Anyone with a healthy dose of scepticism knows that what Married At First Sight viewers see on TV is a highly-edited and well-constructed version of reality.
But now MAFS groom Josh Philak has blown the lid on Channel Nine’s cheeky editing tactics, going rogue in an Instagram video and completely letting loose about the way producers sliced and diced his infamous fight with wife Cathy Evans, during a tense lunch with the couple and Josh’s mother Mandy.
Mandy appeared to grill Cathy in a brutal exchange, and some viewers were so taken aback by her behaviour that Mandy, along with Josh’s brothers, have been receiving death threats on social media.
In a three-minute Instagram video uploaded on Tuesday evening (scroll down to watch), Josh broke the clause in his iron-clad contract with Channel Nine that prevents MAFS stars from speaking publicly, and said he’s furious about the way he’s been edited.
“I knew going into this it would be highly edited, I was sweet with that. Watching back last night … what transpired and what happened was an absolute joke,” he said.
“What transpired at that lunch yesterday was an absolute crock of s–t.
“And I’m speaking out because it definitely takes a toll when your Mum, yourself and your little brothers are even receiving death threats. It isn’t cool.”
Josh then described what really happened during the tense lunch, and how producers intervened during the conversation.
“Yes, my mum did bring up the three days, which I shut down straight away,” Josh said.
“And then we had the producers come in and say ‘Mandy, we’ll get you to ask Cathy and Josh three things you like about each other, three things you don’t’, as a constructive criticism type thing.”
WATCH: Married At First Sight groom Josh’s epic rant. Story continues below…
The MAFS groom claims the answers aired on the show were “my answers were given to different questions”.
He then went on to explain exactly how his break-up with Cathy came about.
“Me and Cathy actually had a wonderful lunch, we did many more activities. An argument transpired down on the beach in regards to her going out all night, and the fight happened there, then bang see ya later,” he said.
“After Cathy left, the producers pushed, ‘We need more for your back story’, so they did get me and my friends to have beers and talk about going to the wedding, which was hard to do after the breakup.
“I would not be surprised if they put that on tonight [Tuesday] to make me and my mates look like we’re having a yee-ha as she left.
“It is what it is. Nothing I can do about it,” he said of the editing tweaks.
The infamous lunch with Cathy, Josh and Josh’s mother Mandy.
(Image: Channel Nine)He explained he was putting himself at risk and breaking his contract by posting the video, but wanted the truth to be out there.
“We’re not meant to be using our social media. We’re meant to be keeping it all hush-hush and quiet. I think sometimes it’s better to speak up and I definitely think this is the right time to do so,” Josh explained, while also adding that Cathy is a “beautiful girl” and he has “nothing against her”.
“It just didn’t work out. it’s unfortunate,” he said of their relationship.
And he offered some words of advice to MAFS fans who might consider applying for the show next year.
“I just can’t stress enough to people who are thinking about trying out for this show, as they’re doing applications now, just have a good hard think, because when you sign that contract, any footage, any audio can be cut up and spliced however they choose.
“As it says in the fine print, ‘You may or may not be received in a positive light’,” he said, referring to a common clause in reality TV contracts where producers are upfront about the possibility of a negative edit.
“Me being naive, I thought ‘Why not? How could this possibly go wrong?’ It’s just so disappointing to see how they made that come across [and] how much they left out,” he said.
“I was happy with getting a bad edit, but when it gets personal like that and everyone’s receiving death threats, it’s a joke.”
Josh’s fellow MAFS contestants have thrown their support behind their co-star.
Bride Poppy even reposted Josh’s video rant on her own Instagram page, branding the show “unreality TV”.
“Don’t believe everything you see on a highly edited TV show!” she captioned the video. “I love Josh and Cathy and nobody deserves death threats for any reason, especially over a TV show.”
Fellow bride Stacey Hampton also threw her support behind Josh, commenting “Love you Josh!!!” on Poppy’s post.
Poppy and Stacey have thrown their support behind Josh.
(Image: Instagram))During an interview with Now To Love yesterday, Cathy explained her side of the story.
WATCH BELOW: Cathy reveals she had a premonition about Josh before they met. Story continues after video.
Cathy said the tension between herself and Mandy was “downplayed significantly” on the show.
“I don’t feel cheated, but actually the whole situation was a lot more intense and a lot more threatening in my opinion,” Cathy told Now To Love.
“I’ve got friends there to vouch for it and they all said that was threatening because it was their best friend who the family was attacking.”
And the drama continues…
