MAFS star Melissa Sheppard says she was left distraught over the slut-shaming she received shortly after the show aired.
MAFS star Melissa Sheppard came in guns blazing during the show’s premiere and quickly became a fan favourite… well, mostly. While some were praising the 41-year-old for her upfront attitude to sex, others thought she wasn’t respecting her on-screen husband Josh’s boundaries, who was clearly uncomfortable discussing the couple’s sex life publicly.
In contrast, Melissa’s open discussions about Josh’s body and their sex life made some viewers uncomfortable. “If the roles were reversed there would be a RIOT. Imagine if Josh was sexually assaulting Melissa non-stop,” said one comment on Twitter.
Some, however, went so far as to slut-shame Melissa and paint her as a ‘horny older bride’ – something she was shocked and hurt by, as an alleged told So Dramatic!.
According to a source, Melissa had been ‘crying every day’ due to the ‘horny older bride’ narrative that’s been pinned to her back – even if, as the source alleged, the decision to pair a sex-positive woman with a fairly conservative man was intentional on the producers’ part.
“Mel and Josh’s whole thing is that Josh didn’t want to discuss their sex life on camera, and Melissa did,” the insider told the publication, alleging that the producers might eventually use the friction between the couple as one of the reasons for separation.
The source added: “They really wanted to paint her as the horny older bride and that’s the storyline and character they’re giving her so they’re only showing that side of her. They had it planned before filming even began.”
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“They are going to make it [look] like Josh rejected her because she was too horny and that she was too much for him,” an insider claimed.
The source also claimed that producers had deliberately edited Melissa’s parts to make it look like she was talked about sex all the time, or created situations where she would have to talk about her sex life.
“The producers hounded Mel to talk about sex or constantly ask her if she’s had sex today, or set her up in scenarios that would make her have to talk about sex or make it look like she was trying to have sex with Josh 24/7.” The source reportedly claimed.
This, reportedly, has left Melissa upset. “It’s been gut-wrenching for her. She’s been crying every day,” they said. “She didn’t expect this to be her experience or portrayal. She was on there for genuine reasons.”
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