Married At First Sight’s Marilyse reveals real reason she split from Franky & addresses THAT ‘don’t speak’ moment
AFTER four months together, accusations of “controlling behaviour” and tricky debate over future children, one of Married At First Sight UK’s most turbulent twosomes have called it quits.
Speaking exclusively to The Sun, Marilyse Corrigan has revealed the real reason behind her and Franky Spencer's split, admitting their relationship “went a bit dry” and they became “more like friends” than lovers.
The mum-of-two experienced the highs and lows of married life during a truly explosive season of MAFS that saw a cheating scandal, a recoupling and fights galore.
At the end of the show, Marilyse, 37, and Franky, 47, renewed their vows and seemed more loved up than ever during the reunion, which aired on Monday.
Franky had previously declared he loved his wife and on one clip in front of the relationship experts, Marilyse gushed: “I’m just happy.”
But all wasn't meant to be for the “true Yorkshire lass” and her Dubai-dwelling beau after they called time on their relationship three weeks ago.
Marilyse told The Sun: “A few weeks after the reunion we went our separate ways, we didn’t even fall out, we just mutually agreed that maybe we were not each other’s future.
“It’s really sad as we got on really well and Franky has a heart of gold but outside the experiment, I had to think, ‘Do I want to be with this person forever?’
“The experiment was very full-on and the expectation after was full-on as well, I think maybe things went too quickly.
“I saw a lot of Franky and that probably spoiled it because we spent too much time together.
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“Eventually things just went a bit dry and we ended up being more like friends than people in a relationship.
“It was such a fast process and it turned into something more friendly and that’s where we got stuck.”
'Franky's back in Dubai'
After the show, personal trainer Franky moved to Beverly, Yorks, while he looked for work in Leeds and planned his big move back from Dubai.
During that time, Marilyse’s children, aged 13 and 16, “really got on with Franky” and would often play games against one another on their phones.
Now Franky is back in Dubai but Marilyse said they still leave voice notes for one another and she sends him cute pictures of her dogs.
She said: “It’s nice we can have a friendship out of it and someday we would all love to go and visit Franky in Dubai.
“I don’t blame Franky for going back, his life looks really great out there from what I see on Instagram.”
'Don't speak' furore
Since leaving the show, Marilyse has been flattered by the number of MAFS fans who have bombarded her with kind messages and approached her in the street.
However, it’s not been such an easy ride for Franky who was branded “controlling” by some viewers online after one of the show’s infamously explosive dinner parties.
During a heated exchange between the couples, Marilyse talked over her husband and he snapped: “Maybe when I speak, don’t speak!”
Moments later Franky apologised and Marilyse has since batted away any suggestion that he was rude or disrespectful to her.
She said: “I think it’s portrayed totally different to how it was at the time.
People tell each other to be quiet all the time. It’s not the end of the world, I was not in tears and got over it.
Marilyse Corrigan
“I didn’t feel Franky was controlling towards me or anything, I thought he was being overly protective.
“But I liked him being protective towards me, that was not a problem. I always said to Franky and the producers that if I wasn’t happy I would have gone home.
“I was dreading watching the dinner party episode where he told me, ‘Maybe when I speak, don’t speak’ because people came away with this false view of Franky.
“At the time, I thought, ‘Oh gosh!’ But people tell each other to be quiet all the time. It’s not the end of the world, I was not in tears and got over it.
“Every dinner party was a lot more dramatic than it looked because it was between three or four hours of drama for 45 minutes on TV.
“I was quite pleased to be sat at the end of the table because I didn’t get noticed as much.”
Fear for kids
Marilyse is now focussing on returning to normality and insists she has “no regrets” about her time on MAFS.
While the series was on air she was sworn to secrecy and unable to reveal the outcome to her nearest and dearest.
Instead, they were forced to watch the drama unfold like the rest of the nation – and Marilyse watched it with her two teenage sons.
She said: “I think at first my children were dreading it and thought it would be embarrassing but when they watched it they absolutely loved it.
“They used to pause the TV when I spoke during the show so they could watch it.
“They loved it and thankfully no one at school has given them any stick, which I was a bit worried about.”
Future boyfriend
Marilyse insisted she “wouldn’t change a thing” about her time on MAFS and believes it’s helped her to realise what type of person she should be with in the future.
It comes amid swirling speculation about a potential relationship between her and fellow contestant Luke Dawson, who was famously snubbed by Morag Crichton.
Personal trainer Marilyse said: “I need to find someone with similar interests to me, like working out, definitely.
"Every guy I went out with before Franky wasn’t into it and it was boring.
“I also need someone fun and spontaneous. I think the show made me realise I need someone who is just open, honest and similar to me.
“MAFS has made me realise that I have a lot of patience and I really value the friendships I made on the show.
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“It feels like a dream and now that it’s ended it’s weird. It’s been crazy and a really good experience, I wouldn’t change it and have no regrets.
“I’m really glad Franky and I are on good terms. I do wish him all the best and hope we continue to stay in touch.”
