Married At First Sight Australia is designed to bring two strangers together, but for the second time in the 2025 season, the participants, Rhi and Jeff already knew each other in the outside world.
In the first episode, viewers were introduced to Carina and Paul who just so happened to go on a date eight months prior to their marriage.
The once-in-a-season event has happened once more as Jeff and Rhi previously dated in the real world until they parted ways amicably.
Tired of the modern dating scene is Rhi, a 34-year-old account manager from Victoria who is ready to settle down and raise a family.
“I think there are benefits to meeting someone later in life,” she said. “I don’t want to settle because of my age. I want to settle because I’m so in love.”
Rhi has been matched with Jeff, a 39-year-old electrician from Victoria, who is also looking to start a family with a partner who shares his values and supports him.
“Oh my god,” Rhi said upon recognising her ex-partner. “I know him.”
At least this means the awkward pleasantries are out of the way…
“We dated last year. It kind of just fizzled, we both just went our separate ways. But we remained friends – we just ran a half-marathon together. We’ve even had coffee and stuff since then,” she told the crew.
“Jeff is an amazing person. It was just pretty much a timing thing – that was the reason it did not go forward.”
Jeff confirmed the pair met in Melbourne shortly after both parties had ended a long-term relationship. Despite the pair deciding to “friend zone” each other at the time, Jeff couldn’t deny their similarities in personality and with hobbies.
It hasn’t been smooth sailing in the experiment for Jeff and Rhi as they worked hard to build a romantic connection. But slow and steady wins the race!
“I think we’ve come a really long way considering the honeymoon where we couldn’t be further apart. I still remember thinking to myself, ‘I cannot believe that I’m paired with him. I’ve been with him before, this is not going to work’,” Rhi recalled with Yahoo Lifestyle.
And we believe the pair may still be together in the real world after Jeff was spotted dropping off a Valentine’s Day gift to Rhi in February.
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