“We definitely saw a side that was not as nice.”
Married At First Sight 2026 might be over, but you won’t be disappointed to hear that there’s still more drama brewing.
Stan’s spin-off show is welcoming back a whole host of familiar faces for one final drama-packed episode, MAFS: After The Experiment, on Monday, April 20.
Hosts Laura Byrne and Brittany Hockley exclusively dished to us that controversial groom Danny Hewitt will be back once again, after failing to show up following the Reunion.
And there’s no doubt it will be an explosive interview, given that the pair described him as the most “defensive” person they’ve met from the show.
“From day one, even when he was very, very loved by the public and the questioning wasn’t even abrasive, if it was in any way challenging of his person, he was the only one that instantly got into the defence mode,” Laura tells us.
“And he was very hard to speak to because he constantly speaks over the top of you.”
“I wonder whether he would do it as much to Jules, but he continuously spoke over the top of us, and it was incredibly rude.”
“We definitely saw a side that was not as nice,” she adds.
While Tyson Gordon also came under fire for talking over the experts on the show, Laura and Britt insist it wasn’t the same, but describe Danny as good at “getting himself out of trouble”.
“He can talk in circles, and I think that he uses a word salad,” Laura says.
“If he continuously is speaking, then you don’t get a chance to rebut his speaking; he’s learned that that’s a really good way of kind of bamboozling the person.”
Britt hints that the final episode was the most “difficult” conversation they had with the groom, describing him as “abrasive”.
“He really wants to come on to explain himself and have a bit of a redemption arc, and I’m not convinced we got there, but you’ll have to [see],” Britt teases.
As for the shocking unseen footage of Danny insulting Bec, which aired at the Reunion, they both admitted it took them completely by surprise after he had come across as a “loveable, likeable larrikin” during the experiment.
“I just didn’t see it coming; it was really disappointing,” Britt concedes.
Since we chatted with Laura and Britt, Danny has issued an Instagram apology video about the unseen footage, in which he described his comments as “horrendous”, admitting he is “so ashamed” of himself.
“But I’m not here to make excuses or blame it on a sense of humour or anything like that, I’m here to own up to my mistakes and just apologise.”
“I deserve all of the heat I’m getting at the moment, and I’ll take it on the chin,” he added after hitting out at trolls, before apologising “from the bottom of [his] heart”.
With his final Stan appearance yet to air, Danny isn’t the only contestant that Laura and Britt had some stern words for, as they are also calling out Steven Danyluk for his “cowardly” approach to his relationship with Rachel Gilmore.
While Laura wouldn’t describe Steve-O as “malicious”, she confesses that he came across as “a little bit careless” in the fact that he committed to Rachel at Final Vows despite his doubts.
“I was really shocked by the fact that he got to the finale and did his Final Vows, but he still wasn’t sure,” she says.
“But he seemed so incredibly sure in what he said in his Final Vows.
“There was something about that to me, which, even though he had discussed his reservations throughout it, he clearly had grown, and as a viewer, you felt he’d overcome those reservations.
“[But] he still had them. To me, I was like, it was a bit cowardly.”
“We’ve all dated someone like that who didn’t tell you the truth because they didn’t want to hurt your feelings, but ultimately, they just weren’t that into you,” she adds.
“And I think it was a real shock to Rachel.”
In fact, they even questioned whether Steve-O was trying to “protect” Rachel or his own reputation when he used “vague” language to try to end things at the Reunion, before his awkward “put a bullet in it” break-up remark.
“I was like, hold on, was this actually about how much you cared about her feelings, or was it actually how much you cared about what Australia thought of you?” Laura says.
“That’s kind of where I still don’t have a clear answer for it.”
“When he says things like ‘put a bullet in it, there’s no maliciousness in that,” Britt adds.
“He just can’t find his words, and he doesn’t know how to communicate well, and you see that from the start.
“So people still hold him accountable […], but I think he gets a bit more of a free pass because he’s a little bit more awkward than someone like if Danny said it.”
Britt believes that he had a “lot to learn” on the experiment, adding, “I’m not convinced he’s learnt it yet.”
As for other moments that completely took them by surprise? Alissa and Bec’s post-show friendship certainly had them baffled.
“I would have thought that would have been an irreparable friendship,” Laura admits.
“But they seem to be on pretty good terms now!”
Credit where credit is due, they both praised Bec for taking full accountability for her controversial behaviour on MAFS, which saw her target the likes of Alissa, Gia and Steph in furious Dinner Party tirades.
“It’s one thing to say that you’re sorry, and it’s one thing to put the work in to show that you’re sorry. And by all accounts, she’s putting the work in,” Laura adds.
As for happy endings, one romance they were delighted to see end in an engagement was, of course, Stella and Filip’s.
Stella and Filip, it’s so real,” Britt gushes. “You feel and see the energy between them when you’re in person.
“When they’re on the couch, there is nothing about that that is fabricated.
“They are just so in love and obsessed, and I really ship it. It’s really heartwarming. Thank God we got one of them out of the show.”
Well, we’re just as obsessed, and we can’t wait for their wedding day!