The year was 2019, the month was April. Australia was about to witness a moment that would go down in TV history.
It had been brewing for some time, but not a moment too soon was it finally indulged.
As though it were in slow motion, Martha Kalifatidis spectacularly threw an entire glass of red wine over her Married at First Sight co-star Cyrell Paule, And thus, the world was never the same.
A few years on, we look back at that primetime moment with intrigue.
The tension between Martha and Cyrell had been apparent from the get-go, but we weren’t quite prepared for it to escalate in such a way.
That said, there’s no denying that just like the red wine splattered across Cyrell’s dress, Martha would henceforth be splattered infamy for orchestrating the moment.
As the reality TV star embarks on her next on-screen gig, Celebrity Apprentice, we look back at the moment that defined her television career.
Martha and red wine will forever be synonymous.
(Channel Nine)What happened during Martha’s red wine-throwing incident
The dinner party started like any other. After weeks of talk-through-gritted-teeth conversations at the table, the finale posed the moment to wholeheartedly address the tensions at hand.
Preferring not to be confrontational, Cyrell, who had spent much of the season at loggerheads with Martha (never forget that face mask fight), opted to forgo the pleasantries and didn’t say hello to Martha nor her husband Michael.
As the dinner party ensued, there were several moments of uncertainty – an attempt at polite conversation often precedes escalation.
Martha pulled the first trigger. Speaking to cast-mate Jessika Power loudly about her affair with Dan, Martha told her, “I mean it’s hard getting what you want all the time.”
Cyrell wasn’t happy. She spoke up at the table, demanding to know why there had to be so much lying and cheating throughout the series.
Billy Vincent then asked Cyrell to “articulate it”, to which Michael responded: “It’s like speaking to a child.”
Cyrell wasn’t happy with what was being said.
(Channel Nine)Cyrell was quick to bite back: “Michael you’re a teacher, you of all people should be turning around and telling your wife not to back this.”
Finally, the woman dubbed the ‘Kmart Kardashion’ tipped over the edge.
“I’m going to throw my drink on her,” Martha said, before pouring her entire glass of red wine over Cyrell’s head, watching it splatter over her matching red dress.
The red wine moment.
(Channel Nine)Cyrell quickly threw her own glass of wine over Martha, who was incidentally wearing a very white dress (whoopsie), before she was stopped by two other grooms.
Later at the dinner party, the pair attempted a reconciliation – a woeful one, to say the least.
Martha tried to apologise, admitting she was “so embarrassed”.
Cyrell wasn’t interested – she told Martha she was “fake” and wouldn’t accept her apology.
“I was pushing your buttons but you know what Martha, I’m just going to say it now. You’re as fake as your nose, lip, and boob job,” Cyrell said.
“It’s a shame you couldn’t find a plastic surgeon that could fix your personality, because that’s what’s the fakest the most, honey. And your bulls##t apology means s##t all to me.”
And that, ladies and gents, was the end.
The pair didn’t quite reconcile.
(Channel Nine)We should add that there’s a problematic element to this.
As Now To Love‘s Maddison Hockey pointed out in a later season of MAFS, one in which more red wine was thrown, the act of throwing a drink over someone isn’t actually okay, and shouldn’t be endorsed or glorified.
“It’s time this tired narrative be put to rest,” she said.
So while Martha’s red wine incident will undoubtedly go down in television history, we think it best we leave it just there – in history. Don’t try this technique at home… or anywhere else for that matter.
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