Add CategoryLauren Huntriss has lashed out at Married At First Sight producers, claiming she was given a “disgusting” edit on the show, which painted her as a “sex freak” and a “nympho”.
The make-up artist, 32, was paired with 29-year-old videographer Matthew, who famously lost his virginity to her during their honeymoon.
MORE: Lauren unleashes on Matthew in social media rant
However, their relationship hit a rough patch last week when she revealed to him she “used to be a lesbian”, suggested she might be into “swinging” and “threesomes” and asked him to be more “dominant” in the bedroom — causing Matthew to become severely overwhelmed.
He was then overheard by Lauren telling the other men at the dinner party he wasn’t “attracted” to her, and the couple broke up and left the experiment during Sunday night’s commitment ceremony.
Despite claiming to be under a strict gag order from Nine, Lauren appeared on the Kyle and Jackie O show this morning in order to set the record straight.
During the interview — with Beau Ryan filling in for Kyle Sandilands — Lauren claimed she was “manipulated” into using sexual terms by producers.
“Matt is obviously innocent, a virgin. You guys slept together on the honeymoon, and a few episodes later it came out that you had been a lesbian in the past, and what if I was into swinging and threesomes? And everyone was like, ‘whoa, where did that come from?’” Jackie probed, with Beau chiming in: “Yeah, they made it look like they partnered this virgin with someone that’s a sex freak.”
“I definitely looked like the bad guy in the relationship,” Lauren explained.
“So, I just want to clear this up because, firstly, anyone who watches reality TV, surely they understand that it is not real life. It is not reality. Producers will go to extreme lengths to tell a story and they will edit you, manipulate you in any way that they can to tell that story.
“I felt disgusted (when I first saw the edited version), and I was so upset. Then I received so much hate … For them to paint me as this nympho, it was disgusting. I feel so let down.”
Addressing the idea she was into “threesomes and swinging”, Lauren explained she had said nothing of the sort.
“The actual conversation was about half an hour, so the public have seen about a 10-second snippet of what happened,” she told the radio hosts.
“I was talking to Matt about some of my friends who are married and are into swinging … and I said, ‘There’s nothing wrong with that, everyone in relationships have different desires and needs, but it’s not for me’.
“I was never, ever proposing to Matt that we swing or have a threesome, I was essentially trying to say, ‘This is what some couples do’. All I asked for was for him to be more dominant and show me affection, and that wasn’t asking too much.”
Lauren also claimed producers forced her to say she was a “lesbian” rather than the reality.
“With the lesbian thing — initially my answer was at 18 to 20, I had a bad experience with a guy, and I just hated men as a result. So, I dated only women,” she explained.
“That’s what I said, that was it. My producer was like, ‘That’s fantastic, great, however we are going to get you to re-enact that, say it again but use the word lesbian’.”
It made Lauren feel uncomfortable, but she claimed she felt pressured to do as he asked.
“I was like, ‘I’m not OK with that, I don’t want to use that word, I don’t label myself as a lesbian’ … It didn’t feel right, but when you’re sleep-deprived, and you’re under all this pressure, you’ve got two cameramen there, your producer … and you all saw what Matt was like, he never really stood up for me.
“So, it was like all of these men against me … They will literally say to you: ‘We will keep you here all day until you say what we want you to say’.”
Despite leaving the show on friendly terms during Sunday’s episode, Lauren admitted she and Matthew cut contact shortly afterwards.
“Since the breakup we have spoken — I’m the kind of person who tries to stay friends with their exes — but I was just so hurt by the way things ended,” Lauren said.
In response to Lauren’s allegations an Endemol Shine Australia spokesman told news.com.au that “all participants are adults and remain in full control of the choices they make”.
“They choose to apply to be on the show, choose to accept selection, and choose whether or not to continue in the experiment,” the statement read.
“During broadcast, we continue to reach out to every participant, including Lauren. They may choose not to respond to our contact and offers of support, and we respect their decision. But the offer of support remains for each and every participant.
“This always includes access to our show psychologist. Everyone makes their own decision about what they say and do. But, this experiment can be highly emotional and the participants’ reactions can often be unpredictable, even to themselves.”
Married At First Sight continues at 7.30pm tonight on Nine.