Recap | Married at First Sight Season 12 Episode 1 – the last episodes recap on TV Central from Channel 9. Watch the show on 9Now.
Hello, hello, come on in!
It’s officially the best time of year: Married At First Sight season is upon us!
We all know that there are three guarantees in life; death, taxes, and a new season of MAFS arriving each year to take over our lives in the very best way.
Stream every episode of Married At First Sight for free on 9Now
This year, the lucky singles include a single mother-turned DJ, a self-described ‘male warrior’ and a groom the experts unanimously agree is their pickiest yet.
Shall we meet them, then?
Strap on in, it’s time to party hop!
The Hens’ and Bucks’ Nights
As always, there are many large personalities looking for their forever love and this year, the experts have been faced with some unique challenges.
Meet Lauren. She is the CEO of a successful gift business, but wishes she was born in the 1920s. She is looking for a traditional man to provide for her, protect her and definitely not help her with the dishes.
“I just think men these days are basically women,” she shrugs.
She is all smiles as she greets her fellow future brides, including bubbly single mum Awhina and a very glam, very sparkly Carina.
![[EMBARGO NIGHT 27/01/2025] MAFS hens' and bucks' night Awhina](https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/Ojb5EzFIuLjml_Y_aF72X4bcW5k=/396x0/filters:brightness(8):contrast(7)/https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2Fa3d3fd4d-8986-4fdd-bfc7-3e17a7fea25e)
However, Lauren’s smile fades a little as she gets to know Greek pocket rocket Jamie, who describes her type as “a cross between David Beckham and someone who’s done 20 to life”.
“She’s just a bit… boganic,” Lauren assesses. Surprisingly, that term hasn’t yet made it to the Dictionary. Cambridge, Oxford, get on it!
Generous restaurant CEO Katie arrives with a nervous grin. She’s dedicated a lot of her life to her social enterprise business, which splits its profits with charity, but is now ready to open herself back up to love after being single for 10 years.
EXCLUSIVE: ‘A lot of surprises’: MAFS experts tease ‘never before seen’ twist ahead of Season 12 premiere
“I haven’t let myself dream of happily-ever-after with somebody. Like maybe having a family and having my forever person is not for me and I should not wish for that anymore,” she says.
“But what if Married At First Sight has actually found me my person?”
![[EMBARGO NIGHT 27/01/2025] MAFS hens' and bucks' night Katie and Jamie](https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/srjnheGzd9A0AAadNZBJ2orkDdw=/396x0/https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2Ff2c02385-e1c1-40ef-b9f6-c746282e39ad)
Over at the Bucks’ Night, we meet Eliot, who has unrelenting standards and is very good at running his hands through his hair.
He’s been here for all of 30 seconds, but he’s already prepared to cut and run if he doesn’t feel anything for his future wife.
“I wouldn’t even finish the ceremony. It would be like, mic off, ‘see ya!'” he says.
Eliot is soon joined by 6’6″ “softie” Dave and larger-than-life 53-year-old fisherman Tony, and is surprised to learn that some grooms have not arrived with a novel-sized list of non-negotiables.
Before long, there is French being whispered in our ears. OK fine, it’s just coming through our TV speakers, but let us dream.
A dapper groom named Paul arrives and the other grooms are shocked to learn that being French does not automatically make for successful relationships.
The men all agree that they’re hopeful about the experiment finding them their perfect match. Tim, a primary school teacher, feels like he’s cared more than his past partners and is ready to try again.
“That to me is a red flag,” Eliot responds. “Maybe just like, peel it back a little bit… tell her she looks awful, trust me.”
At least some of the other men groan?
Eliot reveals his plan to cut-and-run if his bride isn’t exactly what he wants to vacant stares, judgemental eyebrow raises and even a grimace.
READ MORE: Everything we discovered about the brides and grooms at the Hens’ and Bucks’ nights
It’s not exactly the warm and fuzzy beginning we envisioned, but cheers!
With that, it’s officially time to grab your bouquets – onto the weddings!
Carina and Paul’s wedding
Our very first couple to walk down the aisle is Carina and Paul.
The experts are very excited about this match and not just because it means hearing Paul speak French again.
Carina is a bubbly and glamourous 31-year-old who works alongside her large Italian family as a digital marketing manager. As the only one of her siblings unmarried, she’s sick of feeling like the “black sheep” of the family.
“My ideal man would be tall, handsome, really romantic, family-oriented and European, that would be the icing on the cake,” she says.
And VOILÀ! Bonjour, Paul!
Carina considers herself an old-school romantic who dreams of a man that picks her up and whisks her away to a mystery date.
Coincidentally, that’s exactly how très romantic Paul likes to operate too. This bodes well!
Paul loves hard and fast, but has also experienced betrayal and being cheated on. He’s now ready for commitment again, inspired by his parents’ decades-long marriage.
“Ultimately, these are two people who can express feelings,” expert John Aiken sagely states. “For that, I think we have a match that has huge potential.”
It doesn’t take long for Carina’s family to feel the same. As Paul walks down the aisle, they are immediately delighted – especially her Aunt Maria!
“As soon as I saw him, I thought he was quite hot actually!” she gushes.
Paul delivers his vows in French and yes, Aunt Maria enjoys that too!
The wedding ceremony is all smiles, but as the couple make their way down the aisle together a huge bombshell is dropped.
”I know him,” Carina tells a crew member. “Is there another option?”
Um, WHAT? That’s a first!
EXCLUSIVE: Carina and Paul reveal exactly how they knew each other before marrying on MAFS
Carina explains Paul ghosted her after they went on a date and is disappointed by the match.
When the newlyweds debrief, Paul apologises for how things ended between them in the past and says that he considers this a sign from the universe. Sadly, he says this all in English and therefore Carina is skeptical.
But to his credit, Paul doesn’t just talk the (English) talk, explaining the situation to her parents and expressing his intention to put in the work now, which impresses Carina’s family and most importantly, her as well.
“When I think about that time in my life, I had my walls up, we both weren’t in the right head space and dealing with our past,” she tells him during a private moment.
“But time has passed. You know, we both healed. We’ve worked on ourselves. I definitely have. So I’m good now, no hard feelings.”
The two are adorably flirty by this point, sealing their rollercoaster wedding day with a kiss and Carina declaring herself officially smitten.
Lauren and Eliot’s wedding
Eliot says his friends would describe him as “blunt, too direct [and] uncompromising”, which happens to be exactly how the other grooms described him after meeting at the Bucks’ Night too.
He’s 35 from the Goldie and keeps busy with part-ownership in a selection of small businesses as well as working as a draftsman. What’s missing is his perfect woman.
“I wouldn’t even entertain a relationship with someone I saw as low class, swearing, trashy – that just disgusts me, so if my wife is super opinionated, judgemental, obnoxious, overly loud, I wouldn’t even finish the ceremony,” he says, ironically rather judgementally.
But if the experts do find an actual living human woman who ticks all his boxes, he promises he’s in it for the long haul.
The experts believe it’s almost miraculous that Lauren applied in the same year as him, as they share so many values and expectations about roles in a relationship.
“I have very old school, traditional values, like 1950s. I want to be the one that takes care of everything in the house,” Lauren says. She even wipes down each individual leaf of a house plant. That’s housekeeping on an elite level.
“It’s just instinctively in me, it makes me feel really good.”
EXCLUSIVE: MAFS expert Alessandra Rampolla on the ‘unprecedented’ new addition set to ‘turn up the heat’ in Season 12
Lauren says she’s close with her brother and sister… but it soon becomes clear that her sister, Tamara, could quite literally derail her marriage before it’s even begun.
They have a, uh, complicated relationship, as evidenced by the fact that they have not spoken over the past few days and when Tamara does arrive, things are frosty.
They’re no better at the ceremony, where Tamara declares her sister to be two words that are beeped in their entirety. You can use your own creativity to fill in the blanks!
Despite the big talk, Eliot is clearly impressed when he sees Lauren for the first time.
“She looked breathtaking,” he smiles.
Lauren reserves her judgement for after his vows, during which he declares “men should be men and women should be women”.
“He looks like a gentlemen, he speaks like a gentleman,” she marvels.
And just like that, we have successfully avoided a runaway groom! Surely nothing could complicate things from here?
As the newlyweds settle into their reception, they attempt to get to know each other – but their conversation is overshadowed by a rather lively Tamara.
“My friends will tell me, ‘try and keep your sister away from your new partner for at least three months,'” Lauren says, so it’s not exactly ideal to have her as a bridesmaid sitting next to them mere moments after tying the knot.
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Things quickly nosedive as Tamara realises there is no pescatarian meal for her, and she cannot believe someone as important as the bride’s contentious sister is being treated this way.
She storms off but returns in time for Lauren and Eliot’s first dance, when she starts yelling commands at her sister from across the room.
“Lauren, get into it! Get into him,” she says. “She’s so frigid!”
Even a talking to from one of Lauren’s friends isn’t enough to quieten the sister down, as Tamara leaves the reception for the second time.
“You guys have been atrocious to me,” she tells production, adding she wants “compensation” to move past it.
While Lauren is familiar with her sister’s… vibe, Eliot is very confused.
His extremely long, ‘dream wife’ list did not have anything on it about a dramatic sister, you see.
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“I’m trying to comprehend the behaviour but I find it very off-putting,” he concludes.
Uh oh, is it going to be a case of runaway groom after all?
WATCH: Chaos ensues as ‘TV’s greatest feast returns’ at the first MAFS 2025 Dinner Party
We hope he and Lauren can overcome this sister-sized hurdle, but we’ll have to see what happens when they head off for their honeymoon tomorrow night.
Plus, we’re back for even MORE weddings! Will they be as dramatic as these two?
We cannot wait.
See you tomorrow at 7:30pm – bring the popcorn and the wine. It’s good to be back!
Married At First Sight continues tomorrow at 7:30pm on Channel 9 and 9Now at 7.30pm.
Stream every episode of Married At First Sight for free on 9Now
CREDIT: By Chelsea McLaughlin at Nine Entertainment
Please note: This recap first appeared on 9Now located HERE
Please note: This recap was written by Chelsea McLaughlin and made available on TV Central with permission by Nine
TV Central Nine content HERE
Recap | Married at First Sight Season 12 Episode 1
