MAFS’ Josh White has revealed a few more secrets and behind-the-scenes tidbits from this year’s season.
On a Reddit Q&A this week, Josh conceded he was “heavily biased” when it came to this topic.
“I hang out with a lot of the cast, as we kind of went through something that binds us all,” he said. “Only 23 people (this season) know what it’s like to be in that environment and respond.”
He went on to say: “I will say that meeting Jesse [Burford] for the first time at the Bucks, he was so outgoing, so lovely. I remember saying to him that he was the most beautiful man I’d seen in person.
“It was pretty sad to then see his experience in the time I was there – you must remember that first dinner party, all eyes were on him. I know I couldn’t have responded to the pressure the way he did.
“After he left, we stayed in touch, he would update me on what went on and we’d talk about maintaining strength and just talking about how he feels – because I feel as men, we are told not to share that.”
Josh said watching the way Jesse ended up being portrayed was “quite a shock”.
Love Film & TV?
Get the latest Film & TV news, features, updates and giveaways straight to your inbox Learn more
“Obviously it was quite a shock then to see his introduction to the audience as ‘Mr Ick Man’. In some ways I thought that was done to lessen the impact of what Claire did – and I saw a lot of social media comments to that effect.”
Later in the Q&A, however, he implied there’s only so much Married at First Sight producers can do to manipulate what viewers see and how they perceive contestants.
“I have always maintained, the show only holds a mirror to how you behave, talk, interact etc.; and you can either accept that or reject that,” he said in reference to his television bride Melissa’s portrayal and her reactions.
“I’m not going to speak ill of Mel and her time on the show,” he said in a separate response. “I feel her depiction was reasonably fair.”
He also said in the three weeks he was on the show, what was shown on screen was largely what he saw in real life.
“Some people have benefitted from an edit that [has] omitted certain things about them in order to serve a wider storyline/character arc,” he said in one response.
“I also think that some people were performing for the camera in order to increase their camera time and it is not a true portrayal of who they are. Some audience can see through that, but most don’t. It’s not up to me to inform the audience who that is – but I can see who is fake and who is not.”
He also noted he was “9/10” happy with his own portrayal.
“I mean, I’m happy I didn’t ruin my professional reputation,” he said, adding that his life had already largely returned to normal.
For more on this topic, follow the Reality TV Observer.
