Married At First Sight Adrian Araouzou has finally broken his silence on why he walked away from the show and his controversial night out with fellow participant Sierah Swepstone.
Speaking exclusively to Daily Mail Australia, Adrian, 30, set the record straight, claiming production pushed him out and that his infamous night with Sierah was nothing more than a friendly dinner.
Despite being portrayed as someone who abandoned the experiment, Adrian insists he was actually forced out after clashing with production.
‘It was a rookie error leaving that ring behind,’ he admitted.
‘But at that point, I couldn’t trust no one. If I took that ring with me, they’d be like, “Oh, you stole our property”. And I wasn’t taking that risk.’
According to Adrian, the drama began during a promotional shoot when he was sidelined while other contestants participated in a group dance video.
‘I was walking over there and the guy was like, “Oh hey, you’re not going to it.” Didn’t tell me why. Just said, “Sit in the tent,”‘ he recalled.
Left to sit in a sweltering 50-degree tent with no air conditioning, Adrian reached his breaking point.
‘No one was telling me what to do, so I left. I wasn’t going to sit there all day.’
After returning to his apartment, Adrian claims he received a call from production that quickly escalated into a heated argument.
‘I was trying to explain my side, but she wouldn’t let me,’ he said.
‘She just kept screaming over the top of me. Then she was like, “Go home, get out of here.” So I was like, “Okay, test me. I will do it.”‘
Moments later, cameras were pulled out to make it look like he chose to leave voluntarily.
‘I didn’t leave. I was told to leave,’ he stressed.
Following his dramatic departure, Adrian was invited to dinner by fellow contestant Tony Mojanovski.
Unbeknownst to him, Sierah was also joining them.
‘Tony comes downstairs and he’s like, “Oh, hold on, Sierah’s coming.” I didn’t know she was coming,’ Adrian explained.
At the time, Sierah had been visibly emotional, crying on set for two days straight.
Adrian insists he only went along to offer support.
‘She’d been sitting in the apartment all day. I thought, “Whatever, I don’t care. Doesn’t bother me.”‘
Despite accusations of betrayal, Adrian says he was upfront about the dinner.
‘The reason why everyone found out we went to dinner was because I said it. I had nothing to hide. If I wanted to hide it, it would’ve never come out.’
Billy Belcher, who was married to Sierah on the show, later confronted Adrian, but Adrian insists there was no reason for drama.
‘I told Billy the next day. He didn’t care at the time. He was like, “No worries, bro.” Then I watch him back on TV, and I’m like, “Bro, what are you upset about?”
As for whether he regrets the dinner with Sierah and Tony, Adrian remains adamant.
‘I don’t regret it. If someone is physically upset and might do something stupid, I’ll be there for them. I would’ve done the same thing for Billy or Eliot.’
Looking back, Adrian believes producers manipulated his exit to fit a specific storyline.
‘They were obviously running with the narrative that I abandoned Awhina [his on-screen wife] and everyone else, but that wasn’t the case. I was told to leave.’
Now watching the drama unfold from the outside, Adrian says he has no hard feelings but stands by his decisions.
‘I did the right thing by a human being. No matter how you make me look.’