It’s possibly the most radical thing Married At First Sight has ever done: a partner swap, under experts’ orders.
When sworn enemies Melinda and Harrison start hitting it off, will it spell the end of Melinda and Layton’s marriage?
This week on MAFS, Layton is hopeful that he and Melinda can move forward after all the arguments with Bronte and Harrison that came out of the couples’ retreat.
”I felt like we’d finally put the drama behind us,” he tells TV WEEK.
Are Melinda and Layton heading for splitsville?
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Then the experts announce that a partner swap is about to take place.
Everyone will be paired up with someone else’s partner and will have to live with them for three days. Layton is told that he will be paired up with Bronte, and Melinda with Harrison.
Layton and Melinda both object.
”Given that there had been numerous clashes between Bronte and Harrison and Mel and myself, I was shocked,” Layton explains.
”But I don’t think I would’ve felt comfortable with any of the husbands coming in to live in the apartment that Mel and I had made a home.
”I strongly felt like it was against my values and principles.”
Bronte and Layton have to pair up, and so do Harrison and Melinda.
(IMAGE: Nine)Melinda eventually comes around to the idea, but Layton refuses to be swayed. He feels the partner swap will set him and Melinda back.
”It really made me question whether Mel and I were aligned on what was important in our relationship,” he adds.
When Harrison turns up to move in, things get tense between Melinda and Layton.
Before long, Melinda and Harrison find common ground, and it’s Layton who feels like he’s on the outer.
”I think I was just a bit disappointed that neither of them were supporting my decision,” Layton says.
”And it was very strange to see two people who considered themselves enemies bonding over a tea together in our apartment.”
Things get heated during the comittment ceremony.
(IMAGE: Nine)For the 35-year-old biotech CEO, it all becomes too much.
Layton says he was ”emotionally exhausted” by that stage of the experiment and hadn’t seen his family or friends in seven weeks.
”I felt like I didn’t have support or understanding from Mel, and that’s what I really needed at that moment,’ he explains.
”That was really hard, because I felt like Mel was giving more support to Harrison than she was to me.
”I guess it was a lot of pent-up emotion that came out in a very real and raw way.”
Can Melinda and Layton’s marriage survive the partner swap?
