Most people can probably say Married At First Sight has never made them cry.
However, a preview for this Sunday’s emotionally-charged commitment ceremony showing fan-favourite “MAFS hero” Josh White breaking down in tears looks like it’ll tug at some heartstrings.
The earnest, salt-of-the-earth “gentleman” is seen hitting his breaking point in an ad for the upcoming episode, referencing his failing relationship with TV ‘wife’ Melissa Sheppard.
Josh, a 40-year-old father-of-two, has been repeatedly ambushed by Melissa, 41, for not meeting her expectations of a “healthy sex life”, arguing he wants to get to know her on a deeper level.
This week, Melissa criticised Josh yet again, telling him he had “intimacy issues”. She further suggested her confident sexual persona was emasculating for him. “What, you can’t keep up? Does it de-man you?” she shouted at him.
In a preview for Sunday’s MAFS, Josh is seen crying in front of experts John Aiken, Mel Schilling and Alessandra Rampolla while discussing the events of the week.
“I cannot sit here and take this,” Josh says, fighting back tears. “I feel like I’m pretty broken.”
Aiken tells him, “Let me be clear, you are worthy.”
After their explosive intimacy argument earlier in the week, Josh said it felt “horrible” having Melissa say such things.
“All I ever wanted with Mel was a deep conversation to get to know her more,” he said.
Josh has quickly become one of the most loved cast members in MAFS’ ten-year history, with viewers on social media praising him for his “integrity”.
Overwhelming support for Josh saw Melissa, a mother-of-one, share a post about online bullying on her Instagram page last week.
“Say no to bullying. Before you assume, learn the facts. Before you judge, understand why. Before you hurt someone, feel. Before you speak, think,” the hairdresser wrote.
Elsewhere in the trailer, we see a dramatic mass storm out, with a camera panning to a male wedding ring positioned on the coffee table, suggesting someone leaves the experiment.
A narrator teases a “shocking twist you never saw coming”, before the teaser closes out with Aiken saying, “I’m gonna do something I’ve never done before.”
Harrison Boon, who is paired with Bronte Schofield, will no doubt be at centre of drama, after the experts revealed during Wednesday night’s dinner party they’d give him a stern talking-to following his “snake” behaviour.
The NSW builder, 32, managed to somewhat exonerate himself from a phone number scandal while throwing innocent groom Dan Hunjas under the bus in the process.
“We’ve had people in this group who haven’t been transparent, they haven’t been honest, they tried to manipulate the narrative, and frankly flat-out lie,” Aiken said during the dinner party.
“We’re going to sit them down, all of them, and hold people accountable whether they like it or not.”