John Aiken has revealed which contestants from Season 10 of Married at First Sight were his favourites.
He singled out three particular contestants for different reasons, and some of them are likely to surprise fans.
“I enjoyed Jesse [Burford] because he was layered,” Aiken said in a Q&A with the show’s broadcaster Nine Network. “He did things he regretted early on and then he started to become a very different guy later on.
“He and I both have a love of heavy metal, so we bonded over that. He was someone who had a layered sort of experience in the experiment and you saw different sides of him.”
Earlier this week, fellow MAFS contestant Josh White revealed he felt Jesse was the “most hard done by” when it came to the season’s edit and public perceptions.
John, who acts as one of the show’s “experts”, matching and then guiding and coaching the couples on the show, went on to name two more standout contestants.
“I also loved Harrison and what he brought to the experiment,” he said.
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“You could go hard at him and he could go hard at you. You had to be on your A game to hold him accountable and I found that exciting. He and I had a lot of tense exchanges which I really enjoyed.”
He went on to say that one of his most memorable experiences on this year’s set was a confrontation with Harrison.
“The most memorable moment for me was when I doubled down on Harrison about his use of words and what he says to other couples, particularly after he broke up Claire and Jesse,” he said.
“I wanted that to be a lesson, not just got him, but the greater group and the audience that words can be really hurtful and have huge consequences.”
He also named female contestant Evelyn as one of his favourites.
“I also loved watching Evelyn call people out. She was outspoken, but she had a wonderful way of talking about how she felt and making people accountable for their poor behaviour,” he said.
“Anytime Evelyn was calling people out I thought it was something to watch. It was different and it was exciting and it was illuminating,” he added later.
“She was able to often say what was going on inside of her in a way others weren’t able to do. She had this ability to really own her reaction and throw accountability onto others.”
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