The new season of Married At First Sight UK has got us seriously invested and asking a lot of specific questions. Like are the weddings legally binding? Where are those boujie apartments they stay in? And can Brad and Shona chill out with the PDA? Seriously, we love a good snog but maybe not at the dinner table. However, the one big question we always have with every season of Married At First Sight both in the UK and Australia, is are the cast members paid to appear on the show?
With the cast members away from their homes for a long period of time and often not working while filming the series, it makes sense that surely they would be paid? Here's everything you need to know about how the casts of Married At First Sight are paid.
Is the Married at First Sight UK cast paid to be on the show?
The million dollar question we all want to know to is are the Married At First Sight UK cast paid and the answer is a little complicated.
An E4 spokesperson told Cosmopolitan UK: "Contributors do not get paid to appear on Married at First Sight but are provided with financial compensation for loss of earnings due to the time taken for filming."
So yes, while they do receive some money in order to cover their time on the show they are not given direct fees for appearing on the show.
Is the Married at First Sight Australia cast paid to be on the show?
When it comes to Married At First Sight Australia, the pay process is very similar, as contestants do not appear to be paid directly for appearing on the show, but instead receive compensation for not being able to work while on the series.
Season six cast member Jessika Powers claimed in an interview with Metro, cast members often lived off "150 bucks" a day and cited her fellow cast members' frustration at not being able to work.
She said: "To be fair, he wanted to go for a really long time, and Mick… he’s a creature of comfort. He wanted to go back to his farm, back to his animals and he wanted to just go back to work. He lost a lot of money being there, we all did actually.
"You’re living off like 150 bucks a day so I think that was it as well."
Jessika also claimed the cast were not able to work until the series aired and they had finished promoting the show, explaining: "We didn’t earn a lot of money doing the show at all. And you also can’t work until the show finishes airing, and you’ve done all your publicity and that’s like a month. Probably about a six-seven month process [overall]."
So there we have it, the cast are paid, but only to cover their expenses, not for appearing on the show.
Married At First Sight UK continues next week on E4
