Married At First Sight boss says participants AREN’T looking for love

Married At First Sight’s executive producer, Tara McWilliams, has acknowledged that not all of the participants sign up for the right reasons.

McWilliams, who oversees production of MAFS for Endemol Shine Australia, told The Sydney Morning Herald that many people go on the show for fame.

‘I think the experience is probably the main driver now,’ she said. 

‘Being on television, being part of the experiment and whatever that brings. I don’t think it’s so black and white as either love or fame,’ McWilliams added.

‘But even if people are coming on to increase their profile, or to get Instagram followers, or to get some sort of public profile out of this, I genuinely believe that everyone who comes on hopes they are matched with someone they like and potentially could have a relationship with.’

In the past few years, dozens of MAFS participants have launched careers as social media ‘influencers’ after filming the show.

Jessika Power – who cheated on her ‘husband’, Mick Gould, in season six – gained 215,000 followers due to her notoriety and landed several sponsorship deals.

Back in October, she told Daily Mail Australia she was making between $8,000 and $10,000 per week as an influencer.

Former makeup artist Martha Kalifatidis also became a full-time Instagram model after finding love with Michael Brunelli last year. 

With more than 297,000 followers, Martha is said to earn around $700 for each sponsored post, according to social analytics website Influencer Fee, which calculates how much an influencer is worth based on their popularity.

Meanwhile, season five star Nasser Sultan is believed to get the occasional discounted meal as a ‘micro-influencer’.

Married At First Sight returns to Channel Nine on Monday, February 3 at 7.30pm