MAFS UK's Nathan drops big hint about future with Lacey after chicken row

Married At First Sight UK's Nathan has hinted he is still with his bride Lacey after the chicken fajitas row with his mum-in-law, telling Yahoo: "We can laugh about it now."

After the explosive scenes aired last week, the MAFS UK groom now said they look back on what happened over the chicken fajitas and laugh about it - perhaps hinting the couple have stayed together following the experiment.

Speaking about how Lacey's mum reacted to the joke, he told Yahoo: "I did think the floor was going swallow me up. My attempts at banter didn’t go down well at all and I immediately thought my mother in law won’t want to come back round anytime soon! We can laugh about it now, but I was still peckish that night ha."

Making light of the drama, he added: "After in-laws week I did think if we were going to make it into the home stays, it might be best if I took a packed lunch."

MAFS UK chicken fajitas row

Last week it did seem to be the dinner from hell with the in-laws and Married At First Sight UK viewers had plenty of sympathy for the groom, who has ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). The row broke out over dinner where the couple were joined at their MAFS UK flat by her mum and her sister Paige, who also has ADHD.

Read more

• Married at First Sight viewers baffled by chicken drama

• MAFS UK’s dating expert Paul Brunson defends controversial matches

• 'MAFS UK is back with its best series yet but one couple is heading for heartbreak'

• Married at First Sight UK 2024 line-up in full

Lacey's mum burst into tears when vegetarian Nathan refused to eat the dinner because it was a chicken dish and then made a joke about it being awful but it fell flat. Her behaviour was called out on social media by angry fans while viewers praised Nathan for how he dealt with the situation.

Watching it back, Nathan said: "It was intense but one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen. The only thing I would of have done differently is to not overthink as much and own my slip of the tongue. I didn’t mean any malice by it, and it was a poorly judged comment, but I thought I was being a comedian and my attempts at banter landed me in some awkward soup."

Behind the scenes of MAFS UK

What you don't see on camera from the dinner disaster on MAFS UK, the groom revealed, was they managed to make amends and moved on from the situation quickly. Nathan shared Lacey's mum left him a special note saying she forgave him and they all hugged it out.

"So after the scene we all had a brief hug and Lacey’s mum left me a note saying she forgives me for the comment about the food and that we were cool, which I was relieved to hear," he said.

"Sometimes I can say things that I probably shouldn’t say out loud, but it never comes from a nasty place. Once people understand me, and know my character, they know that my inability to read the room sometimes isn’t always the best, but I try never to use my ADHD as an excuse."

He added: "Despite feeling a bit like the piggy in the middle, luckily Lacey knew my type of humour wasn’t malicious and all was resolved promptly, we finished the evening on positive vibes, and there were no hard feelings at all! We all moved on quickly from it."

Throughout the MAFS UK series, Nathan has been incredibly open about his ADHD on screen. It has won him praise with viewers at home for being open about who he is as he previously explained to his bride Lacey on-screen: "It's easy for me to get a bit distracted. I don't want to blame my ADHD but whether I was just not in the right head frame but I just daydream."

Married At First Sight viewers furious with Lacey's mum

Last week social media was awash with comments from fans furious with Lacey's mum and sharing their sympathy for Nathan. Among the comments, one person wrote: "Omg Lacey's mum should respect the vegetarian not wanting to touch meat surely? #MAFSUK."

Someone else wrote: "Poor Nathan… Lacey’s mum just didn’t handle it the right way at all. No understanding whatsoever #MAFSUK."

Another added: "Lacey’s mum is ignorant looool. You’ve brought chicken to the home of someone who is vegetarian and have the nerve to make complaints. Shut up? #MAFSUK."

Someone else commented: "Lacey’s mum making it all about her. Who the hell cooks a meal for a vegetarian with meat in it. That’s nasty. #MAFSUK."

One viewer said: "Gosh, Lacey’s mum is horrendous #MAFSUK."

Additionally, someone said: "Lacey's mum making it all about her! Such an attention seeker #MAFSUK."

However, after the huge reaction online, Nathan urged people to be kind to others. He told Yahoo: "I have had thousands of lovely messages from people but everyone must remember to be kind and it’s an experiment, so keep it positive vibes only."

Married At First Sight UK airs on E4 at 9pm.