Daniel Holmes may have departed Married At First Sight after being dumped by his on-screen wife Jess Seracino, but that didn’t stop him from getting himself into season nine’s first (and inevitable) cheating scandal with bride Carolina Santos.
Despite copping flak from the experts, viewers and their co-stars for the affair, Daniel and Carolina are ironically one of the only couples who have actually stayed together since the show wrapped filming in November.
On March 24, the night after the explosive boys’ and girls’ nights episode aired, Carolina and Daniel confirmed to Nova’s Fitzy and Wippa that they’re still very much in love, saying the chaos has brought them closer.
“I think it just made us stronger, if anything because we need to, you know, be there for each other support each other. So it just made us stronger,” the mother-of-one said.
Their interview came after Carolina and Daniel received frosty receptions from their fellow couples after returning for the boys’ and girls’ nights.
“You came on the retreat with all of us and said Dion wasn’t trying when he was trying and you were texting Daniel the whole time. Dion got dragged through the mud in a really sh-t way,” Ella Ding scolded Carolina.
Over at the boys’ night, Daniel barely made it through the front door before the grooms made their allegiance to Dion known, declaring they are “Team Dion” following the affair.
“You are a liar. You’re a cheater. And by doing what you did, you took my opportunity of a connection with Carolina because she had you in her DM. The way I look at it, Carolina…she threw away a diamond and she picked up a rock,” a furious Dion told Daniel.
Mitch then added: “I don’t rate you. Sliding into someone’s DMs while married. I just think that’s not on.”
So to understand how Daniel and Carolina got to this point, let’s take a look at their MAFS journey so far…
It all started at the third dinner party, when fellow intruder Carolina Santos caught the eye of the 31-year-old and the pair instantly began flirting.
While it started off relatively innocent, the conversation took a provocative turn as they both realised they really are each other’s type.
Their budding romance only continued to heat up after Jess abruptly broke up with Daniel and quit the show following the third commitment ceremony.
Daniel then invited Carolina over to his apartment, where he revealed that he hadn’t found the “connection” he was hoping for.
The pair continued to bond over their disappointing experiences with their matches, and their chemistry was palpable.
Since then, the Carolina snuck away from her husband Dion on three separate occasions to spend time with Daniel. They shared a workout together at the gym went on two steamy bar dates where they shared a passionate kiss in the alleyway.
In mid-November, when MAFS was still being filmed, Carolina and Daniel were spotted on a date night in Sydney.
The couple were photographed by the Daily Mail leaving Sydney’s Saga Bar following a three-hour rendezvous, with witnesses reporting that the pair “couldn’t keep their hands off one another.”
Since then, the couple have continued to be photographed in Sydney looking loved up. The Wash obtained photos of Daniel and Carolina passionately kissing at Sydney Airport on Saturday, February 26.
It’s understood the pair were flying from Sydney, where Daniel has been staying with Carolina and her son, up to Brisbane, where Daniel was living before filming.
Then on March 23, the couple were seen kissing while working out at Bondi’s open air gym.
Following March 2’s explosive dinner party, where the MAFS contestants grilled Carolina about her lack of affection for Dion, Daniel staunchly defended his new girlfriend.
“So Andrew walks in the dinner party, talks a little bit about Holly and apparently is throwing her under the bus,” Daniel reportedly said in a video obtained by Daily Mail.
“Selin [Mengu] walks in and talks about how she feels about Anthony [Cincotta] and apparently she’s throwing him under the bus. Dion walks in and absolutely roasts Carolina to all these dorks, and she is the worst of all time and Dion is a hero.”
“If only you knew, if only you knew the truth.”
Want more on Married At First Sight season nine? Check out the links below:
Is Married At First Sight real or fake? Let’s examine the evidence
Is Married At First Sight legal in Australia? Why the Marriage Act makes things complicated
How much do Married At First Sight contestants get paid in Australia?
The most shocking, hilarious and downright disturbing Married at First Sight bombshells