Bryce Ruthven’s remarks towards ‘wife’ Melissa Rawson have left Married At First Sight viewers growing angrier after every single episode.
Yet despite the mounting backlash, their scenes have only prompted four official complaints to the Australian Communications and Media Authority.
On Monday, the ACMA told The Wash that they’ve received 14 complaints about the 2021 season of Married at First Sight so far – and just ‘4 of the complaints referred to concerns over the scenes involving Melissa and Bryce’.
‘Under the co-regulatory system, the ACMA will refer complainants to the broadcaster in the first instance. If the complainant does not receive a response from the broadcaster within 60 days, or is not satisfied with the response, they may refer their complaint to the ACMA who may choose to investigate,’ they said in a statement.
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Following Sunday’s commitment ceremony, Bryce attempted to justify his decision to initially write ‘leave’ and then change it to ‘stay’ on Instagram.
Here’s what he wrote:
‘As someone that was bullied during high school and now as an adult has been part of many anti-bullying campaigns through my work, I have always said I will stand up against someone, male or female, that bullies someone close to me. People won’t agree with what I’ve done at the commitment ceremony saying I didn’t put my partner’s feelings first BUT I was raising the issue that bullying is not OK in any walk of life. It was a tough decision to continue in the experiment given what we were going through, but in the end, the goal of finding love with someone will always win.’
