My Married At First Sight marriage was doomed from start – now I’m secretly messaging ‘sweet’ groom on this year’s show

MARRIED At First Sight aims to find lasting love for struggling singletons - but it doesn't always go to plan.

Duka Cav and Whitney Hughes' marriage has been anything but plain-sailing, with Whitney branding her husband "fake" during one of their explosive rows.

One MAFS UK contestant who can relate to this predicament is Alexis Economou, 29, who didn't find love with her husband Jordon Mundell last year.

Aside from not being each other's type physically - Jordan said he was after a tanned blonde with blue eyes - London-based model Alexis says their personalities also clashed.

Now in the wake of history repeating itself, Alexis has been consoling Duka with messages on Instagram and admits she "has a soft spot for him".

She tells The Sun: “I was confused watching Whitney’s response during the wedding and I hope she will turn it around.

“I have a soft spot for Duka and told him, ‘Babe you held yourself well. Well done that wedding was intense’.

“He told me, ‘I learned from the best’. I hope they do fix things because he seems like a sweet and genuine guy and I love his family.”

She adds: “I absolutely love this cast and have spoken to a few of them. They all seem really nice. I haven’t heard anything negative through the grapevine.”

Duka and Whitney's pairing brings back uncomfortable memories for Alexis, whose Welsh personal trainer husband was open about the fact he didn’t fancy her. 

Alexis says she questions whether Jordon was entirely honest during his interviews before the show, especially when quizzed about physical traits he finds attractive in a woman.

She says: "Production did ask him if he liked mixed race girls and he answered yes, but once he was in the process his vibe changed.

“Jordon told experts that smoking was his big deal breaker, but they knew I smoked and paired us together.

"We argued about it constantly. I was honest about being a smoker from the beginning and they didn’t show some scenes where we were arguing and I had a cigarette in my hand – they didn’t want to promote it.”

'Made me look crazy'

One of the couple’s earliest rows occurred during a boat trip on honeymoon, which Alexis says made her seem “like a crazy girl with attitude”.

She was seen branding Jordon “a f*****g child” - and later, he said they were “not connecting” because he was "chilled"; and she was “quick to explode”.

Alexis claims the build-up to her outburst wasn't shown on TV - arguing it would have vindicated her.

“It was the most horrible scene,” she recalls. “It seemed like I was cursing Jordon with bad words and insults for being in the sea but that wasn’t the case.

“He was jerking the boat and was purposely trying to flip it knowing I was scared of falling in the sea, and I lost it.

“There were a lot of warnings before. I was cursing, screaming and crying, telling Jordon, ‘Please stop, I’m really scared now,’ but he ignored me.

“Of course, the way it was edited made me look like the show's ‘crazy girl’ who just exploded for no reason at all. I was a bit upset that happened.”

Branded a 'snake'

Alexis and Jordan's romance came to an end when he admitted he snogged co-star Megan Woolfe – who was married to Bob Voysey - behind her back.

He confessed: “Last night at the dinner party, we found ourselves alone at one point and we shared a kiss.”