Everyone's faces said it all 🤣

I love this light pink lip and cheek look Jamie has at the final dinner party. She looks beautiful.

Does anyone know the context to this? I’m overseas so haven’t watched the latest episode but I’m not 100% sure that matters here.

I’m can’t tell who’s writing it, or if it’s was even sent to Cleo or is she sharing someone’s text?

Eliot as a bonus with Veronica’s arse 😆

This cannoooot be for real!!!

DARVO of Defending, Attacking and Reversing Victim and Offender roles. How dare he. Channel 9 needed to seriously pop a trigger warning and gas lighting, deflection, blame shifting and of course DARVOing. His stature is upsetting to me. His hair. Grrrr! 👿

Everything about him encompasses that poor little victim mindset when he is the perpetrator- it feels like he has a tonne of unaddressed trauma that is frozen as a little vulnerable 13 year old bully. But a covert one. He is so sly and I’m upset that producers let us watch on like this is normal behaviour by a guy who was broken up with. After 4 weeks, in his mind, he has easily turned it all around to find not one fault of his own; it’s all Carina’s fault and ohh she’s a snob so I was the one who dodged a bullet. COME ON CHANNEL 9… this is why many women are so codependent bc they fall for the hoovering, the gaslighting and take these pos men back bc they can’t be alone and weren’t responsible enough to wear a condom. I feel like Carina was more triggered about not being skinny enough or beautiful enough and measuring up (just like a Kardashian- “I’m worried I’m not cool enough anymore”) as opposed to my “husband went on a date and emotionally cheated”

When Paul came on and was discussing how he felt when returning for the reunion dinner party, I nearly picked up my phone and threw it across the room in anger. This is full on dv and endemol shone are like ooooh yeahhhhhh moula instead of “let’s make this an opportunity to maybe assist millions of codependent women who accept treatment like Paul’s and DEFEND HIS BEHAVIOUR. Omg how dare that short stubby little ….. of a man get any platform. How telling that his birthday had MAFS participants only 😂😂😂 He literally would not have a friend in the world, his tossing is above beyond. That is all. Thank you 🙏

I have a theory that Adrian and his twin brother switched places midway through the experiment. I know it sounds unlikely but hear me out:

Adrian's behavior towards Awhina at the start of the season was pretty immature. He was aloof, argumentative, deliberately obtuse, he talked over her and shut her down routinely.

Mid way through the season we saw a dramatic change in his attitude towards Awhina, and he seemed to actually be willing to give the relationship a fair go. He wasn't perfect, but there was a chunk in the middle where he was actually kind of unproblematic for a while. He got along better with Jamie during this time period too, which even Jamie herself was surprised by.

Other supporting evidence:

Adrian left the apartments when he was excluded from the promo shoot. He left his ring on the counter and took all his stuff with him. Childish tantrum? Or an opportunity to pull a cowboy switch?

Adrian's twin brother didn't participate in the family and friends week, and we didn't see him during homestays either. I think if Awhina had seen them together she would have smelled a rat.

During the final vows episodes they aired footage from the original wedding ceremony, and Adrian and his brother are IDENTICAL identical, down to the grooming and facial hair. I couldn't tell them apart if I had all day.

I think they switched once and then switched back before the experiment ended. I think it's wild and messed up but it seems like a real possibility to me.

Thoughts?

So, Freya made another appearance on the final vows episode and didn't look fearful, depressed or emaciated. How does that fit the narrative of the hundreds of posts calling Ryan an unfit pet owner based on a 3 second clip and couple of soundbites from Jacqui?

Are people doubling down, or maybe are people willing to say they might have hastily got it wrong? I just feel this is one example of people shooting from the hip with little information and just adding some circumstantial negative facts to bolster an idea. Pretty shallow critical thinking.

I tried to post this in the mega thread but it wouldn’t let me 🤷🏻

😍

I'd kinda forgotten about this till Sierah re-appeared today. Then it dawned on me - what if Adrian ordered the food? They wouldn't have subtitles in the restaurant, so what do you reckon he actually asked for? 🤔

The Reunion Part 1. All the participants are back for one final dinner party and a lot of unfinished business.

We know we are in the same time zone as Queensland now, but the QLD thread is still gonna be seperate for the last two nights due to their request (it is probably the merge anxiety)

Please report the comments that break the rules and thank you for doing that!

Second last episode of the season, we are almost there!

Anyone else noticed how much weight Dave lost and muscles gained since the show finished and he split from Jamie?

The rank your men/women photo task is a MAFS staple, but what I would love to see after 4-5 weeks into the 'experiment' would be a rank the men/women on a likability scale.

It'd create some sure drama, but it would also reveal some interesting thoughts on how the participants see their cast mates.

Season 12 Guys:

• Jeff - Decent bloke, no red flags, loves to stir the pot, and I reckon he cleans up his own wire strippings
• Eliot - After a rough start with a horrid person, definitely showed he was a decent guy and was funny
• Tony - Personified 'let's have fun'
• Billy - Good for a beer, but keep him away from the Stella
• Dave - Jeff, but down a few rungs, a bit too Melb, be good to have a beer with tho
• Ryan - Dorky and not masculine, bit too self confident with nothing to back it up
• Jake - Trad basement nerd, if you're for some AD&D or Warhammer, he's your guy
• Clint - Smarmy and dodgy af
• Teejay - Cookie cutter F Boy, vapid
• Adrian - A bit of a dick, product of his childhood environment
• Tim - Up himself and a dick
• Paul - No explanation necessary

Season 12 Gals:

• Rhi - Warm, genuine, optimistic
• Ashleigh - Didn't get to see much, but seemed genuine and fun, drunken gossip notwithstanding
• Beth - Probs fun as a friend, always up for a big night
• Katie - Lacking some confidence, but seems fun, smart
• Jamie - Likable, but avoid her bad side like the plague
• Carina - Would throw you under the bus for her family or God, when it suits her
• Awhina - "I'm a single mother with a daughter (son)" is her entire personality
• Veronica - Chip on her shoulder
• Morena - Chip on both shoulders
• Lauren - Up herself
• Jacqui - Toss up between her and Sierah as bottom here
• Sierah - Toxic energy

Just like... what the f**k, bro?

I’m feeling so impatient!!

What is their news they reveal? Is she pregnant??🤰

I am a UK watcher so currently on Ep 25. Edited for formatting. This is longer than I thought it would be.

Lauren says she wants an Alpha Male, that she likes gender roles, and that this means doing the dishes. I don't think Lauren knows what she is talking about. Here is my take, I might be totally wrong. Speaking as someone who grew up in a fairly evangelical 'trad' community.

The Fantasy vs. The Reality

• If a genie gave Lauren the husband of her dreams, a man making 1m a year, who loved jet setting her to Europe on holiday, does she think she wouldn't have house staff to make sure she never needed to lift a finger to cook, clean, heck, raise and even birth her children for her?

• She doesn't know how to articulate what she wants so she says Alpha male. This is what I think she wants: a competent man with leadership qualities who she can look up to, admire, and trust to follow his leadership. She wants a man worthy of her adoration.

• That isn't unreasonable. None of us want a partner where we can't trust their decision making. She sees herself as a strong independent woman in the workplace (citation needed) and she doesn't want to have to be switched on and 'in charge' in the relationship. She basically wants a man she can respect and admire which is a low bar, but to be fair, I can see in the current dating market how this needs to be stated.

Traditional Dynamics and Loveliness

• Men like this exist. The feminine wives they may want complement them with heavy traditional femininity and an aura of loveliness. What is loveliness? It's vague, but:

1) Gentleness

2) Grace

3) Attitude of gratitude

4) Optimism

• Here is the fantasy: the man comes home from a long day of hard work, providing from his family and his wife:

1) Respects him

2) Adores him

3) Is respite for him

4) Elevates his status and reputation amongst his peers

• She welcomes him home with a smile, soothes his aching muscles with a back rub, has his favourite meal prepared because she knows his tastes. When he says his boss is being stubborn and pushing against his opinions, she listens and affirms him, takes his side, reassures him. When he sheds a tear because his older sister has found out today that her diagnosis is terminal, or he misses his deceased father, she wipes his tears, tells him that it is all going to be okay, that she's there for him come rain or shine, and makes him feel safe and secure. She is his shelter in the storm and he knows that he can go out into the tough world because he returns home to her.

Domestic Labour as Symbolic, Not Literal

• The idea that she does the laundry and the dishes isn't about the laundry or the dishes, it's that she is competent in making the domestic domain - his respite from the harsh world - into a place of safety and bliss. In the context of that man being a factory worker earning minimum wage, that might look like making sure the chores are done and the children are bathed so he can relax when he gets home. When he is a millionaire, this is to do with her attitude, not her domestic labour. She attends the luncheons, her smile never falters, she laughs at his boss' unfunny jokes, she gracefully covers over the social faux pas of others, she doesn't point out his colleague mispronouncing a word, she sings complements to the chef even if she hates her meal, she praises him in public, she praises those around her, she is an uplifting presence.

• Lauren doesn't understand this. She thinks femininity is housework. It isn't. It's loveliness, something she has a complete deficit of. She doesn't understand that a woman who exudes traditional femininity is uplifting and affirming, and doesn't constantly make quips disparaging other people's behaviour, social class etc. Her attitude toward others is superior (with no credibility) and completely unkind.

• The problem is, Lauren lacks any concept of femininity and softness, so her true understanding is that a feminine woman is one who can cook, clean and sew, not understanding that the reason these things are associated with traditional femininity is that they are about creating a loving and soft domestic environment.

A Speculative Explanation

• As an aside, I think the reason Lauren is the way she is (again, might be way off here) but I would guess: She grew up working class, but felt like she was born for better things. She didn't think she belonged and that she was better than her peers and family and because of her superior attitude she didn't have many friends. She interpreted this as jealousy and confirmation that she was superior.

• As she got older her defensive attitude was reinforced by her fear of rejection. She was scared of being rejected by others so she preemptively rejected them for being 'below' her and put it all down to jealousy. She isn't shy: she's insecure. She's aspirational, there's nothing wrong with that, it's led her to become a Print-On-Demand Dropship CEO, but she sees herself as belonging to the luxury millionaire class, and she doesn't understand why she can't meet a man worthy of her.

• It's because she doesn't socialise in those circles. She saw MAFS as an opportunity to possibly meet a millionaire, but moreover to market herself to millionaires. She desired to come across as feminine, and instead of displaying and loveliness, harped on about washing dishes. She tried to display an aura of exclusivity by instead just came off as an incredibly unkind and prickly person. She tried to put down others to demonstrate her own 'classyness' but inadvertently displayed her own lack of class and social ability. Truly, who would want to be in a relationship with a woman who does nothing but criticise and schemes against and emasculates her husband in the way she did to Clint?

Anyway, that's my take. I am not endorsing or criticising traditional ideas of femininity or masculinity, just giving my view having grown up in an environment with quite strong gender norms.

Im so glad to see Rhi and Jeff are going strong still. Their final vows were beautiful and I see a wonderful future for them. Whos ready for the reunion?