Of all the brides and grooms braving the Married At First Sight aisle this year, Bryce Ruthven was the first of them to be identified by eagle-eyed viewers – for good reason.
The 31-year-old is already well-known to many thanks to his professional as a popular radio host at Hit FM’s Canberra station.
The radio presenter, who usually hosts the afternoon and weekend breakfast shift, reportedly took a three month leave from his role to join the show.
He returned to the office in January this year sharing a snap from the studio with the allusive caption: “Back doing what I love most.. Let’s see what 2021 brings!”
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One of the big question marks hanging over the groom’s head has been in relation to his previous engagement.
On the night of his wedding Bryce revealed he had been engaged to wed his girlfriend, Lana Bongioletti, just six months prior to coming on the show.
“We got engaged, I saw a wedding and us buying a house, settling down, having a family and creating a life together – but we wanted different things,” he explained of their split.
Will Bryce clash with fellow grooms?
(Channel Nine)Speaking exclusively to TV WEEK Bryce revealed the relationship broke down after five years together.
“In the beginning, things were great,” Bryce said.
“Towards the end of it, I was keen on locking in a wedding date, talking about having kids, but we just weren’t on the same page.”
He went on to add: “I felt like I had a lot more freedom in my life and a bit of a weight off my shoulders [after the split], I was definitely a lot happier as single me for the last six months.”
Bryce and Melissa hit things off on their wedding night, but it hasn’t all been smooth sailing since.
(Channel Nine)Speaking to Jimmy and Nath on radio station Hit Hobart 100.9 earlier in the week, Bryce was asked about what his ex-fiancée thought about his new stint on the reality show.
“Do you still talk to your ex-fiancée? Did you tell her you were going to be on the show?” the hosts asked.
“The devil?” he laughed in response before adding: “She has a new boyfriend, they’re living together and, from what I was told, they watched the show last night. So that’s great for them. I know I wouldn’t want to watch my ex with my new girlfriend.”
The hosts went on to seek clarification about what Bryce meant by his “devil” comment, asking if the relationship didn’t end well.
“I ended it.” the 31-year-old said. “There’s obviously a lot of things that happened behind the scenes. I just wasn’t happy with her to be honest.”
