Married At First Sight viewers have accused Brad Skelly of ‘narcissistic’ behaviour and love bombing

This weeks' episodes of Married At First Sight have been tough to watch - with some viewers sharing their concerns that Channel 4 has broadcast emotional abuse.

After Monday's show ended, X - formerly Twitter - was flooded with furious comments from viewers slamming tattooed groom Brad Skelly for how he had treated his ‘wife’, performing arts teacher Shona Manderson, 31. They believed that the show - which it is important to note is highly edited - had shown instances of love bombing and narcissistic behaviour.

As part of the Confessions Week challenge, Shona asked single dad Brad for three things that he would “change” about her, and they were brutal. Without missing a beat, he called her out for being unorganised, inconsiderate, and untidy - and then claimed that all of these “flaws” are connected to her not being a parent and having no true responsibilities in her life, unlike him.

Shona was visibly shocked and surprised that he had such negative feelings towards her and seemed confused that despite these ‘red flags’ he still told her that she had ‘passed the test’, implying that their relationship can continue.

In a VT, Shona admitted that the challenge had triggered a complete 360 from their usual state, which she had described as a ‘love bubble’. From the moment the couple met at the end of the aisle they had gushed about their ‘instant connection’, and their physical chemistry had been apparent in a series of tongue-heavy PDAs.

There was more drama off camera, with the couple sleeping apart for the first time since they met at the altar after Brad revealed intimate details of their sex life to the other couples. He also took one of the other brides aside and shared his concerns that Shona was too ‘immature’ to be in a relationship with him.

What made the sudden shift in this couple’s relationship even more shocking was that hours prior they had declared to the shocked MAFS experts and other couples at the first Commitment Ceremony that they had fallen in love with one another.

The day after their row, Shona told Brad: 'It was hurtful for me to hear you saying like, "Shona's naive, she's selfish or she's childish. She's 31 but she's forgetful".

'You sat and told people really intimate things about us. I feel so flat.'

Brad replied: 'It was more of a case of just venting to people because there was just things that I was noticing a lot that I'd mentioned to you in the past, that was continuing to happen. Sometimes it's nice to speak to friends about things.'

Shona interjected: 'Just not everyone in the room.'

Brad said: 'I can understand where you're coming from in respect of you don't want everybody to know our business and I'll take that on board because I didn't know that was something you'd be uncomfortable with. I apologise for ever making you feel a certain way, negatively, because I never want to do that.'

Shona then asked him to ‘try and love my imperfections a bit. Don't get so irritated by them.'

Viewers watching at home were quick to accuse Brad of ‘love bombing’ Shona, and by being so hypercritical about her minor flaws and belittling her achievements (telling her that being a homeowner and having a pet doesn’t show any level of responsibility or maturity) just hours after declaring his love for her, he was displaying behaviour that could be categorised as or evolve into narcissistic abuse.

A Channel 4 Spokesperson said: 'Married at First Sight UK is a relationship experiment and relationships on the show are closely monitored off screen, by production and an independent psychologist as well as by our on-screen experts. Duty of care is of paramount importance and the welfare of all contributors on MAFS UK is our top priority.

'At all times, we ensure that appropriate support is available to contributors during filming – including 24/7 access to a member of the welfare team or psych support. If any of the relationships develop in a way that is deemed to be unhealthy for either party, we take appropriate action, in conjunction with expert psychological advice as to what is the best course of action for all involved.'

You Might Also Like

• 13 Buys To Help You Feel Great From £5

• 16 Speedo Swimsuits that Won't Flash Your Bum When Getting Swim-fit

• 11 Best Gym Trainers for Different Types of Workouts