Hello, and welcome back to the Maths Funny podcast with
me Joshua Fox. As you guys know, I recently welcomed Lachlan Gerton and Tylie Pritchard from the Confessions of a Reality Start podcast into the Mass Funny Family and onto my podcast feed here, and they did a great chat with Tory all about her recent split from Jack, which you guys all listened to, and after I listened to that, I was kind of fascinated with this part of what is it actually like for the villain couples that do stay together once to show ends, because like, how much
does that noise from viewers and their co stars and even the experts who are all slating their relationship and wanting them to fail, how much does it actually impact them? So on this this week, Lachlan and Tylie are sat down with Bryce and Melissa to talk about well this and what it's been like for them because obviously, during their season in twenty twenty one, they became arguably one of the most disliked pairings of all time. But since then they've kind of.
Proved everybody wrong.
They've married for real.
They've got two beautiful children who you can hear playing around them during this interview, and some of the things they said during this interview even I was surprised about, including the phone call that Bryce received from expert mel Shilling long after filming wrapped, which I'm not sure she's gonna want people to know about, but Bryce said it, and now you guys can hear it.
Enjoy.
Hello, Bryce and Melissa, thanks for coming on Confessions of a Reality Star.
Oh, thank you for having us.
So it's been four years since you guys are on our TV screens. You're quite a controversial couple. People to this day still have like a lot of commentary, a lot of judgment about your relationship. How does it feel like four years on you have become a success story, but to still have people feeling like they know you and that they have the right to comment on you guys and where you're at.
Honestly, we were on a reality TV show, so we've left ourselves open to have our relationship assessed and judged by everybody. So it just it just comes with it. So long as we know our own relationship, that's perfectly fine. But honestly, it doesn't. It doesn't. It used to really upset me because now I couldn't.
Yeah, look, I think twelve months post show it probably affected us more, and more so me because I was probably the brund of it and probably caused that controversial tank. But honestly, now our foye is online, it's like a dropped off. To be fair, probably when we got married for real, I reckon that we kind of just went night. I might be completely wrong with my judgment, but the way that I see now is we're kind of lost
it and it's just all love and support. Which it's a nice feeling because it kind of would be good to have that feeling four years ago when we're doing the show.
Absolutely, and I guess there's been so many other people now that have gone through the show experience and can kind of.
Take the label right. Each year there's a different villain.
It's so funny. I did an interview a couple of months ago and Matt started this season like we've heard this and that about certain people, and I was like, yeah, you never know until you see come out. But honestly, some of these blokes made me look like an absolute state. Like I was like base level, Like these guys are common ever, so they they hit the top like I don't know how they're going to get any worse than
some of these guys. I hate judging them saying that they're worse than ready because everyone is kind of under the same lebel end of the day's a villain or whatnot, or controversial, but people do other things like that are a bit more controversial than myself, like unin punchable, but I gave a chickah that I should not and really get doing. So there's different worlds, but I probably don't think they were a bit more controversial than me.
It's interesting thinking back, like so much has obviously happened in the four years since you're on the show. You've had your twins, you've gotten married in real life, so it's easy to almost forget about the mass experience. I'm sure you've tried to many times. But in preparing for this interview, we kind of went back that headspace of the twenty twenty one news cycle. We found a few headlines just to kind of bring back the I guess the fact that you were in the headlines pretty much
every day every week, especially you bryce. These are some of the headlines that stood out. The man who made me turn off married at first sight for good heavy, it's us against the world. Married at First Sights Melissa and Bryce forcefully deny claims their relationship is toxic. Yeah, there were investigations. Married at First Sight has been cleared by a media watchdog overclaims of gas lighting. In its latest eighth season, Bryce and Melissa's season of Married at
First Site cleared of breach over abuse complaints. And then it wasn't even just the news cycle. There were also lawyers weighing in is Bryce from Married at First Sight committing family violence?
Well, I do remember that one.
I actually hear that one of you.
Actually, that was one of the only ones that I did see us our screenshot is that Actually that was yeah, very.
Oh you're surprised them the last one. I didn't have the last one. The other ones I've heard of because I don't read some repeat But look, I guess similar to like the previous seasons the last couple of years, Like there's a narrative and the media help drive it
and not say singling you two for example. But there's like people that are in space that you guys are too, like whether it's podcasts like your news outlets, they do drive a narrative that's given to them from the lie or in the mole, and like it's just it comes out.
You hear people say how they're showing and what loo it's it is true, Like it's not great to hear test's going out and say, hey, look it's the ed. But you've got to think what you've seen is clearly there and was part of myself, asks people doing the experiment, but what wasn't shown as well because you can't fit
everything in. So there's obviously more to someone than what you see on that show, which is I guess why people and you say to me more than anyone, Like I said, to gravitate towards people who get the villain label, and I don't know whether it's the empathy that I've been their shoes and they reach out and say, hey, how is it? How do you hear look like you navigate this craziness. But to be honest with the pop
I get the villain at it. On these shows, a number of the genuinely nice people away from the show, the ones that get the great label and look like angels and get the good at it, are onto the ones with the biggest egos. They're very much so self absorbed and they're not nice people. So it's yeah, it's so funny how this show creates characters and then you get headlines like that, which I'll create a character as well in the public space.
Why do you think that is too with the people that kind of go on to maybe get the good edit so to speak. Do you think production or the network sees something in them to propel them into like a more celebrity status or whatever it is?
Bitty yes, and though to me, I purely put it down to heavy to be a producer puppet, like you're happy to be the one that goes and starts a drama like this year we saw Jamie on that, so like I've never met Jamie, that was spokano, but you can clearly tell her she was in there being told if Nation from produced sty you go and did a party? If you say this you so that bring it up like she's only been shown that context of creating conversations
amongst the dinner table or in a group setting. So that is such an obvious sign that the producers loved her. And yeah, people like people didn't enjoy it. I've got nixed feelings on how I felt towards up sound good so bad? Yeah, I don't know if just to me, that's a prime example this year with Jamie. She was clearly producing puppet and they're trying to hate a picture up Now. I might be wrong, she might be lovely, and.
Hopefully she is Melissa for you. Obviously Bryce did get the villain at it. You had a lot of people weighing in, whether it was media, whether it was fans of the show, whether it was people on the show.
How was that experience for you?
Because correct me, if i we're onto Bryce, I think in once at any interview, maybe that you know, Melissa did speak up for herself. You guys had all these chats and whatever, and it just was never shown.
Yeah, yeah, it was.
It was quite a disappointing experience looking back on it now considering what we lived through and what actually happened during our time filming, but then to see what was shown it was it was just so just so starkly different to what I'd lived and having people weigh in on our relationship. I clearly wasn't in a very I wasn't an experienced personal relationship, so I was hearing all these difference in opinion from people from all over the
world about how my relationship should be. And look, the relationship was ever perfect, one perfect from the beginning. We never that wasn't ever something that we were trying to promote. But we were happy with our relationship and we were building on it, and we were complete strangers when we first met, so of course it was never going to
be perfect. But having everybody have their say, people are obviously providing their own real life examples and situations, and looking back, it wasn't great at the time, but now I see it as an opportunity that the show has, mainly from our season, opened the door to discussions about narcissism, gas lighting, coercive control, all of those horrible relationship you know, incidents that happened that many people have gone through, and what may have been perceived as what happened with us,
I think isn't true. It is edited, The whole series is edited. But I think it was a good opportunity for that conversation to open that door for those conversations, and here we are now. I think that would be highlighted as one of the top words gas lighting, narcissism.
Yeah, we probably put it in a mass dictionary, So I think it's.
A good thing.
No fact, when you both watched the show, and even now when you look back after four years, what would you each say was your biggest regret from the whole experience.
For biggest regrets, I definitely have to put up there, don't that's the biggest. But the biggest I would be being so gullible to retreat experience. Obviously it didn't look good and I haven't said that on the show. It didn't reflect Whine as a person, that whole interaction with back I kind of would have just stuck to my guns all that night and just separated myself from everyone,
Like you can go back and see it. UK was like clearly away from everyone else, like at the very edge of around chair, Like it's we couldn't have tried to yeah situation anymore if we try. But I think that's what we might be to regret, because just what followed in the show added. But I agree with everything that was being written because it did all that way. Like for me, it's an outside I didn't look anything else but that it's just being completely stupid, so I couldn't.
There's nothing I really regret that maybe just I was. I was so open and honest, but it just sort what edits without? Like you know, people go, you didn't stand up for yourself. You're a doormat and you only see an hour an hour's worth of footage while we're filming, as everybody says, twelve fourteen, sixteen hours a day.
So it's.
Just it was It's funny, like how was just said about being open and honest? Like people probably think that my biggest regrett is put in with fourth in that I must forget off forgot that one. That's obviously regret because of what hindsight's a wonderful thing. But at the same time too, being honest in those early stages kind of built the foundation for our stories today. Like there's obviously context missing at conversations like at that I put in the retreat, but I said, look, would I go
up to you? Are probably not the rest of that conversation went to But that's why I've come to it's a mass the experiment to change my way to go other that sort of real niche target. I was looking for a female so but again that didn't make for interesting TV. So it's like, oh, would I go up to the bar. Probably not slice sites cut it out so it's you can see what but that whole conversation yourself looks negative on screen, but actually there at the time was good care.
Yeah, man, what was that experience?
Like?
When the show starts airing on TV? You're kind of reliving the lowest of lows in your relationships and the moments of the fights and when you're not talking to each other, and then you find out that you are pregnant, which is arguably one of the highest of highs in a relationship. How did you navigate that experience?
It was difficult. Thankfully we had a good support network around us in terms of our family and friends. Yeah, it was. It was tricky, but I basically just shut myself off from the show it being filmed, it aired, there was nothing we could do about it except about living our lives. And probably more fortunate for us that we didn't want because we weren't, because we weren't a
couple that were considered successful. Even though we were, you didn't see us all of the billboards and at the lots of Grammy's getting invited that like we we obviously weren't. We weren't put up in spotlights, which you know, it was sad at the time and still is because you want to be you want to you want your relationship to be, to be you know, loved and appreciated and shown as being successful. But it's what made us quite humble.
And we've just gone back to our lives. We still do things with social media and you know, go to the odd event here, and then you know, we've got jobs, family, you know, we still struggle to make ends meet with finances. We're just like everybody else at the end of the day.
It is interesting you bring that up too, because I think it was like, obviously the twenty nineteen season, the Jewels and cam love story was so promoted and whatever, and then you guys are like the most successful couple from your season, and what were you just like dropped? Did you feel like dropped by the network? Not supported by the network?
I looked to me, there was ever that Camon Jewels Love network anyway, So you can't be if you don't have it. I really languish that we've.
Had just the support even to even today. Deright that for me, like you watch Max still, you know, yeah, I watched it this season and I haven't watched it since our season. And you know, psychology and psychiatrists are expensive. You know that's that's older is still there that I still have to pay for myself now, So even just a little bit of support, you know, he and go, here's a lifetime psychiatrist for you would have been great, but left to our own devices, now we're on our own.
There have only been a handful of couples that are still together after being matched by the experts. So it is a bit wild to think that you guys, being one of that small group that you're not celebrated by a Channel nine. Is not this recognition from fans that wow, they are the ones that made it. Have you had those sort of discussions or any discussions with other success couples about what it's like or is there a private group chat of all the math success stories. Is there anything like that.
For a chat and saying good she might to others but not us on a level. But yeah, no, there's not. I remember when Jack and Tory last year we caught up with them and had a bit of a chat, like just about general life and whatnot. Obviously no longer to get up, but that like I suppose like that was still keen to sort of have a chat and whatnot, like heard nothing from Ree and Jeff Jack and like people reach out to us have to have a conversation, like I'll never go and reach out to them that way.
It's like if people want to touch base us and say, hey, how do you navigate this crypt et cetera, I'm having answer afraid or have a chat or like respond to a message like I'm not going to be rare and just ignore it because I would have appreciated that support when we did it. So that's why I look at it. But no, it's just I don't know, like in terms of the whole thing. Celebrated the news like and having
that connection, it's like it is what it is. Like remember last year we were in Sydney and we had someone from Channel nine was a digital team, was something to us about they were asking those dinner party things they do on the website. If we were ask if we were interested in doing it, because I said that are really keen to do it. Anytime that something goes up about us, it's their biggest hits on their website, so they want to try and make something of it.
Was it.
Yeah, we have a conversation you want, never had the conversation, never came Duncan and never learned doing it. So it's like stuff like that. And honestly, dugd is a great blake. Don't know much about Evelyn, but Dublan's cool. But I'm just like, that's a prime example, like they test the waters, something must happen, and then never ranged bacs. It's like, you probably probably do it because we'll give people a different perspective on us as actual novel people speaking to
you now. So I think maybe it's a case that Channel and Iron just doesn't want to admit that they will roll with us. Maybe that's the case. I don't know.
I mean that specific example is interesting because Duncan and Evelyn, I mean, I've always had great interactions with them. I like them as a couple, but they weren't a couple matched by the experts. They're not a success story. And when nine has this small group of success stories to choose from, that instead championning this other mismatched couple. So it's interesting.
It wouldn't been.
Nice just to even you know, they said, you know, after after filming, you know, you just don't hear from production. Ever, again, you don't hear from the psychologist that you spoke to and you know, gave everything to everything about your life too for months, and it's yeah, it's just it's just silence.
And it just wouldn't been nice even if they were, you know, they someone that EPs had quite a bit to say about us after the show, and it just would have been nice eating to get in the room and sit down and actually say hey, like you know, clear the air maybe, or or go okay, well, this is why you know, you were purely there for entertainment. It just it just kind of was like crickets.
So I will bring up one situation that did happen poshow that surprised me when we announced that we're engaged and expecting the boys. I remember I put a post up at the time and might even been a story, and someone read it was like a Q box and someone put on there had the experts and have reached out to checking and see how you're going. And I put somebody like, you're kidding yourself, right, like you saw how I treated this. To her credit, I'll give her
a slight bit of credit. Mel Shirling actually reached out ya Instagram and said, hey, Bryce, don't give you a call. So I remember, we're in a car driving from Mornington up to Norwourn in the city, which is about for those who don't know, gift to me as the car, and she calls when we're driving up there, and that conversation was a bit. It was interesting because she's like, you know that, like technical, we're not allowed to do this.
We can't follow participants, we're not supposed to speak to them, contracting all sort of stuff like even doing this now, I'm breaking my contractual agreemance with Trail Run. At end of myle and I said, I was very polite, so off, but in my mind, we're getting your full shit because you follow ex participant. You always commentated on me, so I've seen you responding on place and I'm like again, it's like it's that, it's one thing I can't say.
It was like fake your us and like respect to mel don't know she's gone through some personal stuff and to help them, I hope to go well. Same time to him, like it's that fake. Nice to be fair of John, Like if John ever called me, I'd tell him to go jump, because he to me, was probably the most fake out of all of them. Off camera, you'd go through the hallways at that warehouse, like Bryce mate in the last side. Always loved it on the couch, so Bryce told me while we were Dickhead, and then
at the end of the expa me. He's like, Bryce, I made it. Loved watching you. I can't wait to watch a back Australia and I love watching you. They're all of a sudden, Hey, where was the damn from john saying congrats guys on them getting engaged in the twins, like very happy for you, like fake nice I saw summed him up so perfectly, and I'm so glad that he got a Josh box that got the video of
him like the Current Affairs style have you like? That was him to a tee, Like I never college on stuff on so medi about masks, but that's one thing I had to because I was like, he literally summed it up in a sixty secondary on Instagram. What Johnny's like as a person like that was so like, don't know the right word, like contradicting of him and any he says like the legal and Josh saying I'll make you do this. I'm like, mate, what's yourself back on
this reel? What just on the show? And then how you can duct this off off camera while filming show and then work out why people don't have that respect or positive to say about you?
And now you know why production does the likes.
Yeah, in that conversation with mel two, how long did it go for? So did she kind of was she like apologetic about anything or was it more like congrats guys?
Yeah, apologizing that apologizing, but like I was saying that she was happy for us and was probably about her fifteen minute call. And yeah, it was like just saying I like this more so explaining why she hadn't reached up personally like Alessandra. To be fair, she's got an excuse. She was on the outside of the world. Yeah, it also has Instagram all I've gone at the distance. But so again it's that sort of you know, but again respect that she reached out you whatnot. Yeah, it was
an interesting folk called. Again, I can imagine a Maths contract.
I wanted to throw to our surprise guest question.
Yes we got sent a mystery question.
No it's John.
We got to send a question from a maths participant. They were on your season. I think you have a good relationship with them, so you don't have to turn to be stressed about this. But this is what they had to say.
Hey, guys, it's Belle. I hope you're doing well in Queensland, but I miss you down here in Melwoyn. So I've always been a big supporter of your relationship. I feel like you guys have always been super strong and gotten through anything. So my question for you would be what advice would you give couples that are facing outside judgment or opinions about their relationship, whether this comes from family
or friends or random people. I know you guys unfortunately experienced a lot of that in your relationship, and I think it does happen to a lot of couples. So what advice would you give those couples that are facing that sort of negative judgment and opinions?
Good luck? I do love we love Belt.
So for anyone that doesn't know, that was Belinda from your season Great Friends, now one of the only two people that you're still in touch with, mel, how would you answer that.
This was a question that came up a few times over the years when people would message me.
And say, you know, thank you for highlighting your relationship by I often get I don't get the same level of support and from my own family and friends that say that my relationship.
Is unhealthy or toxic. I think it was just for our relationship. It was a good opportunity to open those doors for discussion and people know if they're in a relationship that's not healthy or there's there's underlying issues. It's just about a matter of being able to have those open conversations, recognize the signs where you may be struggling. You may need support outside of the existing support you have now, whether it be professional support, but it is.
It is a tricky one because nobody knows your relationship but you, and you're the only person that can fix it. So it's hard because I don't want to be I don't want to be a relationship expert. What I went through is vastly different to what people go through in their day to day lives, and I would just suggest reaching out to somebody that you trust, maybe someone that's not in your inner circle, but more so where mental
health plans or an option getting that professional support. That's what I did.
Yeah, that's been the most common message where you get since the shows like watching you two still being together on the show and backing each other up kind of reminded them of their own relationships, saying, oh, like my parents or like our family don't like our partner, but we've got a really good relationship and we know we do.
It's like, well, I always sort of have said to people that come from the street and basically said that it's like, well, just back yourself, being like, if you've got your gun feeling that it's right for you, then see it out and then at some point it might come a time where that judgment does change. That could happen for us one day. It highly is very likely it won't touch because she's a keep up for life, but that can happen, and like feelings change, like there
was no secret post or appreciator. Sorry that I'd been a couple of relationships, some were good, some were not good, just a fore you. But so like I'm going to feel like I've learned from different legships in the past and brought into our current relationship and that's what's making it work because I've made mistakes in the past and I'm the boss. Yeah, And basically, whereas pans purpose so I do.
That's what massed in me, and that's a.
Pretty much the case. At the same time too, it's like when you know what you've got between the two of you and having that communication, Like we definitely argue and have disagreements more often than probably not, but we get over them very quickly, we resolve it, we move on. But then that's kind of built the foundation of our marriage what it is now so.
Kind of interesting, I think too, Like that's what a real relationship is, where sometimes on the show, the success couples are the ones that they're not even shown arguing or they're not shown having disagreements, whereas, like we all know, in real life, when you're part of a partnership, you don't agree on every single thing, or you have moments where you're just pissed off at each other or whatever.
It is.
Well on the show itself, I don't think we actually had one argument that was I think we might have had one disagreement and it wasn't even due to anything that one of us did. It was an external song argument. I'm here, Yeah, the fake, fake.
Argument where we appeared to have been fighting right before we shound the pouch. We hadn't spoken to each other.
But that was just it was like, you've got to hold the argument you had, and you know, when we get on the couch, you've got to be really angry and frustrated at each other and then tell the experts what happened.
And it was just kind of like, I'm not I'm not good at acting.
I'm just oh, that is such a wild directive to.
Actually, we did have another fake argument. Remember the second day, asked the wedding where we're in a holding motel?
Yeah, all the fake arguments are coming out?
Should I share up?
Yeah?
So we just got married and we were on the way to our honeymoons in the middle of a fort, but we had to get to a holding motel on the way on the Hawks River. And anyway, it was we got married on a Friday, and I got a text for my ex to you once on a Saturday morning. I know, it was quite spiebab. It was like a like getting mad today, hate what it's all worth? The light
one like it was pretty not great. But anyway, I told Liz like off camera and I was like, oh, so makes just sitting this like how did she been know? Like we haven't spoken for like well over six months. And anyway, I went and told our coupin's producer because they're ato getting to know her and see what she was like. And she's like, oh my god, like have you told listen to she? And now I said, oh, yeah, I told her before and she's like, she come, that's
gonna be on camera. And then we're sitting in my tour room and then she comes in an hour later, so you know how you told me about that text message? Like yeah, and she's like we've got to re enact it and we're like what the help and we're like it's not hobing away, like where are we going? Like you didn't know, Lisa, we had this.
Thing and I'm like it was it was the worst. You can tell. You can tell I'm clearly when you go I got an a text message from my expart and I'm.
Just like, oh, I really want to go back and rewatch that now.
Made the car it's not shown, remember any mean, we're like they're going to show this is going to be so awkward to watch.
Yeah, because your acting was too bad.
Because I kept say because I didn't care. I like, well, and they're like you've got at least you can't just say that you've got care like it's his it's his ex fiance, and I'm going, but I don't care, and the camera right in my sakes and they just keep saying it. You've got to he's got to get more emotional, you know, you need to say how sit you are?
Like really, I was out at the pool and boxy outside room, I'm like, oh my god, she's going to break up for me on day two.
Yes, so it was cringe.
I wish it made it. They didn't, unfortunately that.
So it's good to know that perspective too, because I feel like even the commentary on couples throughout every season, I know, like a lot this season, Jeff and Ree were called boring a lot, and they were just like, oh, they're like talking about their feeling to each other.
Seems really awkward.
It's like, yeah, because it's probably like the fourth time they're trying to have this conversation on camera and try to like Jeff giving read his key or whatever to move in and she's like thanks.
It was like he obviously didn't do it for the first time on camera.
Yeah, what's right if.
The ring isn't in the right, you know, don't you ring on the angle? Then you've got to turn the ring over and make sure, then go film it again and get the close up of the ring. And this this is what they always wanted us to do on camera, always churning out our wedding bands. So you have to do it in a very obvious way and just the show doubt or yeah, yeah, yeah, to like yeah, look anxious.
Ringburn, give us a pensive look and think about something sad and what makes you emotional? Just it. I'm like, mine doesn't sit me going off.
Well, that's what they did with Dave this season too. Do you remember when they first are showing the cracks with him and Jamie in their relationship. They're like zooming in on him on the couch, like fidgeting and playing with is when in right?
And yeah, yeah, I love all.
This inside tea, like the different ways that you can like make you guys seem more anxious and more tense and what you probably were.
There are some scenes as well when they're getting ready for a dinner party and they like splash water on their face and I'm just thinking, like, what are they trying to build here, like, I can't imagine them asking the person to okay, now, can you just look in the mirror and question yourself and wash your face? Like that would be so intense, and it's the fuck.
So we just need to apply your lipstick, get great, you're working off, and do it again. So you just you're constantly doing the same thing over and over again. And it felt like one of the worst jobs on earth, especially for me, because I just it did feel like work. Every day. Yeah, doing and having to do it over and over and over again was it was so tiring and frustrating, and you just you.
Do feel yeah, no, the in the beginning, oh so it's new to you. It's all exciting and fun. But then come that the dinner party, and then you bit like, okay, there's only so long you'll tolerate sitting in a hot tenth in a warehouse. You're already going to give me under the fire because you can hear the voice down the hallway and they're having fun and clinking glasses and scarring beers, and it's like when you're seeing a tent with paving twists, the bottle of water getting ready to
be abused. For half now this is good. And then you're coming sweating and it's like, oh my god, like, why are you sweating? It's looks some anxious it's gonna be seeing a ten hour backs for an hour waiting to come in like.
It's being hard hostage.
God Like, look you get the three experts. I'm like, oh my god. Bryce looks like he's like under pressure. He's like he's really hot and leaves like fluster and I'm like, no, I'm proviously hydrated to be fairlightes Yeah, play on that too.
It's it's well, I think kind of every season, especially now, people are getting more vocal even while the show's airing, Like a lot of the cast are going rogue this season about it all and kind of Melissa you saying it was like going to work every day, going to a job every day. Do you think participants are compensated fairly to be on the show, because you know, the rumor over the years is the pay is not very good.
You're being propelled out to however many million Australians who are going to judge you in your relationship for the next few months or years, and you're working twelve hour days essentially, if not more, and giving up jobs and giving up lifestyles. Do you think participants should be compensated more fairly for being on the show.
Actually, I don't. I think if you sign up for this show, then that's that's the risk you're taking, and you do take that risk of getting the villain edit and whatever edit you want to call it, if you make that choice like we did. We made the choice and it was it wasn't good for us financially, And if I had just done a little bit more research then Apple rule would have made it more informed decision.
But then at the mored of the day, people signed up the show because a lot the fame most of them do, especially now, it's definitely changed since our seasons, the earlier seasons where it was, you know, you still have people that wanted to be on TV and the majority of us, you know, we do want to find love. I would have to say now just looking, because I don't watch the show, but I see it all over
my Instagram and I'm Yahoo and all over Google. It pops up constantly, and it just doesn't feel like it has the same authenticity anymore. So if you choose to go on the show, I don't think I think the compensation is you know, you getting compensated as a producer scene after the show.
There's been a lot of talk, I feel like, particularly this year, about the future of maps as well, and like you guys kind of pointed out before, less people going in for the love story quote unquote, and more cast going rogue as the show's on and trying to like tell their side of the story as it's airing. Do you see a long future for the show still or do you think people are becoming kind of too smart and too aware now to believe everything that's been shown on our screens.
No, to be honest with you, I've read articles saying at the show could get stand and whatnot. That show is going though away any time zero if it continues to make sure online money. You guys know as well as I do in the media, if something's bringing revenue, it's cementing. As long as that is the ant cracks and charts the pieces, So they'll just keep finding people to do it. People will happily be doing it. I've already had one person message me on Instagram saying I've applied.
I've had a chat with a producer on Zoom and whatnot, Like I'm doing this testing. What do you think I said? Good luck. I'm not going to go out here and say, oh, go and do it, you'll love it or not. Don't do it because I had a crap experience, Like everyone have their own experience with it, Like the thing.
Is, it'll be unfortunately. I just I just see something awful happening. Yeah, I yeah, yeah, I don't want to say what, but it's just something terrible is going to happen. You pick the wrong person like I was supposed to be on the show. According to the psychologist, she said that they had to actually really push to get me in because of my former mental health issues. I believe they said the same or something similar to Jake at the time because he worked for mental health charity and
the effects it could have. So really, I'm I'd be intrigued to see all those testing and all those psychological tests that I did. I'd been interested to give them to my new psychiatrist to show them what, you know, should I have gone on? Should I have actually been allowed to participate? He's moving forward. If you're not careful and somebody does get are some guy At the beginning of this season, that he was a lovely girl and he's a teacher.
Oh Tim, was it Tim?
Oh? Yeah, yeah, I am.
So only from what I've read, he's just getting absolutely slammed and I couldn't. I don't know him, I don't know what went on the show, But I just feel for people that are just absolutely hounded online and in person, and you just don't know what people are capable of. Not stinkty, yes, but you don't know what people are capable of, and it doesn't really matter and what kind
of edit they get. You know, they might get a great edit, they might they might come off the show looking fantastic, but then it just might not be something that suits everybody. And they're concerning that we're pushing we're pushing people too far with this type of entertainment.
I still think that if it did get to that point where something horrific happened, like or are starting, I still don't think that will in the show be fair. It might tote them down or reassessing how they go about it, but it will never end it. That shows you to stay.
So yeah, their producers and I guess the network always pushed the message that they have psychological support there that participants are looked after all that kind of stuff. Is that only during the duration of the show, and then after, like you were saying earlier, you kind of left to your own devices.
Yeah, yeah, I don't know what it's like now, Yeah, but we do. I've never received a shred support since, as I said, any psychologists I've seen the psychiatrists that I see. I've faced it up myself, and that's you know, it's not cheap, what four or five years on and I didn't expect the show to fund that, but it's just nothing. It's just complete silence and not even any tools to strategize how to manage it moving forward, even
the long term. Yeah, it's kind of it's kind of like being in a job and having going through this erotic experience and then just being kicked out the door and good luck and hope you survived it. And if you don't, well you signed a contract.
Yeah, but show psychologists borne you there filming with production. She was love with al and great with different tools and stuff like that. But at the same time too, there was one thing that I had mentioned to her
that I had told nobody else at all. I told Liz and I know Liz would not have said any repeated information, but somehow a executive, like a higher produce like not the not Tara, one of the other ones, but one of the little range ones, came back and allude to a comment that I made to the psychologist two weeks prior, and I said, there's no way possible that anyone wouldn't know that.
Do you have conversations now about how you tell the kids when they're older, because we were. We interviewed Cyral last year and she was saying that, you know, her and Eden have to talk about how they raise their son and like the stuff that she's been called online and all that kind of stuff when he's old enough to understand that. Do you guys worry about that with your boys?
I do, definitely, But honestly, it's just about you know, they can They'll be able to find any footage content online, but it's just more about how we raise them and how they how they see us in our family at home, in our family dynamic.
That's the most important thing. And just to teach them that you know about trolls and about bullying and not to take that information or take that feedback on board and just see what their mum and dad is like and how how they're being raised. That's the most important thing. We can't can't control anything else.
One final question, just to bring everything full circle. I think we both know the answer to this, but we've been dying to ask you. You both at certain points blocked us individually on Instagram. Bryce, I believe we're unblocked. Less you still have Talia blocked.
It's fine, I understand. I'd like to say I understand, well, I guess.
We understand the reason why. But from your perspective, why block Australian journalists? What was your motive there?
I don't remember blocking you. I'm so sorry what I'm very I don't.
I don't.
I don't even remember that you don't.
You don't have to apologize because I think, with the benefit of hindsight and now covering this show for a lot longer, there's ways that journalists tackle things that when you learn more about the show, you probably wouldn't write recaps in the same way.
You know what I mean.
So I'm also sorry for whatever I reported on you guys back in the That's the thing that.
I can think of is if I blocked somebody i'd obviously, especially from a journal's perspective, I've read something that I will set me in the mind. Oh, I don't want to interact. But it's funny. I've written quite a few articles from me with my blog, and I had them blocks because one of their articles they wrote about me was quite perriftic. Back in the day. It was more just I've blocked so many people in media because I did.
I saw something that I didn't like. I didn't that I read or saw, And yes, I just I went on blocking spring My list are so extensive.
Well, you have to protect your piece too, Like I again, if I was in that position, I'll be blocking people left, right and center.
Yeah, And my purely was to the fact that, yeah, I would have read something that I didn't like. I just knew it wasn't in your need a true and it's it's a moss of just you two.
There's ended endlessly, So it's not personal.
Take it personally, but I would.
Take it personally from back then.
But I'm glad we got to clear the air though. That was the main reason why we organize this so we could ask that. So I'm glad we're all good.
No, I mean I have these conversations. I think we've had this conversation too as journalists. The way the show moves and the way we cover the shows and what we've learned over the years changes so much about how you want to report on it too, Like how I reported on The Bachelor in twenty seventeen is so different.
To how I would do it eight years on.
When you learn more about what people are going through during these experiences instead of just being like you're almost seem like fictionalized people on TV and you have to remember that you're real people as well.
I just wish the Australian public was sort of more like the UK. The UK gets it, but the UK audience gets shows like masks like that's why we've got such people in the UK and we were loved over it because they are mistated it where they loved us over there where australis, but it's like it's Australia had more of an understanding that the UK does. You can find a much better space on social media, like say journalism as well, it would be so different.
Amazing. Well, thank you so much for your time today. We appreciate it so much.
Thank you for money us on and promise we'll be able to interact a lot more.
Now we'll start a group on Instagram now once you just love telling. Thanks so much though, Thank you guys, you guys.
Lachlan and Tylier have just posted some more from this interview like a bonus extra bit, onto their podcast feeds, So if you search up Confessions of a Reality Start you can go listen to that. If you want to check out and hear more, I will link it in the description and also give them a following Instagram if you want to at Confessions of a Reality Star.
The audio in this.
Episode was edited by Sophie Coghill and and yeah, I will see you soon.
Goodbye,