Married At First Sight‘s Brent Vitiello’s on-screen marriage to Tamara Djordjevic may have had some awkward moments, but the TV groom says that there’s a side to his bride viewers didn’t see.
In an exclusive chat with Now To Love, Brent reveals his wife Tamara’s pretentious comments about money, job titles and cars were “triggering” for him.
“I saw a better side of Tamara and it takes quite a while to get through to her, but it was hard because any type of pretentious behaviour is a trigger point for me,” he says.
“I really don’t like people like that, but I tried to stay real patient and get through it.”
Brent also admits he was “gutted” to hear Tamara’s doubts about their compatibility during the first commitment ceremony, where she questioned if he was “good enough” for her.
“I guess I was pretty gutted to hear that considering I was thinking we were in a much better spot than I guess Tamara was thinking. I guess she just still wasn’t sure so it was a bit hard to watch back,” he says.
But despite the self-confessed “sassy businesswoman” rubbing viewers the wrong way with her declarations that she only wants to date a successful and career-driven man, Brent says there was a softer side to his on-screen wife.
“There is definitely a different side that even took me quite a while to see at the same time. She’s got her views and she still believes in them which I found quite hard because I just don’t agree with them. But she definitely be a lot softer than she lets on,” he says.
And while Brent and his fellow grooms seemed chummy on Monday night’s episode, the hospitality manager says he was none the wiser to the true level of dysfunction between some of the couples, particularly Holly Greenstein and Andrew Davis.
“For us, we’re also watching it for the first time [as the viewers do]. Getting to see exactly what happened was a bit shocking,” he admits.
“In Andrew’s case, I thought he was a really nice guy when I met him but there’s just certain things you don’t say to someone, especially not a female, I expected more from him… we were all taken aback.
“We never knew what was being said and what was actually going on. Everyone was quite quick to judge Holly before understanding what Andrew actually said to her.”
But Brent came to Selin Mengu’s defence over her treatment of husband Anthony Cincotta, which has angered both the experts and viewers.
“Selin is such an amazing person. The way she was acting and what she was saying seemed like a defence mechanism that makes her be rude, let’s be honest,” he says.
“I got a lot of that too from Tamara… them being rude and harsh seems to be their way of dealing with it.”
As for what we can expect from the rest of the season, Brent remains tight-lipped, but does leave us with this teaser: “There is definitely rivalries and there are specific people that do go at each other.
“It’s going to be pretty explosive and continue throughout the show, it gets better and better.”
Brent landed himself in hot water earlier this season when a video went viral showing himself and co-star Al Perkins celebrating the MAFS premiere at a wild party, prompting viewers to claim they were only on the show for fame.
But Brent is setting the record straight on the now-infamous video, saying it’s a “shame” that viewers don’t believe he went on the show for love.
“You go through three-and-a-half months [on the show] and it’s really tough mentally and emotionally. It’s a shame that people only expect us to watch behind the TV on our own without sharing it with friends and family, and it’s straight away misinterpreted as wanting fame,” he says.
“We were trying to enjoy the moment… I’m so surprised there was things like that being said. Were we supposed to watch [the premiere] alone and do nothing or just enjoy the moment?”
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