Married At First Sight’s Awhina Rutene has revealed that she will not watch the show that has made her an overnight sensation.
The TV bride tells Yahoo Australia that she is not keen to relive what she has been through – and especially doesn’t want her young son to see her suffer.
‘I’m not going to watch it with my son. I do remember it was quite a tumultuous journey for me, there are moments where I am crying and I am sad, and I don’t really want to have that on television around my child’ she said.
‘I lived it. I know what’s happening and what’s going to happen’ Awhina added.
The reality star says that she feels bad not to watch the friends she has made on the show go through their own journeys but it’s too hard for her.
‘I do feel guilty because I really want to watch all of my friends’ beautiful experiences and I want to see the parts I missed out on, but I kind of feel like through TikTok and Instagram, you’re almost essentially watching it’ she said.
It comes after the Friends and Family visit turned into an all-out disaster on Monday night.
What was meant to be an opportunity for loved ones to offer support quickly descended into chaos.
Awhina’s twin sister, Cleo, confronted Adrian about his treatment of her sister, leading to a fiery showdown that left the couple – and their families – at breaking point.
The drama kicked off when Cleo wasted no time in airing her concerns about Adrian, revealing that Awhina had confided in her about feeling neglected and dismissed throughout their relationship.
‘She’s been telling me some pretty unsettling things about her husband Adrian,’ Cleo shared.
‘She tells me that he regularly puts her down to make himself look better and that she doesn’t feel seen. She feels invisible.’
Adrian, who appeared visibly emotional, insisted he had been making an effort, but Awhina hit back, claiming he had barely acknowledged her presence.
‘Honestly, just acknowledging that I exist would be really nice,’ she said, her frustration evident.
Cleo didn’t hold back as she accused Adrian of failing to support Awhina in the way a husband should.
‘Awhina deserves a kind, loving partner who’s willing to show up for her,’ she declared. ‘And Adrian, you are not that.’
Things escalated when Adrian’s sisters and friend Jasmine attempted to defend him, arguing that Awhina was focusing too much on the negatives.
Cleo wasn’t having it. ‘Because he hasn’t even shown up!’ she shot back.
At one point, Jasmine tried to mediate the situation, suggesting that Adrian may have been showing up in his own way. But Cleo exploded.
‘He has not even shown up! Not once!’ she screamed, leaving the room in stunned silence.
A particularly painful moment arose when Cleo accused Adrian of failing to show interest in Awhina’s young son.
‘I have not been asked once by you how my son is,’ Awhina revealed, her voice breaking. ‘Not once.’
Adrian defended himself, claiming he was waiting for Awhina to open up about her son when she was ready. But Cleo was unimpressed.
‘She’s a fantastic mother, and the fact that you’ve never even asked about her son? Disgraceful.’
With tensions at boiling point, Cleo made her final stance crystal clear.
‘You’re not good enough for my sister, and you sure as hell are not good enough to be in my nephew’s life. I would never, ever let you meet him’ she said.
Adrian was left stunned, later telling producers he felt the entire lunch was ‘planned’ to make him look bad.
‘It was three against one,’ he lamented. ‘They came in aggressive, and I felt attacked from the moment it started.’
Awhina, meanwhile, was left in tears, devastated that her attempts to make the relationship work were crumbling before her eyes.
‘I’ve given up so much to be here,’ she sobbed. ‘And now I’m just mad and p**sed off.’
There was tension all week, as Awhina had previously broken down in tears on Sunday’s episode of Married At First Sight.
The bride faced off with husband Adrian who dramatically left the experiment over a publicity shoot snub.
The 30-year-old blubbered and sobbed as she explained: ‘It was really invalidating. I felt invisible… Because I don’t feel like it is just a promo video.’
‘The fact is you should be here for me and I’m not your priority’ she added, accusing him of leaving her.
Adrian chose to stay in the experiment to try and make it up to Awhina, but she chose to leave.
She wept that she was away from her child and missing important milestones in ‘selfish’ pursuit of love, but it was not worth it.
Because Adrian chose to stay, show rules dictate that they will remain in the experiment another week.