Yahoo News What MAFS UK dating expert really thinks of partner-swapping
The E4 dating show sometimes sees couples decide to swap partners when they're unhappy
"Wife-swapping" sparked an explosive row at the MAFS UK's dinner party on Wednesday, when Alex suggested he would like to "swap" his wife if he didn't find her attractive at the altar.
His wife Holly was absolutely horrified when she heard about his remark for the first time at the dinner party, leading to a furious row between the couple and other pairings.
Married At First Sight, which sees strangers meeting each other for the first time as they're tying the knot, has a history of the couples choosing to change partners through the course of the experiment in both the UK and Australian version, often when they're not happy with who they were initially paired with.
Last year Ella Morgan and JJ Slater (who is now dating Katie Price) abandoned their original partners to recouple with each other. The dating experts allowed them to continue the experiment together which caused plenty of drama with all the couples sharing their opinions on the new match.
It begs the question, what do the Married At First Sight UK dating experts really think of swapping partners on the show?
Partner swapping on Married At First Sight
First off, Brunson said he was "sad" that the changing of partners is referred to as "wife-swapping".
"Why don't we call it husband-swapping?" he posed to Yahoo. "Isn't that interesting how we just assign it as the man has the power and he's going to swap his wife, opposed to it's the woman who has the power and she's going to swap her partner? And I think that's interesting. And it shows you how we still float in this patriarch and we have to investigate the terms in the phrases that that we use."
Read more: MAFS UK
Married At First Sight UK row breaks out over 'wife swap' suggestion
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The MAFS UK dating expert championed "better partnerships" and he genuinely wants contestants to leave Married At First Sight UK the healthiest version of themselves.
But when it comes to the couples who change partners on the show are allowed to rejoin the experiment as a new pair, the relationships guru had no qualms pointing out they shouldn't have done it. The matchmaker said these partnerships are based on physical attraction and lust rather than personal qualities and life values, meaning the relationships won't last.
He added: "Now am I for that? You know what? If it's a better partnership, I'm going to be for it. Because ultimately that is the point. The point is, it's for people to leave in the most healthy way possible. Now, chances are, everyone that I've seen, they shouldn't have done it.
"When I say they shouldn't have done it is that they were picking someone who they were physically attracted to and that was it. And they connected on that."
Brunson enthused he is a big supporter of divorce and thinks it should be made easier for individuals off-screen. On the flip side, he felt marriage should be made "harder" including putting in place months of couples therapy before tying the knot.
He explained: "So overall, am I an advocate for leaving your partner if it's not right? Absolutely. A matter of fact, I think divorce should be much easier. I think it is horrendously hard. It keeps so many people, namely women trapped in relationships that they shouldn't or don't want to be in."
Alex's real reason for 'wife-swapping' comment
While the debate about the "wife-swapping" remark played out at Wednesday's dinner party, the dating expert told Yahoo that he believed there was more to Alex's words than what we saw on screen during the stag do. Instead Brunson thought the true meaning behind Alex's controversial comment was to "test" the rest of the group.
He said: "I think part of what he was doing is really testing the group. He's a bold character and oftentimes when you see people enter a group, they try to figure out, 'Can I be the leader in this group, or am I going to be the follower in this group?'
"Typically what you'll find is the leaders of the group will test it by saying extreme things or doing extreme things to see what the reaction is going to be, who's going to debate them, etc. So I think if you really read deep into that comment, yeah, it was a comment that you can argue if he should have said it, but I think there was another reason why he said it."
Married At First Sight airs nightly at 9pm on E4.
