The upcoming couples’ retreat on Married At First Sight is shaping up to be the most dramatic in the show’s history.
Insiders say intruder couple Lauren Hall and Clint Rice find themselves at the centre of a storm that leaves them completely alienated from the rest of the cast.
What was meant to be a bonding experience for the couples and the group at large soon turned into a full-blown civil war, with sources revealing that nearly every single participant turned on the controversial duo.
They attracted so much heat from the rest of the cast that stunned producers tell me they easily rank among the most-hated couples in MAFS history.
Here’s how it all went down…
Lauren’s vicious attack on the brides
Insiders say MAFS intruder couple Lauren Hall and Clint Rice find themselves at the centre of a storm that leaves them completely alienated from the rest of the cast
What was meant to be a bonding experience turned into a full-blown civil war, with sources revealing that nearly every single participant turned on the controversial couple
Tensions hit boiling point early on in the retreat when Lauren lashed out at several brides, including Jamie Marinos, using derogatory language that left the group stunned.
‘Lauren doesn’t hold back. She says what she thinks,’ one source reveals.
‘People can take things personally, but I think a lot of them were waiting for a reason to turn against [Clint and Lauren].’
The fallout was so intense that Lauren was completely iced out, with the brides deliberately excluding her from a girls’ lunch after the retreat.
While Lauren ‘wasn’t there to play the fake friendship game’, she was still surprised by how swiftly she was cast off by the other women.
Clint and Lauren’s downfall
I have been told by multiple cast members and producers that Lauren and Clint are both pariahs. They were never really popular, but it all went downhill at the retreat.
‘The backlash they’re about to face is next level. People haven’t even seen the worst of it yet,’ one production source says.
Tensions hit boiling point early on in the retreat when Lauren (left) lashed out at several brides, including Jamie Marinos (right), using derogatory language that left the group stunned
Viewers have already begun to express their outrage, with Lauren branded a ‘mean girl’ and Clint slammed as a ‘snake’. But the backlash will only intensify when this week’s episodes air.
My insider tells me that both Lauren and Clint were bad-mouthing ‘basically the whole cast’ behind their backs but ‘s*** really hit the fan’ when it was revealed she had referred to Jamie and other female participants as ‘c***s’.
The boys turn on Clint
The real turning point for the couple came during the boys’ night, when the cast confronted Clint about Lauren’s behaviour – including what she’d said about their wives.
To their shock, he refused to condemn Lauren’s behaviour.
‘Clint stood by Lauren, no matter what,’ says a source who was present at the boys’ night.
‘The guys tried to tell him she was bringing him down and he needed to distance himself from her, but he wasn’t having it. It was bizarre.’
By doubling down on his loyalty to Lauren, Clint, who was already something of an outsider, alienated himself even further.
They attracted so much heat from the rest of the cast that stunned producers tell me they easily rank among the most-hated couples in Married At First Sight history
‘After that night, no one wanted anything to do with Clint,’ adds my source.
‘He threw away what was left of every friendship he had to stay loyal to Lauren.’
One cast member tells me: ‘The lads expected him to finally admit she was out of line, but he wouldn’t do it. It was like bloody Stockholm Syndrome.
‘He was all in with Lauren, even when it was clear the group had turned against them both.’
The turning point for the couple came at the boys’ night, when the cast confronted Clint about Lauren’s behaviour, including what she’d said about their wives, and he refused to turn on her
The cast freezes them out
Following the retreat, Lauren and Clint were completely isolated, with even the grooms who had previously been friendly distancing themselves from Clint.
One of the few production sources who sympathised with the couple admits it was painful to watch them being iced out.
‘People were fake as hell. They were all smiles when the cameras were rolling, but as soon as they were off, they [Clint and Lauren] were shut out,’ they tell me.
But according to most of my sources, the cast’s reaction was completely justified.
‘Those two weren’t victims. They dug their own graves,’ a source explains.
‘They thought they were better than everyone else, and it backfired spectacularly. Sometimes you can’t save people from themselves.’
Following the retreat, Lauren and Clint were completely isolated, with even the grooms who had previously been friendly distancing themselves from Clint
The fallout and what happens next
With the retreat episodes set to air on Monday and Tuesday, Lauren and Clint’s downfall will be exposed on screen – and it’s going to be brutal.
‘This will be a turning point,’ an insider confirms.
‘Fans are going to see why no one wanted anything to do with them after the retreat.’
And with the reunion episodes still to come, the drama is far from over.
Another source says, ‘Just wait until the truth comes out. If you thought the retreat was bad, you haven’t seen anything yet.’
Other retreat drama: Jamie and Jacqui’s war with Rhi
While Lauren and Clint’s downfall stole the spotlight, they weren’t the only ones caught up in retreat week chaos.
Simmering tensions boiled over when Jamie and Jacqui Burfoot found themselves in an all-out war with Rhi Disljenkovic and Carina Mirabile.
The drama ignited because Jamie believed Carina and Rhi had sided with Lauren at the dinner party and felt betrayed, so demanded an apology on camera.
Insiders tell me Jamie only asked for the apology to be filmed because that’s how the rest of the girls were operating.
‘Jamie made Rhi feel like the villain,’ one cast member says.
A source with knowledge of the situation explains the drama exploded when Jamie dragged Rhi into another room and accused her of loyalty to Lauren.
‘Jamie was furious and just went off at Rhi, saying, “You’re my friend, and you had Lauren’s back.” But Rhi had actually been defending Jamie to Lauren! She kept telling her over and over, but it didn’t matter; nothing was ever good enough for Jamie.’
The heated confrontation left Rhi visibly confused, with even the relationship experts later acknowledging she looked terrified at the dinner table.
But the real shock came at the next commitment ceremony, when Jamie was grilled by the experts over her behaviour.
‘Rhi felt so relieved when they called Jamie out,’ an insider dishes.
‘Jamie made her feel like she had done something awful when, in reality, she hadn’t done anything wrong at all.’
