Married At First Sight’s Morena Farina has spoken out for the first time after her wedding aired, revealing her thoughts on the age-gap drama with her groom Tony Mojanovski.
Despite their fairytale wedding, cracks soon began to show in Morena, 57, and 53-year-old Tony’s relationship when he expressed concern over the fact she is four years older than him.
Reflecting on the moment she learned of his hesitations, Morena said she reminded him of their minimal age difference repeatedly.
‘I know that he was really not happy about my age, and I used to count to him. Four years, Tony. Four years,’ she told Daily Mail Australia.
However, she made it clear that the issue was Tony’s alone.
‘It’s not for me. I’m not the one that’s got a problem with being with a woman that’s four years older. Not to mention, a woman with a hell of a lot of energy!’ she said.
‘I don’t really match my age. My energy doesn’t match my age. My aura doesn’t match my age.’
The Melbourne-based mother-of-two said she was ‘pumped’ after watching the episode back, describing it as ‘amazing’ and a true reflection of how her big day unfolded
‘It was really good. To sit back and watch what happened in slow motion… because it goes so fast. It was exactly the way the day went,’ Morena said.
She also praised the show’s production team for pulling out all the stops to ensure her dream wedding came to life.
‘They actually went all out with my wedding. Flowers, the location… I felt like they spent a lot of money making sure they perfected it,’ she said. ‘I got everything I asked for, and I’m so thankful.’
While she didn’t get the initials on the floor she had hoped for, Morena had no regrets about saying ‘I do’ on national television.
‘Look, I did ask if we could have our initials on the floor. I didn’t get that. That’s alright,’ she admitted.
Explosive dinner party moments ahead
Morena also teased what’s to come at the dinner parties.
Viewers have already seen glimpses of her fiery nature, with moments of her calling someone a ‘little boy’ and dramatically yelling, ‘Good riddance.’
While she remained tight-lipped about specifics, she warned: ‘You’re going to have to wait for the ‘good riddance.
That’ll come out. But the ‘little boy’… I’m not going to sit there and be gaslighted from a little boy, because that’s what he was.’
She explained she always stands up for herself, regardless of age.
‘I defend myself, yeah? Because that’s what we do in life. No matter what age we are, even though I’m apparently old.’
Clashing with Tony and his cousin Steve
Morena also hinted at ongoing tension with Tony throughout the experiment, particularly when it came to communication.
‘I just tell him straight,’ she revealed.
‘I look him straight in the face. I don’t get confused with my answers. Tony gets very confused. Constantly. Maybe that’s just a thing. Maybe that’s his personality. I don’t know.’
She admitted their honeymoon was particularly challenging.
‘He didn’t talk. How am I meant to get to know you? Producers told me, ‘Now we’re going on our honeymoon, you need to talk.’ So I talked. He hardly said boo,’ she recalled.
‘Then we’re driving and he’s like, “Stop talking.” It’s like… what?’
Adding fuel to the fire was Tony’s cousin Steve, whose comments about Morena’s age left her baffled.
‘When I got introduced to Steve, he replies, “Hi, I was Tony’s best man at his first wedding.” Tony nearly turned green. His face… and I went, “Oh my God. What’s the big deal?”‘
She questioned why Steve and Tony were so fixated on her age.
‘I love the fact that [Steve] spoke his mind. I admire that,’ she said.
‘But he felt a 38 to 42-year-old would have looked good for Tony… like, what? Have they got mirrors up, or what are they looking at?’
Married At First Sight continues Wednesday at 7.30pm on Channel Nine.