Last night, the moment we’ve all been waiting for on Married At First Sight Australia finally happened: Sam and Ines ‘affair’ was revealed. In a not-so-shocking twist since Sam was the resident bad boy, he not only outed his affair with Ines but left her hanging by leaving the show without her. And we the audience, just like Ines, were left was wondering whether any of it was real.
In fact, people are so invested in the Sam and Ines affair that ‘Married at First Sight Ines’ is currently the top search on Google Trends. ‘Did Ines and Sam end up together?’, ‘Did Sam and Ines get together after the show’ and ‘Is Ines a sociopath’ are all questions everyone is Googling right now. For your information, the answer to the first two is no. Unfortunately, love did not conquer all in this situation and the pair don’t even follow each other on Instagram currently. The last question? Well, that's a whole other debacle.
What happened between Sam and Ines?
But let's begin with the affair storyline, because the shock doesn’t quite end there. Not only did Sam and Ines not end up together after the show, but Sam has since denied they ever even hooked up on the show. After posting on Instagram after the show aired in Australia, one follower commented on his picture that he needs ‘a check-up’ after supposedly sleeping with Ines.
And while that kind of comment is absolutely irreprehensible, it did lead to the revelation that the whole affair was apparently staged. ‘Sorry, this is TV. It didn’t happen,’ he wrote back. ‘If you notice Ines’ change of apparel in the edit, night and morning, that will be a good reference point.’
Was the Sam and Ines affair real or fake?
Sam was referencing the fact Ines was seen wearing different underwear in the ‘morning after’ scenes, which many had already picked up on. That’s as well as the fact she apparently left a toothbrush, makeup wipes and phone charger at his apartment, which for an ‘impromptu sleepover’ doesn’t seem realistic at all. In fact, it was those giveaways that made viewers think the entire scene was staged to build tension around Lizzie Sobinoff – his then wife – finding out.
It wasn’t just the sex scene that was apparently staged. Reports have even suggested that Sam was never interested in Ines to begin with and was told to go after Ines to make a more dramatic show. According to Australian magazine Woman’s Day, sources at the series told them producers held meetings with Sam to orchestrate an affair once after he revealed he didn’t like Lizzie.
‘The producers recognised that Sam was the most handsome groom and that would make him a target for the other wives,’ the insider said. ‘At some point in the first couple of weeks of the experiment, they told him they would make a swap work if there was someone he liked.’
‘Sam played along with the plan because he knew it would be the biggest story of the show,’ the source continued. ‘They said, “Look, we know you're not into Liz. Why not give it a go with Ines instead and see where that could lead?” So they basically asked Sam to pretend to like her, while Ines, on the other hand, had no idea it was all for show. She had genuine feelings.’
Since an affair storyline worked so well on the season prior, it’s not surprising producers would revisit that kind of plot twist that make the entire season riveting. They’re also not beyond that level of manipulation, at least according to other contestants on the show.
So, Is Ines a sociopath or was her behaviour all staged?
What is distressing about this whole thing though is how Ines is portrayed. While she did clearly like Sam and kiss him for all to see, she was seemingly just as duped as Lizzie in aid of this 'affair' storyline. In fact, Ines has alleged herself that she was used as a puppet on the show, and played up her role as the villain without truly understanding the weight she would carry in real life after the show aired.
When asked if the show was real or fake on Instagram, Ines had the following to say: ‘The whole purpose of a TV show - if you do the math - networks have money to make or they can't run. We are puppets filming a TV show for your entertainment.
‘There is only so much a cast member can be held accountable for because we are not in full control,’ she continued. ‘I don't think it's fair on anyone who films one of these shows because it is a lot for one to carry and to be held responsible for the entire thing. I'm sorry to disappoint. I know a lot of you are really crazy MAFS fans, and they think it is actually fully real. But you're playing a character and it is a lot to carry that character.’
Knowing that, it doesn’t seem entirely fair then that ‘Is Ines a sociopath’ is trending. Her cutting lines might seem harsh, but with producers amping up the drama and lots of editing tricks, her personality has likely been highly exaggerated for the show. She doesn’t seem too concerned about the UK reaction as it stands though, actually thanking all the UK viewers on her Instagram last night and stating she comes back to two episodes at the end of the season.
Perhaps we should turn our attention instead then to Sam’s new post-show look, whoever thought a man so vain would get rid of those lustrous locks…
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