You go on Married at First Sight UK to hopefully find love – and put yourself out there in the world. But whilst that’s the initial goal and sometimes the initial prize, starring on MAFS UK in the current ratings domination era also guarantees you a big burst of social media growth. It’s life changing for the brides and grooms. As long as you stay on the show for a significant amount of weeks and you don’t cause 80 billion Ofcom complaints, get ready for a life of events, brand deals and a hell of a lot of engagement. Well, for a year at least. When the new cast comes in one year on, what is life like for the MAFS UK cast when they’re now two years off telly and normality starts to resume? Three cast members from MAFS UK spoke about what life is like when they’re no longer the current reigning cast – two years or more on for the show and how it can all change.
Erica spoke about getting back into the swing of things
@ericarobertss Replying to @sophie ♬ original sound – Erica Roberts
During a Q&A celebrating MAFS UK coming back, Erica Roberts from the 2023 season spoke a bit about what she’s up to these days. “I have gone back to my business, social media management,” Erica explained. “Lucky that I’ve now got the platform from the show to make my own money from that too. But it’s not all as it seems, let me tell you that.
“First when you come off the show, yes brands are like flooding onto you because you’re fresh meat. There’s lots of events, meeting new people, it’s so fun. It’s so exciting. I had the best time. The year after was such a thrill – I loved it. You’re thrown into this completely new life and it’s crazy, it’s nonstop.
“But I’m going to be honest – as much as I loved that life, for a short period, it’s did its time it served its purpose. I still love to go to events, I still love to network with people. It’s part of my job. But at the same time I’m not just gonna go to any event to take a few photos and go home. A lot of people in this industry would go to the opening of an envelope.
“I’m really loving a more quiet peaceful life. It’s not chaotic, it’s not fake, it’s not drama. I’m just enjoying my peaceful life in my own little bubble.”
‘It’s tricky for people, because they put too much hope into it’
Adrian Sanderson was an instant fan fave with viewers after his turbulent marriage in the 2022 series. Three years on from his time on the show, he’s still got an impressive Instagram following of nearly 200K. He still works as a graphic designer – which he did before and after being cast on the show.
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Speaking to me for this story, Adrian said exclusively to The Tab “The first year you’re thrown into the deep end very, very quickly. It’s brilliant – it’s so exciting. But for me personally it was so busy because I chose to not leave my job. So many people leave their jobs and really have everything riding on it – even the producers when you’re on MAFS UK say don’t do that. You don’t know what’s going to come of this. Chances are don’t expect much.
“For the majority of people, it’s a few months of some nice events and some nice gifting. Maybe a brand deal. But this isn’t Love Island five years ago where it was massive and they’d all walk out with million dollar contracts. That’s just not what this is.”
Adrian continued: “For me personally, you just took what you could get. Enjoyed it, saw it as a great opportunity and ride the wave for as long as you can. A lot of people ride too heavily on that. Because I didn’t quit my full-time job I was able to just enjoy it for what it was. And whilst it was so busy trying to fit all the events in and the socials in, it was just really exciting. I didn’t have that added pressure of it being something that had to earn me money.”
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“But after a year, that’s when I thought okay this is getting a little tricky now. I then went part time with work so I was able to just focus a little more on that side of things. That’s where I’m at now. Luckily for me, I’ve been able to retain quite a lot since then. My advice to everyone would be enjoy it for what it is. You shouldn’t be expecting this to change your life and turn you into a celebrity. Chances are it isn’t going to do that.”
Adrian went into more detail about how two years on from his time in the MAFS UK cast, his experience didn’t really change much because of how he’d navigated the first year. “I just felt like I was busier. That was it. But it also enabled me to have more free time to do the things I wanted to do and I’m really grateful for that.
“I have this lovely platform now full of my sort of people, and I really enjoy it. It’s tricky though for people because they put too much hope and expectation into it and what it’s going to do to change their lives. Chances are, it’s not going to change very much. Lucky for me, I’m three years on now and I still get brand and event opportunities. I’m still enjoying it all. I’m one of the lucky ones.
‘My life completely shifted – the second year is different’
Laura Vaughan, who was a cast member the same year as Erica, spoke to me for this story. Laura said exclusively to The Tab the way life switches both in your first year after MAFS UK as a cast member, and then how that differs in two years.
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“The first year was such a whirlwind. My life completely shifted – I went from a fairly private routine to suddenly being invited to events, being on Lorraine, working with big brands, filming ads for big brands on location with a production and building a community online almost overnight. I felt really grateful, but it was also a huge adjustment learning how to balance that visibility with my personal life. Work-wise, campaigns felt quite instant in that first year because you’re fresh out of the show and there’s a lot of excitement around you. It’s always all about proximity to the show at that point.”
But the second year is different, as Laura tells me. “Yes, the second year is different. The initial buzz naturally settles, so you have to work harder to keep momentum. For me, it became less about saying yes to everything and more about being strategic – figuring out what kind of content I wanted to make and which brands made sense for me.
“Naturally for me given the dating advice I gave on the show – dating apps and relationships centric companies have reached out to me and I’ve been lucky enough to continue to work in that space. Day-to-day now feels more grounded. I still get to create content and work with some amazing companies, but it’s much more intentional. I treat it like a career I’m building, not just a by-product of TV and now it’s more about continuing to engage my audience with the rest of my life- not just MAFS.
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“For instance, I’m in a relationship now so future tv for me feels off- I actually got approached to do Made in Chelsea this year but as I am in a committed relationship- it naturally wasn’t right to be jetting to Thailand to film this series. So for now, my efforts go into my content creation business. If I could tell any future reality tv contestants anything – it’s the say yes to the fun opportunities but remember you need to build something meaningful around that if you want it to be a longstanding career.
“We can’t all be Joey Essex and turn up on every reality show! Use the new tools that are blowing up- such as Substack if you enjoy writing like me, get ahead of the game and you may not need to go back to your 9-5 anytime soon.”
Two years on from being in the MAFS UK cast, these brides and grooms prove that life can still be incredible. Chances are you’re not the next Molly-Mae – but the show can still change your life and platform forever even when the endless adverts aren’t knocking at the door of your DMs.
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