DIVA caught up with one of the singles ready to say “I do” to a stranger
BY ELLA GAUCI, IMAGE BY CHANNEL 4
It’s officially here: the wedding bells are ringing, the singletons are ready to walk down the aisle, and we’re all strapped to our sofas. Yes, Married At First Sight UK (MASF UK) is back. This year’s series brings with it groundbreaking LGBTQIA+ representation as two same-sex couples will be taking part in one of television’s greatest experiments: can you really fall in love with a stranger you’ve just married?
One of this year’s singles looking to find the perfect Mrs Right is Leah. The Liverpudlian business owner is seeking someone to share life, laughs and travel with. Have the experts been able to find her match?
Leah told DIVA that when she was approached to join MAFS UK, she thought: “What have I got to lose?” She decided to put her trust in the experts to see who they could find for her. “I’m quite spontaneous. And nosy! I wanted to see if they actually knew better than me.”
Before walking down the aisle, Leah, who identifies as bisexual, asked the experts to be paired with a woman. “I feel like I connect a lot more on a deeper level with a woman. As we got through the experience and I’d hear the girls talk about intimacy with the men, I realised that I don’t talk about men like that.” While Leah doesn’t like labels, she said the experience taught her that her attraction tends to sway more towards women than men.
While most people would be bricking it at the idea of walking down the aisle to meet a stranger, Leah said that she actually wasn’t that nervous on the day. “I was just so excited. I was like a puppy dog to do it. I couldn’t wait to meet who it was, so the nerves weren’t really there.” Leah did, however, get nervous walking into the stag before the wedding.
However, Leah was not the only LGBTQIA+ person at the stag. Joining her was Keye, one half of the second same-sex relationship in this series. “Keye told me he was so scared walking into a room of men. He said when he saw me, he felt instant relief because he knew there was another same-sex marriage here.”
MAFS UK has seen several same-sex couples say “I do” in previous series. Zoe and Jenna stole the hearts of sapphics everywhere with their beautiful love story. Leah shared that she hopes this series will continue to show “diverse representation”. “I do think it changes the people who watch it. It’s amazing to see the celebration of the progress that has been made.”
While we can’t tell you who Leah will be walking down the aisle with, she did share that they will be the show’s first femme-femme relationship. “I think it cuts all stereotypes. In lesbian relationships you see [on television], there’s often a masc and a femme. It’s important to show all relationships as diverse as they can be.”
Leah’s own coming-out story is one which many can probably relate to. “It’s my Katy Perry moment!” she joked. At 25, Leah had only dated men. But, on one fateful night out, she met a girl who kept following her around the bar, asking questions about Leah’s dating life. “I thought: ‘She’s so nosy, why is she so interested in my business?’” It turns out that this girl was not trying to start a fight or investigate Leah – she actually just really fancied her. When the pair shared a kiss in a hot tub later that night, Leah got butterflies. Despite playing football growing up and being surrounded by lesbians, Leah had never thought she liked girls. The next day, she FaceTimed her parents and came out.
Now, Leah is hoping to provide representation for other queer women out there. “I want to give people a real-life representation of same-sex couples and how authentic [the experience] was. There are so many ups and downs to a relationship, especially under a microscope when you’re doing a TV show. I hope people take away the realness. It was definitely a rollercoaster, but I’d do it again.”
So what can audiences expect from this new series of singles finding love at the altar? “Twists and turns! It’s crazy how much can change in such a short space of time.”
You can watch Married At First Sight UK on Channel 4 now.
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