obviously the controversy was something that ended our relationship,” she told the publication. “So it impacted me in the way that Jason and I are not together anymore. We were never able to get past that controversy.”
Alana also confirmed she lost contact with her husband after the series ended, as they had separate friendship groups.
Currently, she doesn’t look to be dating anyone and neither does Jason.
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