Married at First Sight alum Martha Kalifatidis has revealed her trip to Los Angeles with Michael Brunelli was marred by “horrific” crimes.
The 32-year-old is currently on a whirlwind overseas trip with her new fiancé, but their getaway got off to a rocky start in the Californian city.
Martha explained to her 627,000 Instagram followers that the city she once loved had been deeply impacted by the COVID pandemic.
Martha and Michael’s getaway got off to a rocky start in LA.
(Instagram)“Guys, LA was terrible! We went back because we loved it so much when we were there two years ago… but it’s not the same,” she said.
“It’s changed so much since Covid. The homelessness situation is so bad. I can’t even begin to describe it. We drove past a lifeless body face down in a gutter outside a gas station on Melrose, f**king Melrose! [People] driving and walking past it completely unbothered!”
The beauty influencer went on to say that the disturbing scene rattled her so much she couldn’t eat for the rest of the day.
“I felt sick. The crime rate is up 300%! Every Uber driver told us to beware, don’t wear anything flashy because [people] have been getting robbed at gunpoint,” she said.
“Nowhere is safe. Even Beverly Hills is super dangerous and experiencing crimes daily. The news over here is so different, we don’t hear about anything going on, so we booked a stay here completely unaware.”
But the ill-fated trip made Martha appreciate what she has back home.
“It’s such a scary time, we are so lucky in Australia! I will not be coming back to LA/USA for a very long time! It’s been horrifying! We felt completely unsafe the entire time!” she concluded.
The whirlwind overseas trip came a week after the MAFS couple got engaged.
(Instagram)Martha revealed that she and Michael had planned to spend the next 10 days in New York City, but cancelled the second leg of their trip.
“We looked at going to London for the 10 days and maybe doing a few days in Paris, but due to Covid we can’t risk it,” she said.
“The UK are implementing more lockdown laws again and we don’t want to be stuck away from our family for Christmas. The truth is, it’s just not a good time to travel. We thought we would be fine, we didn’t want Covid to rule our lives, so we decided to come [overseas].
“It’s been nice getting away, but I wouldn’t recommend travelling out of Australia at all right now. After seeing the mess in the USA I feel so grateful for where we live. We are so lucky.”
“We looked at going to London for the 10 days and maybe doing a few days in Paris, but due to Covid we can’t risk it.”
(Instagram)The couple’s overseas trip came just a week after Michael popped the question, and more than two years after they met on season six of MAFS.
Michael shared a long and emotional update on his and Martha’s engagement and thanked friends, family and fans for all their support.
“Thank you so much for all your kind comments and messages! Unfortunately, it’s going to be impossible for us to get back to everyone, but just know we do appreciate it,” he penned alongside a photo of them kissing.
“It’s crazy to think we started our relationship on tv and many of you saw the first time we locked eyes on each other. Fast forward 3 years and so many people are still following our life journey, something we are truly grateful for.”
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