Married at First Sight is a well-intentioned if controversial institution.
The internationally adapted series give those unlucky in love a chance of finding their life partner by pairing them with an expertly-matched suitor sight unseen.
Broadcast in several countries, a rebooted version of the UK show pulled in record viewers when it premiered on E4 last year.
READ MORE: Married At First Sight star accused of 'emotionally abusing' exes who 'told police'
As a new batch of love hopefuls try and stick it out in the experiment among the 2022 couples, Daily Star takes a look inside the franchise's biggest ever controversies.
Ofcom row
MAFS UK 2022 star Gemma Rose has had a disastrous marriage to Matt Murray, with the salon owner pledging to contact Ofcom in a fiery row with show producers.
Earlier this month, Matt left fans gobsmacked when he claimed Gemma had inappropriately touched herself at a restaurant.
Gemma swiftly denied the accusation and hit back at her portrayal on the E4 series.
Posting to Instagram, Gemma claimed "footage was used in the wrong order" and slammed the show for "ruining lives".
The mum-of-two also claimed she would be contacting broadcasting regulator Ofcom as she was unhappy with how editing on the series had portrayed her.
Gemma said: "Definitely a matter for @ofcom.org.uk that I'm going to take further, pauses that don't exist and footage used in the wrong order."
She later added: "I need to change things. Rules on editing need to be better."
Death threats
Ines Basic appeared in the sixth season of Married at First Sight: Australia and swiftly ruffled fans' feathers with her complaints about husband Bronson Norrish.
Complaining about Bronson's profession as a dancer as well as his eyebrow ring, Ines quickly drew ire from Australian viewers.
She received even more backlash when the series – first broadcast in 2018 – was made available to British viewers on Channel 4 in 2020.
Revealing her fears of "being stabbed" by UK viewers after receiving intense online backlash from Britons, Ines The Sun: "I’ve always wanted to go to England but I don’t know if I ever will now as I might get f***ing stabbed.
"I want everyone to know I’m a really nice girl, at the time I was just close-minded and it was all filmed two years ago.
"I couldn’t even be that person again if I tried."
Record-breaking 'gaslighting' complaints
Married at First Sight: Australia was hit with a record-breaking number of complaints in April last year.
The show's eighth season saw the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) receive a total of 67 official complaints from viewers – the most in the show's history.
Complaining fans had taken umbrage with the relationship between Melissa Rawson and Bryce Ruthven, alleging that Bryce had been "gaslighting" Melissa in upsetting scenes.
Bryce later denied that the complaints were made about he and Melissa, telling The Kyle and Jackie O Show: "They keep reporting that we are being investigated personally. It's actually not us; I've spoken to ACMA about it.
"It's embarrassing for us to read that we are being investigated because it's nothing to do with us."
In October 2021, Married at First Sight was officially cleared of wrongdoing by the ACMA.
In a ruling, an ACMA spokesperson said: "Following viewer complaints, the ACMA assessed whether three episodes of MAFS that aired in March 2021 complied with the requirements of the Commercial Television Code of Practice.
"The ACMA assessed two episodes classified PG and one classified M. The investigation found no breach and that the content could be accommodated within the respective classifications."
In spite of the controversy, Melissa and Bryce's relationship survived the series and the couple are still together.
Last year, they welcomed twin boys Levi and Tate, who wore born 10 weeks premature in October.
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