MAFS Chanita Stephenson: JJs a player, Tasha is rattled and Peggys stuck in the middle

The cast of Married At First Sight UK 2023 is finally complete, with the arrival of two new couples this week completing the roster.

And analysing their every move is our weekly columnist and alum of the show Chanita Stephenson, who has high hopes for one intruder couple but isn't so sure on the diva tendencies of another.

The 30-year-old also reveals what happens during the lead up to a commitment ceremony, telling us how much you do and don't share with your partner. While she gives her opinion on the toxic behaviour of booted couple Shona and Brad and shares why JJ has gone down in her estimation.

Saying goodbye

Last week’s commitment ceremony feels like so long ago with everything that has happened! But we saw Porscha and Terence finally say their goodbyes, which I think was needed. I’m not sure what planet Porscha was on because she was saying they were all perfect while Terence was out of there. It all comes back to the game where she kissed four of the other husbands last week, and I still don’t think she has taken any responsibility for that or acknowledged how it made Terence feel.

If that was the other way around, she would have been furious. Although, I do think Terence blindsided her a bit with his decision to leave, because when you go into commitment ceremonies, you do usually talk about it with your partner first. Even if you don’t say whether you’re going to stay or leave, you tend to have a good idea of what you’re walking into.

They are very anxiety-riddled ceremonies. I feel like that was Terence’s way of getting his revenge on Porscha. I do also respect him for just leaving and not staying when they aren’t going anywhere, which a lot of couples do.

Taking the toxic out

Shona and Brad also left the show this week and, I think, well done to the experts for highlighting that they were in a toxic relationship. It had to be addressed because they had an argument and, while it was off camera, it sounded vile. It must have been really, really bad for everyone to step in. Brad definitely thought he was superior to Shona and that he knew best, so he felt that he could talk to her like that.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m really into spirituality, but the way Brad used the universe as an excuse was too far. While I completely believe in the universe, you are still your own person with your own mind – that’s how the universe guides you. Brad could be a really nice guy and just bad in relationships, we don’t know. But it was so important that they were called out and the situation addressed the issues of toxic relationships and love bombing. It educated the audience a bit which is good. I can imagine it could have been triggering for some people, who have been in similar situations.

Bride wars

We saw the couples go on two spa retreats this week and I was a bit taken aback at Tasha and Erica’s argument, it came out of nowhere. The edit can be manipulated, and contribute to what we see, but you said what you said and did what you did. The way Tasha stood up aggressively elevated the situation, there’s a big difference between arguing and then physically getting up in someone's face. I thought it was interesting that, despite being one of Tasha’s close friends, Jay even agreed that Tasha was intimidated by Erica’s strong bond with husband Jordan.

Jay was telling Tasha to calm down, and I really admired her for going with her own gut rather than feeling obligated to stick by Tasha and Ella, who was joining in.

Sometimes, in scenarios like that with friends, you feel like you have to stick up for your friend. Tasha clearly didn’t like Erica saying that her relationship was one of the strongest, I don’t understand why everyone is so competitive to be the best couple this year. Last year, I was told that I was in the strongest couple often, but Jordan and I would really downplay that because we didn’t want to seem smug or cocky and everyone is at different stages. But this year, it’s like battle of the best couple. I’m interested to see more of Erica and find out what was triggering Tasha, because there must be something.

A new romance blooms

I was giving JJ the benefit of the doubt at first, but now he’s really annoying me. He and Ella were full-on flirting with one another during the spa break and I thought it was so disrespectful to both of their spouses. JJ should have come back and told Bianca about it straight away, but instead, she found out in a group setting from someone else. I really feel for her because it’s obvious that she’s genuine and has come onto the show for the right reasons, so it is a shame.

I understand that JJ wasn’t feeling it and I thought that he was just trying to be nice at first, but now he has written ‘stay’ at the last commitment ceremony and told her that they’re going in a good direction, that’s leading her on.

They’ve not had a single bit of intimacy yet and all she wants is for him to even put his arm around her. In his own words, he’s an absolute player. I don’t like how Ella has gone about it either, she was acting like she didn’t even have a husband and had no empathy for Nathaniel. She’s only now saying that there’s nothing between her and Nathaniel because JJ is in the picture, but realistically, there’s been nothing there for weeks.

I think Ella and JJ will ask to join as a couple, which won’t work, they just fancy each other, I don’t think it’s anything deeper. That happened last year with Whitney and Matt, and we saw how that panned out. Saying that, they went about it much differently and made a bond behind the scenes, whereas Ella and JJ are peacocking in front of everyone.

Peggy In The Middle

Peggy’s sister was harsh on Georges when they returned for the family visit week, I think she has just decided that she doesn’t like him and is going with that. Now she can’t unlike him so is always giving him a hard time, even if he does do something good. I don’t think he can win and is fighting a losing battle. Peggy is really close to her sister so that’s causing issues, and she has already highlighted the fact that people don’t like her husband in the show, so, it’s difficult. It’s a case of Peggy in the middle, isn’t it?

In that same breath, we saw Luke refusing to compromise with Jay when it comes to distance. I think it would be better if they moved halfway, rather than him refusing to go up North and her being forced to move to Essex. He was complaining about her being a people pleaser, but, he’s happy with a people pleaser when it comes to moving because he won’t do it. That was a tough one. I do think it helped his case that Jay’s sister called her a people pleaser too, because that made his comments more credible.

The last of the pack

We’ve finally got a full house with the two new weddings we saw this week. I really loved Matt and Adrienne’s back stories and think they’re been well-matched, they both seem so nice. I think Matt appears genuine and like he’s really dependable, and J has gone down in her estimations. The teaser showed a tiff on their honeymoon so I’m hoping it’s just a small tiff!

Then there’s the first same-sex couple of the series, Mark and Sean. Going off of the wedding day, Mark seems like a massive diva! We all love a bit of boujee, but come on! I felt for Sean because when they were at the alter, you could tell Mark wasn’t feeling it and basically said that he was saying ‘I do’ because he spent time getting ready. But, Sean came across as a really positive person and I liked how he didn’t let it get to him at all. I didn’t understand why Mark lied about his age, it was so strange and he must do it often because his friends even asked ‘how old did Mark say he was’.

I did see a different side to him later when he admitted that he isn’t where he thought he’d be at this age because I think that’s something that even I relate to and I get it. Sean was so understanding and responded perfectly so I thought that was a really sweet moment between them.

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