The Married At First Sight (MAFS) 2026 backup brides have spoken out about their brief experience on the reality show, and it sounds way messier than what viewers actually watched on TV.
ICYMI, Final Test Week saw the 10 remaining brides and grooms take part in a brand new task where they sat down for lunch with their ‘backup match’ — AKA someone the experts and producers thought they were compatible with during the matchmaking process, but ultimately didn’t end up in the experiment.
The episode was chaos from start to finish, with Gia Fleur flirting up a storm with her ‘Plan B Groom’, David Momoh, Scott McCristal and Filip Gregov choosing to exit the lunch almost as soon as it began, and Danny Hewitt working his charm on the entire group of single ladies.
Following the episode, the five backup brides appeared on PEDESTRIAN.TV’s podcast Villain Edit to spill the tea on the major moments that didn’t air on TV, including what they really thought about their match and whether they’ve stayed in touch since filming wrapped.
Chenelle Brown — Danny’s backup bride
Chenelle Brown revealed that there were “huge key moments” edited out of the episode, and she had a “fantastic experience” getting to know her would-be groom, Danny. She explained that they had “some really deep conversations” and he even gave a toast to her dad, who had sadly passed away two weeks before filming MAFS.
When asked if she thought Danny was her type, Chenelle admitted that she’s only realised how good a match they would’ve been from watching the show.
“Now that I’m watching the season, I realise that he is potentially what I asked the experts for. Not my usual type, but he has definitely grown on me,” she said.
“As we were talking on the day, I realised he’s really calm, he’s really respectful, very careful with his words. I honestly think if we were matched on the show, we would have just had a really good time. We genuinely would have gotten along really well.”
Interestingly, Danny and Chenelle currently follow each other on Instagram, and she said she’d love to go on a date with him soon to get to know him more. I guess we’ll have to wait and see what happens between these two!
Laura Bellini — Scott’s backup bride
Laura Bellini was one of the backup brides who had to spend lunch by herself after her groom went to the bathroom and never came back. Laura revealed that she and Crystal Diaz actually followed their respective grooms, Scott and David, to try and get them to return to the table in an unseen moment, but had no luck.
“When the boys went to the bathroom and carried on like little drama queens, myself and Crystal went to pay them a little visit and tell them exactly how we feel, as they were a little bit dramatic and it was definitely not needed,” she said. “I wasn’t going to try to make you fall in love with me because you already would be.”
She went on to say that she hasn’t been in contact with Scott since filming the episode, but she definitely thinks they would’ve been a good couple in the experiment.
“I think it’s quite clear that I would definitely be a better match than Gia. I think that’s quite obvious,” she remarked.
“Scott is definitely my type. I love that he’s tall, he’s dark, he carries himself really well, and he’s business-oriented, because I’m definitely career-driven… He’s definitely my type of man, but you never know.”
Now that we know Scott’s no longer with Gia, maybe we’ll have to keep an eye out for a potential romance between him and Laura.
Stephanie Deane — Steven’s backup bride
While they were shown getting along on TV, Stephanie Deane confessed that she had no interest in a relationship with her groom Steven Danyluk and there was no physical attraction.
“I don’t know why we were potentially going to be a match for each other because we didn’t get to talk long enough, but from our brief conversation, I found out that we both liked fishing and we shared some fishing stories,” she said.
“Do I think I’m a better match for him than Rachel [Gilmore]? Maybe he would think I’m a better match for him, but I don’t think, at this point, Steven would be someone that I would go on the show with. It’s a bit harsh, but I don’t know him well enough.”
She added that she’s still currently single and is very open to going on MAFS next year — watch this space!
Shannon Lee Blake — Filip’s backup bride
Shannon Lee Blake explained that the edit was “way different” than she expected, mainly because it made it look like Filip stayed for the entire lunch when he actually left shortly after David and Scott got up.
“He quickly followed the boys into the toilet, and then he returned to the table, but on the other side, and I asked him to leave the table because I felt it was quite disrespectful to me that he thought that he couldn’t have a conversation with me without it making it an insecure thing in his relationship,” she revealed.
Shannon shared that she hasn’t been in contact with Filip since meeting on the day, but she was surprised to see how kind he was to her on the show.
“He’s a really nice guy, and he actually spoke really highly of me in the post-interview after the lunch, so I’ve got to give him some credit because I wasn’t so kind once he’d walked away from me at the table,” she said.
Crystal Diaz — David’s backup bride
Although her groom didn’t stay at the lunch for very long, Crystal Diaz definitely made her mark on the experiment. Not only did she follow him in the bathroom upon the producer’s instruction and end the day in tears because she had been drinking, but she also built a surprising connection with Danny.
“Shout out to Danny, he is amazing,” she said. “I would date someone like Danny. Like, if they matched me up with Danny, then a hundred per cent I would date him, ’cause I just think he’s got some balls and he’s calm and he’s just a good guy.”
Crystal said she had “no idea” why she was almost paired with David, but revealed that they actually ran into each other earlier this year in Brisbane.
“We sorted out our differences, and I was like, ‘Dude, you could have just sat down and had a chat with me’,” she detailed.
“I was just like, ‘Why would you do that?’ and he was like, ‘Because I was in a committed relationship. I was in it for the right reasons. I just wanted to be loyal to my wife, and I’m a loyal guy’. I was like, ‘Okay, fair enough’.”
Well, if MAFS 2027 is looking for a group of brides who will undoubtedly bring the drama, they know who to call.
The post The MAFS 2026 Backup Brides Have Gone Rogue & Revealed Spicy Unseen Moments From Final Test Week appeared first on PEDESTRIAN.TV .
