Wife swapping has been the norm throughout this drama-filled season of Married At First Sight.
But as the hit reality show comes to an end for another year, former tennis player Ashley tells TV WEEK she has been hiding a secret crush.
“Ryan is hot,” the blonde admits. “But during the experiment, I wanted to be loyal.”
Despite her attraction to the tradie, Ashley found her relationship with Troy required her full attention.
“It was a struggle,” she says of their time together.
In fact, Ashley reveals she has no doubt that her experimental partner Troy was actually an actor. She suspects he joined the reality show for a shot at fame.
“He just wants to be in the media,” she says. “He told my mum and I that he wants to get into TV – so that was a red flag for me.”
Ashley explains that her opinion of Troy changed once she found out he wanted to get into the TV industry.
“Once I knew that, I just put up my guard – I started to question his reasons and motives.”
The couple have had a turbulent experience during the whole experiment. And Troy’s often over-the-top antics proved to be a massive stumbling block for Ashley.
“Honestly, some of the things he did do made me believe he was an actor,” the reality star admits. “I said to him once, ‘I really believe you are an actor,’ and he just laughed it off.”
But it was a sentiment shared by Ashley’s younger sister, Summer.
She also questioned if her sister’s groom was the real deal.
“Summer is so protective,” Ashley says. “She doesn’t want me to get hurt. She saw a few red flags there with Troy and the way he acted.”
