MAFS mess deepens
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mess → deepen → ?
Last week, Inside Mail's Rob McKnight exclusively revealed that producers of Married At First Sight were under police investigation following allegations made by a groom on the show that his private communications were shared.
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communications → reveal → show
That story has since been picked up and reported internationally, including by the BBC, and with good reason: MAFS is one of the biggest reality series globally, but the tactics used by its producers have increasingly come under scrutiny.
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tactics → pick → scrutiny
Since that initial report, further details have emerged.
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details → emerge → report
The Daily Telegraph has now identified the participant as TikTok star Kayne Buik, who is not accused of wrongdoing and is the one who made the complaint.
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who → identify → complaint
Inside Mail can reveal that Buik remains a participant on the show, despite his police complaint.
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Buik → reveal → complaint
We understand it's unlikely he will receive a 'villain edit' in the next season, as the production company Endemol Shine Australia will be treading very carefully.
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company → understand → season
The controversy began when producers played audio messages to Buik's on-screen bride, Kristen Goedecke, during an interview.
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producers → begin → interview
Again, Goedecke is not accused of wrongdoing here.
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Goedecke → accuse → wrongdoing
The messages in question were personal in nature, exchanged between Buik and a woman known to him.
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messages → exchange → him
Inside Mail can reveal Kayne Buik is still a participant on the show, despite his police complaint
The controversy started when producers played audio messages to Buik's on-screen bride Kristen Goedecke (pictured) during an interview.
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producers → reveal → interview
Goedecke is not accused of any wrongdoing
However, a woman identifying herself as the person who supplied the material to producers presented a very different story when contacted by Inside Mail this week.
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who → accuse → Mail
Rather than sending material anonymously, she claims she participated in several video interviews with production staff to explain her side of things after discovering via a Daily Mail article that Buik was one of the grooms on the new season.
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Buik → send → season
While the producers' intentions are unclear, it isn't unheard of for people outside of the MAFS experiment to become involved in the series.
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people → become → series
'I contacted the show through friends of friends (I work in entertainment also) and did a series of FaceTimes and short interviews to tell my story,' the woman said.
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woman → contact → story
She claimed she provided producers screenshots of texts and recordings of voice notes allegedly sent by Buik, along with timestamps showing when they occurred.
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they → claim → timestamps
According to her version of events, the recordings painted a different picture of Buik from how he presented himself on social media.
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he → accord → media
Crucially, she strongly denies sending any intimate photos or videos.
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she → deny → photos
'I never had any videos or photos of him in a sexual nature to even imagine sending to producers in the first place, so these claims are a complete lie.
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claims → have → place
No photos or videos were sent,' she clarified.
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she → send → ?
Inside Mail does not suggest otherwise.
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Mail → suggest → ?
Buik immediately raised concerns about the messages
Her version raises questions about what material was provided to producers, how it was handled behind the scenes, and what was disclosed to Buik's on-screen bride.
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what → raise → bride
Buik immediately raised concerns about the messages.
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Buik → raise → messages
He refused to settle privately with Endemol Shine and instead alerted police.
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He → refuse → police
The investigation led to phones being seized during a police visit to Endemol Shine Australia's production office.
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phones → lead → office
Sources tell Inside Mail that a producer has been stood down and staff involved in the case have been given access to legal representation.
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staff → tell → representation
Endemol Shine has so far declined to comment on the matter.
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Shine → decline → matter
NSW Police have referred the investigation to WA Police, possibly due to where the messages were recorded or played, though this remains unclear.
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this → refer → Police
With police having seized phones and raided Endemol Shine's offices, staff are said to be genuinely concerned about the next steps.
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staff → seize → steps
A Nine spokesperson told Daily Mail: 'We are aware of a police investigation involving EndemolShine and all enquiries should be directed to them.'
Endemol Shine Australia has not publicly addressed the allegations.
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Australia → tell → allegations
From mates to enemies
The leaks keep on leaking after Carrie Bickmore and Tommy Little's sensational radio break-up.
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leaks → keep → up
The Mail reported last week how the departing Hit Network duo 'can't be in a room together' after Bickmore inked a secret deal with ARN to move to KIIS FM's national drive show.
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Bickmore → report → show
As for how Little feels about it all, we're told he is 'seething' because he didn't learn about Bickmore's deal until long after it was done.
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it → feel → deal
Bickmore, we are told, was pretty ice-cold about it all.
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we → tell → it
The leaks keep on leaking after Carrie Bickmore and Tommy Little's sensational radio break-up.
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leaks → keep → up
(The former Hit Network duo are pictured)
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duo → picture → ?
A source with knowledge of the negotiations told Inside Mail that Carrie (pictured at the Logies in August) 'doesn't want to share any more'
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Carrie → tell → more
'She didn't want to share any more,' said a source with knowledge of the negotiations.
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source → want → negotiations
The bitter end to their decade-long on-air partnership is extraordinary given that they were once genuinely close friends.
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they → give → partnership
So close, in fact, that the tabloids dined out for years on rumours they coupled up after Bickmore's split from long-term partner Chris Walker, the executive producer of the ABC's The Weekly with Charlie Pickering.
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they → din → Pickering
…and 109 more, not listed.
The Aporia
