Finding true love may be the front-facing sell Married At First Sight stars spin when asked why they star on the show.
But in recent years, the Channel Nine juggernaut has become a serious launching pad for standout stars to make a living off.
You only have to look at some of the show’s biggest social media stars like husband and wife duo, Cam and Jules Merchant or Martha Kalifatidis and her MAFS partner Michael Brunelli, who can command thousands of dollars for a single sponsored post.
However season seven MAFS star, Mishel Karen, has revealed she’s been struggling to monetise off the platform despite having over a hundred thousand followers.
In fact, the police recruiter claims she’s been called out for trying to plug some of the freebies she’s been gifted.
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“It’s such a business, isn’t it? People gave me a hard time for plugging a teeth aligner on Instagram. Seriously, I make no money from that and they say ‘we’re un-following you because you advertised this,'” she tells Now To Love.
Mishel’s followers recently called her out for plugging a teeth aligner on Instagram. The reality star says she struggles to make money off Instagram, while fellow MAFS superstars Cam and Jules Merchant can command thousands of dollars for sponsored content.
(Images: Instagram)“Cam and Jules are advertising their baby! I bet you they’re still following them,” she points out of what she perceives to be a double-standard.
“You’re un-following me because I told you about my teeth aligner that I made no money from?” Mishel notes.
Since Cam and Jules welcomed their son Oliver in September, the couple have set up a parenting Instagram page called @babycubandladylumps, which already has nearly 38K followers.
On their Instagram page, the proud parents share candid snaps of their son as well as baby products they’ve been gifted, sponsored content and discount codes for their loyal followers.
Since finding fame on this year’s season of the show, Mishel says she no longer checks her Instagram DMs as they are full of abusive messages.
The reality star has instead turned her attentions to the subscriptions based service, OnlyFans, where content creators can make money from their “fans” who subscribe to their page.
While many OnlyFans accounts share explicit material, Mishel says she’s using the platform to simply connect with fans.
“I do lots of different things – whatever you want! You can tell me your inner most secrets, or you can write to me and ask me any question you want. I don’t make a lot of money from it,” she says.
“I don’t think I’ve got any X-rated stuff,” she adds.
As for which MAFS mates she’s still in touch with from her season of the show, Mishel reveals she’s still in touch with Poppy, KC and Vanessa
The reality star recently joined OnlyFans so she can connect with fans in a safe space.
(Image: Instagram)With her 50th birthday fast approaching this month, the mother-of-two confirms she’s still single and has quit the dating apps because they “attract the wrong kind of person.”
According to Mishel, men constantly remind her of the fact she “begged” her on-screen husband Steve Burley for sex.
“I went on a dating site four weeks ago and realised people were looking at me through the MAFS scenario. That was really disappointing because guys were thinking I was desperate for sex,” she explains.
“MAFS strikes again. Now I’m just going to be single, I suppose. I can’t shake that whole begging Steve for sex stigma. It’s stuck with me,” she laments.
“My daughter got a cat so I’ll just start collecting cats,” Mishel laughs.
Mishel, pictured with her ex-husband Steve on the show, is avoiding dating apps for the time being.
(Image: Channel Nine)While Mishel hasn’t been invited back for the hotly-anticipated MAFS All Stars reunion special, she has some sage words of wisdom for the upcoming batch of MAFS 2021 stars.
“Please don’t go on. If they know what to expect then I suppose do it but I was so naive,” Mishel says.
The police recruiter, who doesn’t watch TV, says she was called up by one of the show’s producers after sending in her application and convinced to go on the show as they had found the “perfect man” for her.
“I just thought they wouldn’t call me if they didn’t mean it. I’m very trusting and naive and I thought if they called me back, they must have good intentions.”
