“You can’t say no, you’re my wife.” Two women report rape during filming and another reports having been the victim of a sexual act without consent.
Two former participants of the program “Married at First Sight UK” allege they were raped during filming of the reality show, according to an investigation that has led Channel 4 to remove all previous seasons of the series from its platforms while it reviews the allegations.
The program, better known as MAFS, presents itself as a “daring social experiment” in which single people “marry” strangers they meet for the first time on the day of the ceremony — a format already used in the reality show “Married at First Sight” in Portugal. Although the marriages are not legally binding, couples are filmed almost daily as they go on a “honeymoon,” move in together, and try to build a relationship.
In addition to the two reports of rape, a third former participant claims to have been subjected to a non-consensual sexual act during the recordings.. The three women told the BBC’s Panorama programme, whose investigation was released on Monday, that the production did not do enough to protect them.
According to the BBC, the Channel 4 was already aware of some of the allegations before the respective seasons were broadcast. The British public broadcaster also stated that the episodes with the participants in question continued to be available on the Channel 4 streaming service until recently.
In response, Channel 4 announced that it has removed all episodes of the show from its streaming platforms, linear channels and MAFS-associated social media, as well as commissioning an external review. The broadcaster explained that in April it was presented with “serious allegations of inappropriate conduct” against a small number of former contestants, who, according to the channel, deny the allegations.
Channel 4 said it was aware of privacy and the ongoing duty of care to everyone involved and said it could not comment on specific details. The station also highlighted that whenever concerns were raised about the well-being of participants through its protocols, “swift and appropriate” measures were taken.
Priya Dogra, executive director of Channel 4, expressed solidarity with the participants who were “clearly distraught” after being on the show. “The well-being of our employees is always of paramount importance,” he said. But he refused to apologize to the alleged victims.
Lawyers for the company CPL, producer of the program, told the BBC that its system for monitoring and protecting participants is “industry-leading” and “gold-standard”, arguing that the producer acted appropriately in all cases.
One of the women, whose identity was not revealed by the BBC, said the man she was paired with on the show had raped and threatened her with an acid attack. According to his report, the warning signs appeared almost immediately, and sexual relations became violent. The participant said that he left her with bruisesdespite her repeatedly asking him to stop. On one occasion, she said, she refused to have sex, but the man allegedly insisted: “You can’t say no, you’re my wife.”
The former television partner’s lawyers deny the accusation of rape and claim that all sexual contact was consensual, also rejecting any violence or threats. The CPL said that, at the time, the bruises were described to support staff as the result of “rough” but consensual sex, and that the woman then did not communicate the sentence attributed to her partner.
A second woman claimed that on one occasion her husband continued to have sex after she said “no.” According to the participant, both Channel 4 and CPL were informed of the alleged violation, but the episodes were aired. The man’s lawyers dispute parts of the account and say he stopped as soon as he realized she was no longer consenting. The CPL maintains that the woman told him that all sexual activity had been consensual.
The third participant, Shona Mandersonappeared identified on the BBC program. He alleges that Bradley Skelley, his partner on the show, he ejaculated inside her without consent, despite both having previously agreed on coitus interruptus as a contraceptive method. Manderson said she later became pregnant and voluntarily terminated the pregnancy, although she does not know whether the pregnancy resulted from the alleged incident.
Skelley denied any sexual misconduct and said he believed Manderson had consented. Channel 4 and CPL withdrew both from the program in 2023 due to concerns about the relationship being considered potentially unhealthy.
