MARRIED At First Sight aims to find lasting love for struggling singletons – but it doesn't always go to plan.
Duka Cav and Whitney Hughes' marriage has been anything but plain-sailing, with Whitney branding her husband "fake" during one of their explosive rows.
One MAFS UK contestant who can relate to this predicament is Alexis Economou, 29, who didn't find love with her husband Jordon Mundell last year.
Aside from not being each other's type physically – Jordan said he was after a tanned blonde with blue eyes – London-based model Alexis says their personalities also clashed.
Now in the wake of history repeating itself, Alexis has been consoling Duka with messages on Instagram and admits she "has a soft spot for him".
She tells The Sun: “I was confused watching Whitney’s response during the wedding and I hope she will turn it around.
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“I have a soft spot for Duka and told him, ‘Babe you held yourself well. Well done that wedding was intense’.
“He told me, ‘I learned from the best’. I hope they do fix things because he seems like a sweet and genuine guy and I love his family.”
She adds: “I absolutely love this cast and have spoken to a few of them. They all seem really nice. I haven’t heard anything negative through the grapevine.”
Duka and Whitney's pairing brings back uncomfortable memories for Alexis, whose Welsh personal trainer husband was open about the fact he didn’t fancy her.
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Alexis says she questions whether Jordon was entirely honest during his interviews before the show, especially when quizzed about physical traits he finds attractive in a woman.
She says: "Production did ask him if he liked mixed race girls and he answered yes, but once he was in the process his vibe changed.
“Jordon told experts that smoking was his big deal breaker, but they knew I smoked and paired us together.
"We argued about it constantly. I was honest about being a smoker from the beginning and they didn’t show some scenes where we were arguing and I had a cigarette in my hand – they didn’t want to promote it.”
'Made me look crazy'
One of the couple’s earliest rows occurred during a boat trip on honeymoon, which Alexis says made her seem “like a crazy girl with attitude”.
She was seen branding Jordon “a f*****g child” – and later, he said they were “not connecting” because he was "chilled" and she was “quick to explode”.
Alexis claims the build-up to her outburst wasn't shown on TV – arguing it would have vindicated her.
“It was the most horrible scene,” she recalls. “It seemed like I was cursing Jordon with bad words and insults for being in the sea but that wasn’t the case.
“He was jerking the boat and was purposely trying to flip it knowing I was scared of falling in the sea, and I lost it.
“There were a lot of warnings before. I was cursing, screaming and crying, telling Jordon, ‘Please stop, I’m really scared now,’ but he ignored me.
“Of course, the way it was edited made me look like the show's ‘crazy girl’ who just exploded for no reason at all. I was a bit upset that happened.”
Branded a 'snake'
Alexis and Jordan's romance came to an end when he admitted he snogged co-star Megan Woolfe – who was married to Bob Voysey – behind her back.
He confessed: “Last night at the dinner party, we found ourselves alone at one point and we shared a kiss.”
The news devastated Alexis, who branded him “disgusting” and slammed Megan for breaking "girl code".
Shortly after the split, Alexis returned to the show with Ant Poole, who was previously partnered with Nikita Jasmine.
Nikita was booted off MAFS by producers after a bust up with fellow cast members, which allegedly ended with her being “dragged away” by security.
She called Alexis “a f*****g snake” for recoupling with Ant – but Alexis argues love was "her priority".
“I know she felt I snaked her by coming back with her husband but I wasn’t on the show to make friends,” she explains.
“I would never have done that in the outside world. I’m really loyal to my friends, but we went on the show for a reason and I had to test if it would work.”
Saucy gift that didn't make cut
Things didn’t work out for Alexis and Ant – despite being given a cheeky push by co-stars Adam Aveling and Tayah Victoria.
Their intervention came during an explosive dinner party where couples wrote anonymous letters judging each other’s relationships.
Alexis says an amusing scene between her and Ant never aired, recalling: “In their letter, Adam and Tayah basically said they wanted us to shag.
"They put a condom with our letter, which wasn’t shown in the edit. They came out in support of us but Ant was never there, bless him.”
Needed counselling
After MAFS, Alexis says her return to the real world was far from easy, as she faced an onslaught of cruel comments online.
She explains: “After the honeymoon episode I was getting trolled quite badly and had to sit and take it rather than try to fight back.
“It gets you down and I struggled with my mental health. I was depressed but felt better after counselling sessions from Channel 4.”
One year on from MAFS UK, Alexis continues to model and also presents on TikTok and reviews restaurants.
She's dropped two dress sizes, having lost one-and-a-half stone after piling on the pounds while eating three takeaways a day on the show.
Alexis is still looking for love and believes the show made her "more confident and independent" – despite initially regretting going on it.
After the honeymoon episode I was getting trolled quite badly and had to sit and take it rather than try to fight back. It gets you down
She adds that she's "flattered" by the attention she gets from potential suitors, and is relieved to be able to show people she's "not the crazy girl with attitude".
She says: “I learned a lot from Married At First Sight. I know what I want from a man and I refuse to settle for anything less.
"I want someone with their s**t together, who is emotionally available and wants to travel and make memories.
“Before I couldn’t take rejection from a guy and when that happened it made me want him more.
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"I couldn't be like, ‘Ok babe, I’m not happy and it’s not working, let’s part ways’ – now I'm much stronger.
“While I’ve not met that guy yet I’m hopeful and am a hopeless romantic. I’m still single but definitely ready to mingle.”
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