Married At First Sight 2024: Runaway groom Simon Flocco is in hiding as he deactivates all his social media pages amid fears his secret life will be exposed after abruptly quitting show

Simon Flocco, the runaway groom from Married At First Sight, has gone into hiding.

The 39-year-old marketing executive, who abruptly quit the show after a day of filming, has deactivated all his social media accounts amid fears his secret life will be exposed.

Ny Breaking Australia can reveal Simon has deleted all traces of his online presence following Monday’s premiere, which teased ‘a groom has done a runner’.

Sources close to the Adelaide groom claimed Simon was ‘concerned’ about his personal life and the real reason he quit the show would be exposed.

“Simon couldn’t handle all the interest and hype about his involvement in the show,” the insider said.

“He was honestly convinced that he wasn’t part of this mess, so it was a real shock to him when he found out he was part of the cast.”

The source also sensationally claimed that Simon’s biggest worry was that people would find out that he had rekindled things with his ex-boyfriend Stefan and that this was part of the reason he left the show.

“Things never really worked out for them and when Simon left the show he called him up and they spontaneously decided to travel around Europe together,” they said.

It comes days after Ny Breaking Australia revealed the jilted groom refused to hand over his Instagram account to Channel Nine so they could follow his account while the show played on TV.

Sources close to Simon said he was ‘completely stunned’ to have been included in the show’s official line-up.

‘Simon thought he was completely out of the picture. Seeing that photoshopped image was a real shock to him,” an insider revealed.

When asked for comment, Simon replied: “Why am I even in the line-up? I guess they’d do anything for the ratings, right?’

He had initially agreed to let Nine manage his Instagram when he signed up for the show, but in a defiant change of heart he has decided to cut all ties with the show.

Close friends say he has “mentally checked out” and are angry that he is being dragged into the chaos again.

Simon breaks his silence

Despite filming his backstories and attending the money’s party, Simon almost ‘derailed’ the series after getting cold feet and fleeing the country.

Simon broke his silence in October, telling Ny Breaking Australia: ‘MAFS wasn’t what I thought I wanted at this point in my life, that’s all.’

Expressing his regret, he added: “I just felt sorry for whoever they set me up with. I left at first, but they managed to lure me back… I have to take care of myself.”

A production insider explained at the time: ‘It’s complete and utter chaos! Simon’s departure was a blindside.

“Everyone is running around like headless chickens trying to save the situation.”

In a last-ditch effort to save his storyline, producers paired Simon’s intended ‘husband’ Michael Felix with Perth hairdresser Stephen Stewart and introduced the couple as interlopers mid-season.

Runaway groom

As previously reported by Ny Breaking Australia, Simon almost completely ‘ruined’ the show’s plans to feature a same-sex couple during their year of ‘diversity’ at the eleventh hour before his wedding.

“He continued to have doubts and expressed discomfort,” a well-placed source revealed.

‘Producers, hungry for a groundbreaking story, persuaded him to stay. That’s why he was on the job.