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MAFS 2023: Breaking Down the Demise of Sandy and Dan’s Tumultuous Relationship
Channel 9
We had high hopes for “Married At First Sight” couple Sandy and Dan. In the beginning, the pair seemed to have one of the more stable relationships on the show. However, things began to fall apart when Dan made a public confession at the latest commitment ceremony that he didn’t feel sexually attracted to his ‘wife’.
Despite Sandy remaining hopeful over the pair’s future, their relationship began to unravel around three weeks into the experiment.
Since then, it’s pretty much been all downhill from there. Here’s a summary of everything that has happened between Sandy and Dan on “MAFS” so far.
Dan Announces He’s Not Sexually Attracted to Sandy
Up until this point, Dan and Sandy had seemed like one of the experiment’s more stable couples.
Then, at the commitment ceremony in week three, Dan dropped a bombshell.
After expert John Aiken asked the groom if he was sexually attracted to Sandy, he replied, “No, not right now. The sexual chemistry just isn’t there.”
Dan’s revelation understandably stung Sandy, but the couple decided to continue in the experiment. As we later discovered, they even consummated their ‘marriage’ that evening.
Dan Doesn’t Think He and Sandy Are Compatible
After sleeping with his new ‘wife’, Dan then announced that he didn’t feel that the couple were compatible.
Tensions had been building between the couple after Dan went out for a run and disappeared for the whole day. Needless to say, Sandy wasn’t pleased.
“I feel like, we slept together, and after that, he treated me like I don’t exist,” Sandy shared with cameras.
When Dan arrived back at the apartment, more than six hours later, he explained that he “needed to take time out”, because he was feeling “very caged at the moment, inside the experiment”.
But soon, he revealed that there was more going on, and that actually, he was having some “concerns” about his relationship with Sandy.
“Compatibility’s the biggest one for me,” he said. “I’m an active guy, I’m into my health, I’m into my fitness. At no point throughout this whole experiment has Sandy demonstrated that she’s a very active, outdoors person whatsoever. I do find it very constricting.”
Sandy was hurt, and expressed concern over her ‘husband’ not wanting to spend time with her. Dan shut this down, calling the bride “a little bit of an overthinker”.
The Butt Dial Scandal, Explained
Things took an unexpected turn on Tuesday night when a pocket dial during a boy’s night out caused chaos.
While the guys were discussing their brides, Rupert accidentally butt-dialled his wife Evelyn. The bride overheard Dan and Hugo talking horribly about their wives, but especially Dan.
The following morning, Evelyn informed Rupert about his accidental pocket dial, expressing concern over what she had overheard.
“Some of the husbands in this experiment are very sneaky and manipulative. I can see right through it and I feel bad for the wives involved. I would not forgive myself if I did not tell the girls,” she said.
She added: “I definitely think they need to be called out for it. I think it’s f***ed.”
Evelyn Breaks the News to Sandy
Later that evening, Evelyn built up the courage to go over to Sandy’s apartment and fill her in on what happened.
Despite how hard it was for Evelyn to break the news to Sandy, she knew it was the right thing to do.
“Dan was out with the boys… He was insinuating that he was too good for this experiment and too good for you,” she said.
“Once I asked Rupert what was going on, he told me [Dan] was showing all the boys photos of his ex-girlfriends, boasting about how hot his ex-girlfriends were.”
Sandy was none the wiser about Dan’s boys’ night out, as he told her he was visiting his daughter. And after hearing all of this, the bride reached breaking point.
“I’m so glad that you’ve told me ‘cause I thought I was going crazy. I’m done trying to protect who he really is,” she told Evelyn.
Sandy was rather distraught after hearing the news, and told producers how disrespected she felt by Dan.
“I came here with such high hopes that I’d meet someone, that he would respect me, he would love me for who I am. I went against my parents, my dad’s biggest concern was that I would come here and be disrespected. That’s exactly what has happened,” she sobbed.
“I’m just broken. I’m upset because I’ve disappointed my parents and I’m angry that I’m letting this happen to me.”
Evelyn and Sandy Confront Dan at the Dinner Party
Dan’s dinner table experience didn’t go quite as planned. The groom went in hoping for “support from majority of the guys” and thinking he “hadn’t said anything bad.” Unfortunately for him, things took a dramatic turn when Evelyn called him out on his poor behaviour during the boys’ night out.
“I definitely don’t like drama, I find it very uncomfortable. I would like just to talk about it and get some understanding and some resolutions sooner rather than later,” he said, before calling out Evelyn.
The bride wasn’t about to let Dan get away with his poor behavior during their recent boys’ night out. “I know you haven’t been saying some very nice things about your wife, and I want you to own up to what you’ve said,” she demanded.
Despite the group’s disappointment, Dan refused to own up to his actions and instead deflected the accusations. “There was nothing that was said with ill intent or malice,” he claimed before Evelyn told him to “cut the s**t.”
Dan’s apology to Sandy only made things worse, as his insincerity was palpable. To add insult to injury, he admitted to being intimate with Sandy, shocking everyone at the table and leaving her feeling violated.
“I just can’t believe he said that in front of everyone else,” she confided in the cameras. “That in itself was betrayal to me, because in my culture, it’s not talked about at all, and Dan knows that.”
The other women at the table began to question Dan’s motives, and Sandy finally found the courage to speak her mind with their support.
“After being physically intimate, you disappeared for the weekend and went out with the boys and told me you needed to disconnect for three days. You can probably understand why I’m upset,” she shared at the table.
“The sort of things you’re saying to me makes me feel like I don’t fit into that mold of what you were looking for and I’m just not good enough.”
Evelyn Pulls Dan Aside for a Chat
Determined to make Dan own up to the truth about his lack of interest in his wife, Evelyn took him aside for a private conversation.
“I feel like you’re very good at deflecting out of this situation,” he told him. “I want you to tell the truth and say that you’re not into Sandy.”
She grilled him and called him out for his behavior, but Dan refused to admit his wrongdoing and abruptly ended the conversation.
“I think we’re done with this conversation. Let’s be done,” he said.
Sandy and Dan Call It Quits
After a tumultuous week, Sandy and Dan faced the experts at the fourth commitment ceremony.
Sandy explained how devastated she was hearing about Dan’s antics at the boys’ night, where he showed pictures of his ex-girlfriends and compared them to Sandy. She had also been feeling that Dan had been pulling away ever since they were intimate earlier that week.
“It’s not a good feeling. I just remind myself, the one thing my dad said [was] ‘my biggest fear is that you go there and you’ll be disrespected by who they pair you with. And that’s exactly what happened,” she said, holding back tears.
Dan finally took accountability for his actions and apologised to Sandy on the couch, admitting it was “insensitive and disrespectful”.
“I own it, I said it. It wasn’t the right place to have that conversation. I let you down,” he added.
When asked about their relationship prior to the butt dial, Dan explained that he had been struggling with incompatibilities in their relationship. Specifically that Sandy did not enjoy the beach as much as he did.
Sandy believed that the biggest issue in their relationship was Dan’s focus on their differences, while she tried to focus on their similarities. Eventually, both of them decided to leave the show.
“Married At First Sight” continues Monday — Wednesday at 7.30pm on Channel 9 and 9Now.
