Married At First Sight star Martha Kalifatidis has hit back at online trolls who accused her of sponging off her parents.
Martha, 36, currently lives in parents Mary and Theo’s Melbourne home along with fiancee Michael Brunelli, 33, and their 18-month-old son Lucius.
The reality star took to Instagram to answer a rather loaded question from one fan, pulling no punches in her response.
‘Why don’t you and Michael pay your own way like the rest of the world?’ they asked, referring to the young family’s current living situation.
Martha rejected the claim that she was sponging off her parents, saying the decision to live with Theo and Mary was not financially motivated.
‘Our living arrangement has nothing to do with money,’ she wrote.
‘The sad thing is you probably believe we live with my parents to capitalise off of the situation. That is the furthest [thing] from the truth.’
She added that her young family’s current living situation was beneficial to all involved.
‘In reality, we mutually enjoy it,’ she said.
‘Living in a multigenerational home with my parents brings us closer, fosters mutual support and creates a rich environment where wisdom and experience blend. It also brings my parents happiness.’
Martha ended the spray by adding she pitied the critic.
‘I feel sorry for you that you can’t see the benefits in our situation,’ she said.
A heavily pregnant Martha revealed in February last year that she and Michael had moved back in to her parents home.
Answering an Instagram Q&A at the time, Martha said the couple had moved out of their Bondi apartment prior to their holiday in Europe in 2022 after the walls and ceilings became overrun with black mould.
Our place in Sydney developed some seriously aggressive black mould and we no longer wanted to stay in that house,’ she said.
‘Before we left for Europe, we put all our things in storage and figured we would just find somewhere new when we returned from our trip.’
Martha, who suffered from severe morning sickness in her early pregnancy, added she spent a few months at her parents’ home ‘really unwell and in bed’.
‘Since my pregnancy was so debilitating, staying with my family was really my only option,’ she said.
‘Mum convinced us that living with them was a great option, so here we are.’
The Kalifatidis family home boasts four bedrooms, three bathrooms and a swimming pool, so there is plenty of space for her, Michael and Lucius to live.