Can they survive the experiment?
The relationship experts have matched its sweetheart couple in the 2026 season of Married At First Sight Australia: Rachel and Steven.
This newly matched couple have dealt with their fair share of relationship woes in the modern and superficial world of dating apps.
Rachel, 35, is a team leader from Victoria. Her bubbly, vibrant energy with an infectious laugh makes her an absolute catch. But unfortunately, Rachel hasn’t been in a serious relationship for 14 years.
Her previous dating experience was a ‘situationship’ that lasted seven years.
“I felt like a dirty secret. I felt like I wasn’t good enough, he wasn’t proud to be with me,” she said tearfully after describing the relationship as “toxic as hell.”
Ahead of her MAFS wedding, Rachel admits she just wants to be complimented on her beauty – something a partner has never done for her.
The MAFS team matched her with Steven, a 34-year-old Marine Technician from New South Wales. Dating has never come easy to Steven, feeling it impossible to meet the “checklist” women have.
“I want to find love. I want that connection,” he shared, revealing he hasn’t been in a serious relationship in 10 years. “You know that saying, ‘nice guys finish last’, well, I think today’s going to be different.”
Intimacy Progress Derailed
After a rough start for the pair, Rachel and Steven’s relationship had finally progressed physically. Rachel excitedly told the group during the Couples Retreat, but intentionally left out the details.
All was well, until Bec’s crass language struck a nerve.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I just wanted to call us here tonight, it’s the first night of retreat and we’ve had ‘I love you’s’, we’ve had a couple that I thought could not come back from the brink of hell, and we’ve had finger bangs,” Bec said in a speech.
While Bec felt the term was a joke, Rachel and Steven were visibly uncomfortable with the former noting, “I didn’t think it was funny.” Unfortunately Bec’s apology didn’t feel sincere, with the conversation esculating quickly.
“You’re very quick to turn. I’ve been here, my husband has been here, Rach you’re very quick to turn. We all celebrate you!” Bec shouted. “I mean, whose husband helped you get there? Mine. How do you think it got to this point? My husband, going off for beers with him. Get over it, she needs to calm down. She pops off so quickly, I’m sick of it.”
A moment which could have passed quickly soon dominated the entire couples retreat.
Fantasy Night Fail
Fantasy night is a dream for the MAFS brides, excluding Rachel… In a Love Actually inspired moment, Rachel holds up a sign that asks him to kiss her passionately.
“I can kiss you Rachel, I can kiss you but I’m not sure that it’ll make you feel something,” he replied.
Naturally confused and heartbroken, Rachel leaves the apartment in tears.
“What a slap in the face,” she said.
The Wedding Giggles
While the MAFS wedding isn’t technically legally binding, Steven’s mum was tearing up before the ceremony even began!
But she wasn’t the only one experiencing a lot of emotions. The officiant could barely get through his speech without Rachel breaking out into a nervous laugh. At least the guests and her husband thought it was endearing.
“I’m actually shocked no one has snatched him up. I’ll take him,” Rachel said of her husband to producers.
There was just one problem, though. Rachel waited all day to receive a compliment from her husband. Instead of sitting on her feelings, she faced it head-on.
“It probably seems really small, but I was like, ‘Oh, maybe he’s not that into me,” she explained.
Steven responded: “I’m really sorry you felt that way. You do look gorgeous today, you look fantastic. I’m really sorry that I didn’t say it when it mattered… I really dropped the ball there as the groom.”
It was Steven’s willingness to understand Rachel’s insecurities that “silenced all that inner saboteur talk.”
So, with the wedding ceremony done and dusted, can the lovebirds survive MAFS?