The Channel 9 groom left the dinner party divided over whether it was okay to sleep with a teddy.
Married At First Sight groom Joel Moses left the cast massively divided this week when they found out he still slept with a teddy. While it’s a mainstay for babies, toddlers, and kids, having a teddy as an adult isn’t as common.
The 31-year-old reality TV show contestant was mocked by Gia, Tyson, and most importantly, his wife Juliette Herrera, when his secret was aired at the dinner party on Wednesday night. But it seems like the rest of Australia disagrees with those MAFS star’s condemnation.
A poll of more than 5,600 Yahoo Lifestyle readers found 96 per cent thought it was okay for a grown man to have a teddy.
Readers told Yahoo Lifestyle that they couldn’t work out why it was such a big deal to still have a teddy and that it shouldn’t be grounds to be mocked.
“Nothing wrong with it. Shows a tender side. It’s not hurting anybody. It’s probably just a comfort mechanism. My cats sleep on my bed sometimes, what’s the difference?” said one person.
“I dated a guy who kept a machete under his bed, think I’d prefer a teddy bear any day,” added another.
“Maybe that teddy has significant memories of his childhood? I don’t see any problem,” wrote a third.
Others compared it to red flags in a relationship like a wandering eye, a drug problem, issues with money, a lazy attitude, and said it was nothing to lose sleep over.
What did the MAFS cast say about Teddygate?
Joel hasn’t been shy about his connection to his teddy and introduced Australia to the raggedy blue toy on his first appearance.
While his bride didn’t seem too crash hot on the idea at the start, she warmed to teddy after the wedding and didn’t seem to have a problem with it.
But when it came time for Wednesday’s dinner party episode, she used it as ammunition against Joel.
“He likes to cuddle up with his teddy bear at the end of the night, he wants to sleep with the teddy bear,” she said.
“I’m not married to a man, is what I’m trying to say.”
The revelation Gia and Chris shocked.
“Joel with the teddy bear is absolutely disgusting and weird,” Gia said.
“It’s not hot. No girls going, ‘Oh, that’s so hot. Should we have sex tonight with Teddy watching?’ It’s just gross.”
Tyson added: “It is embarrassing. I want to sleep with my wife. I don’t want to sleep sleep with a stuffed animal.”
Gia then upped the ante and said she would have thrown teddy in the ocean and said it wasn’t manly to have a stuffed toy.
Joel urged his detractors to not read too much into it, and he was supported by a few other cast mates.
“I don’t think it’s fair to attack someone’s manhood because he has a teddy,” Danny said.
“I think it’s brave to be a 30-year-old man and admit you’ve got a teddy. You can actually argue that he’s more masculine than us because he’s not scared of his masculinity and he has a teddy.”
“Is it really the worst thing in the world that a man has a teddy?” Rachel asked.
“I can think of a lot of worse things. That should not even be brought up because you’re bringing it up to put a guy down. You’re bringing it up to make him feel small as a person.”
CRE: YAHOO