Married At First Sight groom Clint Rice has hit out at the show’s editing, claiming producers have unfairly portrayed one bride while manipulating his own storyline to make him look ‘delusional.’
The 43-year-old groom, who was paired with Lauren Hall on the current season of the hit reality show, revealed that he believes Veronica Cloherty has been ‘harshly dealt with’ by the show’s editors.
Speaking candidly, Clint defended the former Miss Universe contestant, saying she had been unfairly pushed to her limits.
‘I think Veronica has probably been harshly dealt with,’ Clint said. ‘I think Veronica’s really nice, and I think they’ve really pushed her buttons.
‘Whether we call it a bad edit or not, I think it’s the reactions that they capture and exploit to a certain extent. They’ll take certain behaviours or moments and just run with it.’
Clint then used his own experience as an example of how the show’s editing can completely warp a contestant’s reality.
Recalling a moment from his wedding day with Lauren, he claimed producers ‘Frankenbit’ a line from weeks earlier into a completely different scene to push a misleading narrative.
‘There was a genius Frankenbite the other day from my wedding day,’ Clint explained. ‘At my wedding, I was excited, I had just met Lauren, and I wanted to make it work. I said, ‘Yeah, I definitely think there’s a spark there for me.’
However, weeks later, when Clint and Lauren were having a dinner party in their apartment, they were both on the same page that they were just friends and were planning to leave the experiment at the next commitment ceremony.
‘But they overlayed that audio from my wedding day into that dinner party. My lips don’t even move, but people think, ‘This guy’s a fool, he thinks there’s a spark. Is he delusional?’
‘I was watching it thinking, ‘I don’t remember talking about having a spark with Lauren after the couples’ retreat at all.’
The father-of-one admitted it was ‘hard to watch’ as the editing team had completely fabricated a false perception of his feelings.
‘They aren’t my words. But sure enough, they drag it from three weeks earlier and play it over the top to make me look like a fool.’
Clint’s comments come amid growing criticism of Married At First Sight’s editing process, with many past contestants speaking out about how their storylines were manipulated for dramatic effect.
Clint revealed their decision to quit the experiment, citing that it was more of a ‘friendship’ between them.
‘We said we are friends, we’ve been friends from the beginning and we’ll continue to be friends outside. That is what we’ve discussed,’ Lauren said, as her fellow participants snickered and disagreed with her.
The pair then sensationally left the commitment ceremony together, storming out following their time on the couch.
Married At First Sight Australia continues Sunday at 7pm on Channel Nine and 9Now.