Married At First Sight bride Awhina Rutene has revealed why she went to Final Vows with her TV groom Adrian Araouzou.
During an interview with Daily Mail Australia, the 31-year-old disability worker shared that she and Adrian never physically separated before their Final Vows, marking a significant departure from the usual course of the dating experiment.
‘We were supposed to spend time apart to reflect. But we never did. Adrian was around me constantly,’ Awhina began.
‘Even during behind-the-scenes filming. I never had a moment to be alone with my thoughts.’
Awhina added Adrian’s perception of how their relationship was going often did not match her own.
‘He’d be in my ear saying, “I’ve got nothing but good things to say about us,” pushing his reality onto me. I couldn’t even breathe,’ she said.
Known for her straightforward demeanor and emotional openness, the New Zealand-born disability worker, who is also a mother to a young son, has garnered a strong following of supporters this season.
Her relationship with groom Adrian, 30, has seen its fair share of ups and downs.
Although their relationship began on a positive note, recent commitment ceremonies have hinted at underlying tensions, prompting speculation among viewers about the likelihood of their relationship surviving until the Final Vows.
Speaking to Daily Mail Australia, Awhina admitted the Final Task only served to expose pre-existing issues between the couple.
‘We’d been living in this fake bubble. Nothing real was being addressed,’ Awhina said.
‘I didn’t want constant conflict, but when the task forced us to reflect it made me realise we both had doubts about our relationship.
‘Adrian couldn’t handle being called out – he always saw me expressing feelings as an attack and his default was to retaliate by tearing down my character.
‘No apology. No accountability.’
Awhina entered Wednesday’s dinner party visibly upset, and said Adrian failed to support her emotionally, even at her lowest point.
‘I came into this looking for a life partner, but in that moment he wasn’t even showing up as a friend,’ she said.
The aged care worker added that Adrian’s actions throughout the entire series had taken a toll on her mental and physical health.
‘I was physically unwell, overwhelmed, and he showed zero self-awareness,’ she said.
‘I truly felt like he was actively trying to hurt me – that’s his fighting style.’
Awhina said there were moments behind the scenes where she considered walking out of the experiment early.
‘After friends and family week, I was ready to pack up and go,’ she revealed.
‘Then when he left and went on a date with Sierra [Swepstone], I was done.’
Awhina said she convinced herself to stay in the experiment as she did not want to get ‘torn apart’ by fans.
‘I was scared. I watched what happened to Eliot Donovan when he didn’t show up to a dinner party – he got torn apart on national TV. I didn’t want that,’ Awhina explained.
She added she is still waiting for an apology from Adrian – even after the cameras stopped rolling.
‘There’s never been a real apology. Even now, I get messages from him saying, ‘You’re the reason I look like this on TV,’ Awhina claimed.
Earlier this week, Adrian all but confirmed he has moved on from Awhina after posting a very telling comment on Instagram joking he was in love with another match.
Married At First Sight will return on Sunday at 7.00pm on Channel Nine and 9Now.
