Married At First Sight 2024 will no longer feature a same-sex couple after a runway groom ‘derailed’ his wedding after getting cold feet and fleeing the country.
Daily Mail Australia can reveal despite both filming their backstories and meeting their co-stars: two gay grooms will be completely cut from the show.
Simon Flocco, an Adelaide restaurant manager, is said to have completely “ruined” the show’s plans to highlight a same-sex couple during their year of “diversity” on the eleventh hour before his wedding.
“He continued to hesitate and expressed his discomfort,” a well-placed source revealed.
Producers, hungry for a groundbreaking story, persuaded him to stay. That’s why he was in trouble.’
Married At First Sight 2024 Will No Longer Feature A Same-Sex Couple After A Runway Groom ‘Derailed’ Plans After Getting Cold Feet And Fleeing The Country
They added: “He kept saying he wasn’t comfortable with certain things, but was eventually persuaded to stay.”
Daily Mail Australia has learned that the madness behind the scenes was unparalleled.
As one production insider exclaimed, “It’s complete and utter chaos!” Simon’s departure was a blind side. Everyone is running around like headless chickens, trying to save the situation.’
Simon Flocco, pictured left, a restaurant manager from Adelaide, is said to have completely “ruined” the show’s plans to spotlight a same-sex couple during their year of “diversity” on the eleventh hour before his wedding ‘.
“He continued to hesitate and expressed his discomfort,” a well-placed source revealed. Producers, hungry for a groundbreaking story, persuaded him to stay. That’s why he was on the money’
Simon broke his silence and told Daily Mail Australia: ‘MAFS wasn’t what I thought I wanted at this point in my life, that’s all.’
He expressed regret, adding, “I just felt sorry for whoever they trapped me with. I left at first, but they managed to lure me back… I have to fend for myself.”
Simon broke his silence and told Daily Mail Australia: ‘MAFS wasn’t what I thought I wanted at this point in my life, that’s all’
Runway groom flight to Europe:
After quitting the Channel Nine show, Simon immediately booked a trip to Europe, where he has been since late July.
Instagram shows Simon enjoying the European sun and sights in the arms of a mysterious friend in Florence, as he celebrates his birthday amid the romantic allure of Italy.
Meanwhile, the producers had to get the “derailed” series back on track and decided to cut all scenes and storylines involving the couple.
After quitting the Channel Nine show, Simon immediately booked a trip to Europe, where he has been since late July
Instagram photos show Simon enjoying the European sun and sights in the arms of a mysterious friend in Florence as he celebrates his birthday amid the romantic allure of Italy
Groom on standby:
Daily Mail Australia understands that showrunners are scrambling to find a solution, trying to salvage the gay couple’s much anticipated storyline.
This led them to consider setting up a ‘standby’ partner for Michael, who was photographed during hen night on July 18.
“After the whole runaway groom incident, the production team was in crisis mode. They even considered bringing in a replacement groom for Michael. He was kept on standby, hopeful and anxious,” the insider said.
However, after a series of meetings and considerations, producers made the heartbreaking decision to let go of the idea.
Instead of a fairytale ending, Michael’s love journey on the show came to an abrupt halt.
Daily Mail Australia understands showrunners are scrambling to find a solution, trying to salvage the gay couple’s much-anticipated storyline
The show’s previous record of LGBTQ+ representation was shaky, to say the least.
“It is important to arrange this properly. We don’t just add diversity for the sake of diversity, but to really represent the many colors of love,” said a source close to the set.
Expert Mel Schilling has previously admitted the experiment’s shortcomings in representing LGBTQ+ relationships.
Expert Mel Schilling (pictured) has previously admitted the experiment’s shortcomings in representing LGBTQ+ relationships
“It was very important for us to find people who genuinely wanted to find love. We didn’t want to simply match people based on sexual orientation,” she said Subway last year.
Schilling admitted that the Australian series “got that terribly wrong” in its first seasons, suggesting that “great lessons” could be learned from the experience.
In 2019, a Nine spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia that they had not included a same-sex couple due to the limited number of gay singles signing up.
“It was very important for us to find people who genuinely wanted to find love. We didn’t want to simply match people based on sexual orientation,” she told Metro last year
“Unfortunately, we felt the match wasn’t good enough, and we didn’t want to include a gay couple just for appearances,” they said.
While the show received a whopping 10,000 applications from heterosexual singles, only about 20 came from gay singles.
The following year, the experiment featured the first lesbian couple, with Amanda Micallef, 34, and Tash Herz, 31, tying the knot.
In 2016, MAFS Australia welcomed its first gay couple, Craig Roach and Andy John, which did not go as planned.
Married At First Sight returns to Channel Nine in January 2024.
In 2016, MAFS Australia welcomed its first gay couple, Craig Roach and Andy John, which didn’t go as planned
The experiment involved the first lesbian couple, with Amanda Micallef, 34, and Tash Herz, 31, who tied the knot in 2020