Married at First Sight star reveals real reason he’s ‘no longer talking’ to ex as he opens up on shock split
THEY were one of Married At First Sight’s golden couples who looked like they could go the distance.
But sadly, after a two-year romance, Matt Jameson and husband Dan Mckee split in December, leaving fans of the show’s first same-sex pairing devastated.
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On Instagram the couple claimed they’d agreed they were “better off as friends” – but Matt tells The Sun there were “so many factors” that pushed them to the brink.
One of the most contentious issues was children, which was a dealbreaker for the Leeds-born charity sector worker when he appeared on MAFS in 2021.
Matt, now 41, is desperate to be a dad, and while he’s “not ready” to start dating again, he feels “under pressure” as “time is running out” for him to be a young, active father.
He says: “I loved Dan, I really did love him. It’s taken me ages to get over this because I was pretty heartbroken and there were so many factors to the relationship breaking down.
“It’s really hard, especially because I uprooted my life to live in Northern Ireland [with Dan] and put 110 per cent into it.
“I went on MAFS to meet someone to build a life with and have a family, so to see that wasn’t going to happen was upsetting.
“It’s not that Dan changed his mind, it just became clear it wasn’t going in that direction. We were on different pages and wanted different things.
“We are very, very different people and came together in this unconventional way, which was like a pressure cooker.”
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‘Under pressure’
Matt adds: “It’s hard because I’m having to start again and I’m back to square one.
“I want to have a family and kids and be with someone who appreciates me and appreciates everything I bring to a relationship.
“I’m putting pressure on myself because I’m 41 and want to be able to be a dad and do all of the things that a dad can do like run around playing football.”
Matt plans to adopt because his own mum was “abandoned” after she was born.
While she was fostered, he believes she never got a permanent new home “because she is half-Indian”.
Doubts
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Matt reveals he is no longer in touch with his ex, adding: “We’re having a break from contact, we’ve not spoken in a while.”
Asked if he thought Dan was ready for a family, he replies: “Maybe not.”
Matt admits had doubts about his new hubby shortly after seeing him for the first time at the altar.
He recalls: “It was so overwhelming and I remember thinking, ‘Oh god, he’s really young’.
“I thought the person would be of a similar age to me. Producers were worried because when I turned around my face looked pretty shocked.”
Later, the team quizzed him and he dismissed the concerns after “feeling very comfortable” in Dan’s company.
Matt says: “He was a good-looking guy so his age didn’t matter at the time. But in hindsight, obviously the age difference did play a part in the fact that we aren’t together now.”
‘Drama’
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On their big day Matt says it felt like being on the set of a drama due to all the cameras.
He and Dan were sent to Mexico on their honeymoon, but when they failed to attend the first dinner party, he says co-stars were left to speculate whether they had split up.
“Behind the scenes, there’s a lot going on,” he says. “The producers were creating all of this drama around the fact that we weren’t there.
“Even Tayah [Victoria], who I got on really well with, was sat there saying, ‘Oh, they’ve split up, they’re not coming and they’ve not made it’.
“I was like, ‘How could she say that? She hasn’t even met me’. She didn’t know the truth, which was that we had to isolate because of Covid.”
A passenger on their return flight was “pinged” by Covid-detection app Track & Trace, so when they landed back in the UK Matt says they were put in separate hotels.
I think the reason they kept us apart was from a production side because they wouldn’t have been able to film while we were isolating so they tried to keep us separate
Matt Jameson
“We went straight from the honeymoon to having five days apart,” he says.
“They wanted to live us in separate hotels for that remaining time until I complained to production that I didn’t think it was fair that we had to isolate alone and not see each other.
“So they organised a cottage for us to live in for the final five days and gave us free food delivery. It was great getting to know each other without the pressure of the cameras.
“I think the reason they kept us apart was from a production side because they wouldn’t have been able to film while we were isolating so they tried to keep us separate.”
Channel 4 claims they addressed Matt and Dan’s absence in a segment where Dan called the group to inform them they had been “held up on honeymoon”, and that “strict Covid protocols” were followed.
Awkward encounter
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Matt also opens up on an “awkward and uncomfortable” encounter he had with Morag Crichton, who was married to Luke Dawson.
He claims the production team brought a drunk Morag to his apartment on the night she later received a surprise striptease from her firefighter hubby in his uniform.
Matt recalls: “They brought in Morag, who I had never met before, and she was a bit tiddly and gosh, she was the biggest flirt I have ever met.
“I had literally just got out of the shower, so had some joggers and a vest on, and she was properly flirting with me.
“I was thinking, ‘Does she not know I’m with Daniel? And that I’m gay?’ It was very uncomfortable and an awkward moment!”
4am secret parties
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Matt claims “secret parties” held by the MAFS cast while they all lived in a hotel was the root cause for a lot of the drama in their season.
He says: “I didn’t go to many and one night I went to bed early because I had a bit of a headache.
“Dan said he would go to the party ‘for an hour’ but I don’t think he came back until 4am.
“I think a lot of the drama stemmed from the fact that everyone was getting drunk all of the time and things were happening that people didn’t know about.”
He added that as the series went on, the production team would “ply them with booze”.
“With there being a lot to drink it amplified the situations that led to explosions, which is what the producers want,” he says. “They want good TV.”
A Channel 4 spokesperson said alcohol intake is “monitored and limited” during dinner party shoots and producers “prioritise contributor safety and wellbeing at all times”.
‘No regrets’
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Matt says he “loved the experience” and has “no regrets” despite being frustrated about being “back to square one” with his love life.
He’s “very proud” to have been one-half of MAFS UK’s first same-sex couple and has received “kind responses” from the public.
Matt adds: “It was important for me that we were normal. We are just normal blokes, it doesn’t need to be all camp or other stereotypes.
“It’s not all drama and handbags at dawn kind of things.
“We are just guys who want to be in love, have a family and enjoy the normality of all of that.”
Matt Jameson is working with Lucy Locket Loves, who are donating money to support Out Together – a charity that helps older LGBTQ people combat loneliness. Find out more here.
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