An unnamed woman spoke to The Mirror about her experience auditioning for Married At First Sight, and why she's glad that producers ended up ghosting her.19:58, 21 May 2026A woman has come forward to share her experience about applying for Married At First Sight UK, after the show was marred by allegations of rape and sexual assault from former contestants.The series, produced by production company CPL, follows a group of single people who “marry” strangers they are matched with by experts, with the newlyweds meeting for the first time at the altar. While the "marriages" are not legally binding, the new couples go on a "honeymoon" and move in together after their weddings.Earlier this week, a Panorama documentary into the programme aired on BBC, in which two women alleged that they had been raped by their on-screen partners during filming. As well as as the two allegations of rape, a third accused her on-screen partner of sexual misconduct.Speaking exclusively to the Mirror, one person who auditioned to find love through the series explained that she applied to take part in 2024, after learning that show bosses were looking for single people to take part. However, she was left feeling that those behind the scenes were just looking for “f**ked up trauma” to make “good TV”.“I’m looking for love and to get married but in a safe space, as well. I feel like I’ve had bad luck finding people myself, so now I have to put it in other people’s hands,” the woman - who wishes to remain anonymous - told us. “I got an email from CPL saying the MAFS application thing is open, I was like, ‘Yeah, why not? It’s time!’”The London-based applicant filled in a lengthy form expressing her interest in taking part, which ranged from questions about her basic details, to more probing queries. She recalled: “You have to upload a few pictures of yourself, and answer a bunch of questions like, tell us about your last three relationships, tell us what your type is, why do you want to get married?“They check you’ve got eligibility to live and work in the UK, housekeeping stuff. In that was [the question], “Do you have any spent convictions?”She heard back shortly after, and was quick to set up a phone call with a casting agent within two weeks of her application.Unpacking the chat, which she conceded “wasn’t very long”, the unnamed woman shared that the agent “essentially went over the same” things that were in the application form, but did not question her further on any previous convictions, or if she had any history of sexual or domestic assault.“[He asked] what’s your type? Talk about your last few relationships, why do you feel like things don’t usually work out for you in relationships? Where do you think you’re going wrong? What would your friends say you look for? Where would your friends say you’re going wrong? Why do you want to get married?,” she continued.“[He] explained the show logistics about it not being legally binding, and the time I would need to be free for filming.”When asked whether she felt he was prioritising asking certain questions, she said: “On the call it was all very obvious that it was, 'Are you going to make good TV or not?' Like, do you have enough f**ked up stories or trauma to make good TV?“Maybe it was just that particular agent, but he didn’t speak about mental health, medical history or convictions, [or ask] ‘Have you been a victim of XYZ’. It was mostly about relationships. ‘Why do you want to get married? What will your parents say? Are your family okay to be filmed?’ That’s all the questions revolved around.”It was confirmed that the upcoming series of MAFS would not be airing as planned following allegations of sexual assault, while Channel 4 bosses pulled all episodes of the UK version from their on demand platform. A message currently reads: “No episodes available to watch on demand.”The move came after Shona Manderson, who appeared on the programme in 2023, accused her on-screen partner of sexual misconduct while taking part.Two other women alleged they were raped by their on-screen husbands, while speaking in the BBC Panorama documentary. All three men involved have denied the allegations.Ms Manderson’s on-screen partner, Bradley Skelly, told Panorama he categorically denies “any allegations of sexual misconduct, or that he was controlling”.Police have now urged potential victims of sexual assault on the reality TV show to come forward and shared that they would be speaking to the relevant production teams, but added that they had not received any criminal reports in relation to the allegations.Channel 4 said in a statement: “In April, Channel 4 was presented with serious allegations of wrongdoing against a small number of past contributors, allegations that we understand those contributors have denied.”In the message, issued on Monday, a spokesperson also announced that the broadcaster had commissioned an external review into contributor welfare on MAFS in April.They insisted that the popular series is “produced under some of the most comprehensive and robust welfare protocols in the industry”, including thorough background checks and check-ins with a specialist welfare team “before, during and after filming”.‌Although she didn’t make it through to later rounds of casting - and, actually, never heard back from CPL in the wake of their initial call - there has been no escaping the headlines for the unnamed applicant in recent days.Touching on whether she’s surprised by what has unfolded, she confessed: “Honestly? No. You’re putting strangers together in a very intense setting of getting married, and getting to know each other.“It’s all very fast forwarded, it’s not real, really. They’re encouraging of being intimate with each other, these are the things that will help your relationship and your situation. You don’t know each other, you could meet someone on a night out and this could happen. It’s the same kind of concept.”Article continues belowFollowing the news, she explained that she is now glad that she was "ghosted", adding: “I don’t think MAFS is, or was, the show for me.”The Mirror has contacted reps for Channel 4 and CPL for a comment.