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Gay MAFS Star "I Was Drunk For Most Of The Show – And The Format Is Dangerous!"
OUTCAST WORLD
Monday, 8 June 2026 - 20 minutes
As a wave of safeguarding scandals hits the Married At First Sight (MAFS) shows around the world and the former head of Channel 4 and OFCOM says he would never have commissioned a show this potentially hazardous for participants we ask is this a good moment to call time on the controversial reality series. Former MAFS UK star, Liverpudlian Thomas Hartley returns to Outcast World a different man from the one who last sat in our studio. As Married at First Sight UK brings one of the biggest scandals to TV in years, he gives us the rarest thing in the whole story, the view from inside the format. Back in 2022 he was going viral for his antics on the show's 10th season, but now he says he was out of control at the time and was drunk for most of the recording. He is unsparing about ten years of daily addiction and the queer pain underneath it, but generous about the welfare team who looked after him, and unflinching that the format itself is dangerous and should be redrawn by the very people who have lived it. CONTEXT: A BBC Panorama investigation set out allegations from former contributors that two women were raped by their on-screen husbands during filming, and that a third was subjected to a non-consensual sex act. The men deny the allegations, and the Metropolitan Police have asked anyone affected to come forward. Channel 4 has pulled every episode and a major sponsor has walked, and the regulator is reviewing the broadcaster's own welfare report. Thomas is neither an accuser nor one of the accused, and throughout this conversation he is speaking only about his own experience. Other contributors, and the reporting around the show, have described aspects of the production, including alcohol, differently to Thomas. If anything in this episode affects you. For drugs and alcohol, Talk to Frank, 0300 123 6600. For emotional distress, Samaritans, 116 123, free and round the clock. For sexual violence, the Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Line, 0808 500 2222. Outcast World is an award winning platform for queer politics, sex and culture. Subscribe for the full conversations and the weekly drop. Listen everywhere you get your podcasts and read more at outcastworld.net Follow us on TikTok @thisisoutcastworld #ThomasHartley #MarriedAtFirstSight #MAFS #MAFSUK #OutcastWorld #Sobriety #LiverpoolPride #RealityTV #QueerPodcast #DutyOfCare
