A stint on a hugely popular reality show can turn a relatively unknown Aussie into a household name overnight. And, while their newly found fame often comes with lucrative sponsorship deals, the contestants are paid for their time on the show too.
However, it’s been revealed that participants on the New Zealand version of MAFS are taking home much more than the Australian cast.
We’ve previously reported that participants on the Aussie experiment are paid $150 a day – working out to $1,050 a week, which doesn’t sound too shabby. However, it’s practically pennies compared to their NZ counterparts, who are reportedly paid $2,000 a week.
Samuel Levi, who appeared on MAFS New Zealand in 2018 told So Dramatic! that they were paid $285 per day.
“We got paid a weekly wage of $2000 each week, for the number of weeks we are in the experiment for until you had written leave,” he told the publication.
“We also got paid pro-rata for days we came back once it wrapped, for the likes of our final Dinner Party and Reunion episode which was a couple of weeks later,” Levi added.
“I think this was done so we as contestants were 100% in the experiment, and didn’t have to worry about distractions from the outside world… I guess it gave us no reason to feel not needed to have full attention during the show.”
Love Entertainment?
Get the latest Entertainment news, features, updates and giveaways straight to your inbox.
And, while the salary for MAFS Aussie contestants isn’t exactly sky high – their clothing budget is dismal in comparison. That is, unless a producer has an ulterior motive to encourage a star to stick around.
Liam Cooper, who was on MAFS in 2019, has told So Dramatic podcast that participants only received a $150 budget and had to pay for all of their own clothes for the rest of the season, including their hair and makeup.
However, Bec Zemek, who was one of the most controversial brides on last year’s season of the show had a slightly higher allowance.
“It’s $500 for the wedding and $200 for the Final Vows,” Beck revealed to So Dramatic! exclusively.
“Most people gave out dresses for free or for just $500 because they knew that it was going to go on TV. Mine was a $3000 dress,” she said.
Bec went on to drop a major bombshell, sharing that she worked out a deal with producers to get “whatever she wanted” clothing-wise, in order for her to agree to stay for the final vows.
“Because that was the agreement for me staying for Final Vows.”
For more on this topic, follow the Film & TV Observer.
