Recap | Married at First Sight on Channel 9 and 9Now (26 Feb)

Married at First Sight on Channel 9 – It takes two to make a marriage work, but that proves to be incredibly difficult when you physically can’t find your husband.

That’s the problem that Ellie is currently dealing with.

Stream every episode of Married At First Sight for free on 9Now

After an intense Commitment Ceremony and a night spent separately, Ben has gone missing this morning.

Hours pass, and Ellie finally receives a call from Ben who makes his whereabouts known… but he’s still not interested in fixing things with his wife.

“This relationship is just on Ben’s terms, he never makes me feel like a priority,” Ellie tells cameras.

“I’m actually just laughing, because if you don’t laugh you’ll cry.”

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While Ben is on the run, life is still going on in the Married At First Sight experiment.

MAFS Episode 17 Recap: John Aiken grills Jack and one groom blindsides his bride by writing ‘leave’ at the Commitment Ceremony

We’re officially halfway and it’s the start of Family and Friends Week – and for our more recent newlyweds, it’s also a big day as they finally move into Skye Suites.

And while Jade and Ridge and Michael and Stephen are enjoying all the “warm and fuzzy” feelings that come with those initial stages, Madeleine and Ash are taking the meaning of moving day a little differently.

Rather than moving into their new apartment, they’re moving out of the experiment entirely.

After Madeleine wrote ‘leave’ at the Commitment Ceremony and Ash wrote ‘stay’, Ash has had a change of heart and the pair have come to an amicable agreement to leave the experiment.

The pair have left almost as quickly (but not quite as dramatically) as they entered, and win the title of one of the shortest marriages we’ve ever witnessed. See ya, guys!

EXCLUSIVE: ‘Something didn’t feel right’: Ash reflects on his ‘strange’ marriage to Madeleine following the pair’s shock exit 

Tori and Jack

Others are taking the fallout of what was a rough Commitment Ceremony slightly better than Madeleine and Ash.

Take Tori and Jack for example, who have suffered a week from hell and a roasting from the experts.

The pair have decided that after such a shaky week, the most logical next step is to… get matching tattoos!? This is definitely not what any reasonable adult would’ve advised.

“It’s just a bit of a f–k you to everyone,” Tori says of her and Jack’s plans to get ink.

Of course that’s the perfect reason to get a permanent tattoo, based on fleeting feelings.

The pair get inked with devil cupids, how fitting. Jack gets his on his inner thigh which Tori is hoping to take as a sign that he might finally be ready to level things up in the bedroom.

But Tori also has a “sick feeling in the pit of [her] stomach”. It’s not from the sight of tattoo needles, it’s because her best friend Lea is coming to visit the couple.

You might recall Lea as the protective bestie with a killer gut instinct. She wasn’t shy to concern her doubts about Jack on the wedding day, and today she gets that opportunity all over again.

Tori coaches Jack for Lea’s arrival: “The aim of today is to not tell Lea to put a muzzle on it.”

Muzzle. Bad. Lea. No. Jack recites the strict instructions.

MAFS 2024 — These are the rules babe. No muzzling my friends. (Nine)

With not too many fans on his side, Jack really wants to impress Lea but we think Jack may have gone overkill on this one.

After Lea bowls Tori over with a massive hug, Jack begins tearing up over the besties’ greeting.

“I’m feeling emotional, that just blew me away,” Jack wipes away non-existent tears. Absolutely everyone is puzzled.

Immediately, we want Lea to be our best friend because she wastes no time voicing her opinion about the ‘M’ word incident.

“The fact that that comment was Jacob’s knee jerk reaction tells me that at the root of his soul, he’s a misogynistic person,” she says.

And after hearing Lea call Jack, Jacob for the third time now, we’ve done some research and it turns out Jack’s full name is in fact Jacob. We can now lay that to rest.

Moving on, Lea – like most besties – wants to know the juicy details of Tori and Jack’s sex life, but Leah soon learns that there is no such thing as the couple haven’t slept together yet.

For Leah it’s an “orange flag”. “I was kind of shocked to hear that they haven’t been intimate,” she says.

While Tori says that her and Jack are “like the strongest couple in the experiment”, Leah is having trouble recognising her own best friend.

“Her [Tori’s] whole demeanour has shifted completely, this is something that is very foreign,” she says.

“This is the first time I’ve seen you relinquish control and I’m shook.”

Jack explains that Tori has just “naturally submitted some of that control to the man” and after hearing that comment, Lea decides it’s time to call an end on what’s been a lovely and eye-opening catch up.

Lucinda and Timothy

Lucinda and Timothy have found themselves in a bit of “no-man’s land” since a Commitment Ceremony that left Lucinda unsure about her relationship and Timothy feeling “blindsided”.

They haven’t seen or spoken to each other since the Commitment Ceremony and it’s a pretty awkward way to be heading into a lunch with Lucinda’s parents Michael and Susan and Timothy’s friends Rachelle and Brett.

And while Michael, Susan, Rachelle and Brett wait for the couple and talk of their high hopes for the pair, Lucinda and Timothy are out in the car park arguing.

Lucinda is trying her best to resolve things before entering the world’s most awkward lunch but Timothy just can’t get over Lucinda apparently “throwing him under the bus”.

We’ve all been where Lucinda and Timothy are right now – bickering with your partner five minutes before entering a family function and then completely flipping a switch and playing happy families when you walk in.

But Timothy isn’t planning on saving face and promises to be “brutally honest” about where he and Lucinda are really at.

MAFS 2024 Lucinda and Timothy — We’ve all been here before. (Nine)

He wastes no time explaining to everyone how “pissed off” he is about Lucinda throwing him under the bus at the Commitment Ceremony, and that conversation soon spirals into Lucinda feeling rejected by Timothy not being sexually attracted to her.

Timothy just can’t let go of this bloody Commitment Ceremony and his friends know he’s clinging onto it so he can “find fault and then leave”.

Lucinda begins to cry at the table and no matter how old your daughter gets, no dad likes seeing their daughter cry over a boy.

And on that note, Michael pulls Timothy aside for a one-on-one chat.

“While I’ve been here today I’ve heard him talk about how he’s pissed off and blah blah blah… c’mon Timothy, we’ve heard that. It’s time to move on. He’s a bit repetitive and a bit boring,” Michael says.

We’re sure there’s an extra sting in being called boring by a man wearing the most obnoxiously fun neon orange jacket.

But Michael gives Timothy some solid advice: “Stop getting your tits in a tangle and pull your finger out.” Now this is a language that Timothy can understand.

Noting how well Timothy received his advice, Michael decides to leave him with one more little nugget of wisdom.

“We’d love to see a bit more action on your behalf. It could be a one night stand, it could be anything but just try it,” Michael says nonchalantly.

Timothy, the producers and Australia collectively spit out their drinks as Michael blatantly suggests Timothy has a one night stand with his lovely daughter.

“Great advice for a father to give a potential son-in-law,” Michael laughs.

And on that note the two men cheers to the wonderful Lucinda.

“The chat with Michael has made me realise that I’ve been a bit of a d–khead,” Timothy begins to see clearly.

“Lucinda deserves more and I need to let go of the anger and just move on.”

Will Lucinda and Timothy finally be able to turn a corner? Find out as the meet the family madness continues tomorrow at 7:30pm!

Married At First Sight continues Tuesday and Wednesday at 7:30pm on Channel 9 and 9Now. Catch up on every episode of MAFS for free on 9Now.

Stream every episode of Married At First Sight for free on 9Now.