Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has weighed in on Married at First Sight after he was slammed for posing with two stars from the hit show.
The PM admitted he did watch Nine’s ratings juggernaut and said his fiancée Jodie Haydon is a huge fan.
Mr Albanese made the comments during an interview on the The Fox’s Fifi, Fev & Nick show on Tuesday while discussing his relationship with his long-time sweetheart.
While he noted he was not ‘obsessed’ with MAFS, he confessed he was ‘into’ musicals.
‘I must say that Jodie and I have an enormous amount in common; same footy team, same political views broadly, same TV shows,’ he said.
‘Although she’s obsessed with Married At First Sight. I’m not quite as obsessed. But she’s not into musicals! I love musicals… I dragged Jodie to West Side Story last year and I loved it, and she just tolerated it.’
Earlier this month, Mr Albanese copped flak from voters after he shared a picture posing alongside Rhi Disljenkovic and Jeff Gobbels who are currently ‘husband and wife’ on Nine’s Married at First Sight.
He also made a joke about his upcoming nuptials.
‘I’m pro marriage – hope to have one this year,’ he said in the caption, adding that he had ‘bumped into’ the MAFS stars while visiting Perth.
However, his light-hearted jest appeared to go over badly with followers, who took to the his personal Instagram to throw shade for appearing to support the controversial show.
‘Of all the people doing amazing things in Australia and you choose to put the energy into taking a photo with these two…’, one user said.
Another simply dismissed Mr Albanese’s gesture as ‘too funny’.
However, a few armchair critics saw the post as a way to take a dig at him as well as MAFS’ reputation for deliberately stirring drama – to the detriment of cast members.
‘Pro marriage, but supports a show that mocks marriage,’ whined another user.
Still, a few others on the PM’s thread saw the post as an attempt to ‘be relatable’ by posing with stars who feature in Australia’s most popular TV show.
‘PM Trying hard to be cool,’ offered one user, while another commented: ‘Ya know, even PM needs to watch trash tv too.’
Another appeared admonish Mr Albanese by messaging: ‘Mate, what are you doing?’
However, another thoughtful voter pointed out that the PM made the right choice to pose with the MAFS stars as a gesture of goodwill.
‘But this 20 sec photo is ok of these 2 and if he had shunned them everyone would be [whinging]. Either way he can’t win just take it for what it is,’ they argued.
Mr Albanese and Ms Haydon have revealed they will officially be husband and wife by the end of the year, regardless of the result of the coming election.
The couple told The Australian Women’s Weekly last month that they are planning a modest ceremony for relatives and close friends that will likely be held in the spring after Australians have gone to the polls.
‘It will be small, intimate. Possibly outdoors, in the second half of this year, with our family and loved ones … And you can be sure [pet cavoodle] Toto will make an appearance,’ Ms Haydon said.
Mr Albanese said he had asked for the support of his 24-year-old son Nathan prior to popping the question, whom he shares with his ex-wife Carmel Tebbutt, a former NSW Deputy Premier.
‘I respect him and have a good relationship with him, and with his mother. So I asked him to think about it … and he was supportive. He wants me to be happy, and Nathan and Jodie have a really nice relationship as well,’ Mr Albanese said.