Prince Charming and I are watching the newest season of Married at First Sight Australia (MAFSA). We didn’t want to. We promised we’d skip lots. But now we almost look forward to it each evening.

Fast-forward the recaps and teasers, whizz through the lovey-dovey couples and get to the good stuff. In this week’s Commitment Ceremony, Ashleigh and Jake had us pausing and discussing what was going on.

During a photo-ranking task (remember that, it’s important), Jake made some shitty comments about a few of the women. The edit made it seem like his remarks weren’t malicious; he likely meant them as a joke. He said one woman had crazy eyes, one woman looked like she might “stab you in your sleep” and one woman was more attractive than another because he prefers caucasian skin in a partner.

This upset Ashleigh who says she then drank too much and shared her woes with a friend in the apartments. (The friend was one of the women Jake was rude about.)

Fast-forward (though only metaphorically this time) to the Ceremony. Jake blamed his habit of speaking before thinking, aiming to convince the panel of experts and his fellow newlyweds that his comments were nothing more than a joke.

Some contestants tore into him, as did Expert Mel. My partner and I couldn’t help but feel bad for Jake. He was completing a task designed to highlight his sexual preferences to his new wife, Ashleigh, by ordering photos of fellow MAFSA brides by level of attraction.

Granted, he knew he was being filmed and comments about “crazy eyes” and murderous behaviour are too far, but isn’t it okay to say to your partner (in the privacy of your own home) that you prefer one skin colour over another? It should also be okay to say this to your partner even when you’re amongst others.

Prince Charming has gorgeous Mauritian skin (yes, you can envy me), and as a white Brit, conversations about skin preference have cropped up a few times in this house.

Perhaps we’re wrong. Perhaps the MAFSA gang is overly sensitive. Or maybe the reason for Jake being told off is that this global TV show can’t be seen to condone ___-ist behaviour?

Did Jake’s comments really warrant the big hoo-ha the teaser made it out to be?

No, but that’s TV for you.

Photo by Mikhail Nilov at Pexels