I’m on Married At First Sight but I secretly wanted to QUIT because of manipulative and competitive castmates
MARRIED At First Sight UK groom Thomas Kriaras has revealed how he secretly wanted to QUIT the show due to ‘manipulative and competitive’ castmates.
The 37 year-old, who works in investment communications, has told The Sun that he almost walked in the first couple of weeks during filming.
In an exclusive interview, Thomas, who is married to Rosaline Darlington on the E4 show, revealed how he was shocked by some of the behaviour of his fellow bride and grooms.
“There definitely were points where I wanted to quit, I just thought ‘This is not for me,'” Thomas explains. “I couldn’t cope with manipulation coming from other cast members. I am not going to name names, but there there was a pressure from other cast members to push you out because they didn’t want to be the first one’s out.”
While Thomas is clear he isn’t talking about his partner Rosaline, who he describes as his ‘rock’ during the experiment, nor the pair’s close friends Luke Worley and Jay Howard, he reveals that some of the series’ stars couldn’t be trusted.
He explains: “They would use what you said in confidence to them against you by bringing it up on camera at a later point. It made you realise that some people are your friends and some people are there for the TV.
“I think some people just couldn’t help the competitive aspect. I was just trying to focus on my relationship with Ros, but I was so surprised by how some people were trying to get between others. It hurt me to see that. You really feel exposed at times, like everyone is coming for you.”
“Ros and I were there because it was exciting and we wanted to work on ourselves, and we became really good friends with Luke and Jay, but with some of the other people, I got the sense that they wouldn’t have been there if it wasn’t being recorded for TV.”
Despite his misgivings about some people’s behaviour, Thomas hastens to add that he doesn’t have any hard feelings towards anyone now filming has wrapped.
“I do think everyone in there was a kind soul, deep down, it’s just that some of them clearly couldn’t help but get caught up in a competitive mindset.
“I was struggling at the beginning as well because, before I even went into the show, my confidence was shot and I don’t think I realised at the time how I was at rock bottom. I was in survival mode for the first few weeks. I just found being on reality TV stifling because I wasn’t used to it, and I was so absent in the first dinner parties.”
While he is tight-lipped about how far he and Ros make it in the experiment, and whether they are still together, he credits her with helping him get his mojo back.
“I wouldn’t have got through it without Ros,” he insists. “She gave me my spark back. I have to give her credit for that, and I feel really blessed.
“I am so grateful to her and viewers will see that we go on a massive journey. The lows are low, but the highs are bloomin’ high.”