Former Channel Nine executive producer John Walsh has broken his silence to defend Married At First Sight.
Walsh, who stepped away from the franchise last year after nine seasons as Network Executive Producer, went on the record ahead of the launch of season 13, insisting the controversial reality juggernaut is deliberately daring, culturally relevant and nowhere near as sinister as its critics claim.
In a column for 9Honey, Walsh said that he now feels free to speak without being accused of protecting his own interests.
‘I have no skin in the game anymore,’ Walsh wrote, acknowledging that criticism of the show has become an annual ritual.
While admitting the job was not always easy, Walsh said the overall experience was one he loved ‘one hundred per cent’, describing the program as a ‘non-stop thrill ride’ that never truly slows down.
Married At First Sight, he argued, was never meant to be comfortable viewing.
Former Channel Nine executive producer John Walsh has broken his silence to defend Married At First Sight. (Walsh pictured with experts L-R: Alessandra Rampolla, Mel Schilling and John Aiken)
In a column for 9Honey, Walsh said that he now feels free to speak without being accused of protecting his own interests
‘It’s not an easy show to watch. It’s not an easy show to participate in. It’s not an easy show to make,’ he said, adding bluntly: ‘Cry me a river.’
Walsh said the very premise of the show – asking whether a marriage arranged by experts can succeed in a modern dating landscape dominated by apps and swiping – was designed to provoke discussion, not deliver fairy tales.
He pointed to the show’s extraordinary global reach as proof of its impact, noting it has been the number one television program in Australia for nearly a decade and is now broadcast in more than 120 countries.
In the UK, the Australian version regularly outperforms the local edition.
According to Walsh, that success is no accident.
‘This is not by accident or good fortune. The show is daring and risk taking,’ he wrote.
Each season, he said, throws up uncomfortable but unavoidable themes that mirror real life, including sex, infidelity, control, trust, narcissism, gaslighting, misogyny and power dynamics.
‘It’s an exhausting list,’ Walsh admitted. ‘We like to watch because someone else is doing the heavy lifting for a change. We can observe with judgement but without consequence.’
Walsh said the very premise of the show – asking whether a marriage arranged by experts can succeed in a modern dating landscape dominated by apps and swiping – was designed to provoke discussion, not deliver fairy tales
‘It’s not an easy show to watch. It’s not an easy show to participate in. It’s not an easy show to make,’ he said, adding bluntly: ‘Cry me a river.’ (Walsh pictured with expert John Aiken)
He pushed back strongly against claims that contestants are manipulated caricatures, saying participants are everyday Australians rather than outliers.
‘They are your neighbours. They cut your hair, do your tax, fix your pipes, teach your kids, tighten your abs and nurse you back to health,’ he wrote.
Walsh acknowledged that contestants do not always behave well on screen, but argued their reactions are entirely human given the extreme pressure of marrying a stranger and living in a highly public group environment for up to 12 weeks.
‘When we hold up a mirror to ourselves we don’t always like what we see,’ he said, adding that viewers may hope for Snow White but sometimes end up with the Wicked Queen.
Importantly, Walsh stressed that the show is not designed to engineer happy endings or socially acceptable outcomes.
‘The intention is always to observe and document and accept the result for better or worse,’ he said.
He also defended the show’s duty of care, confirming there are strict guidelines in place, including an internal wellness team, independent external counselling and social media guidance for participants navigating instant fame.
Despite this, Walsh said a ‘noisy minority’ continues to target the show, with cast, producers and the network routinely bombarded with complaints and petitions calling for it to be taken off air.
He compared the backlash to moral panics of the past, referencing the era when Elvis Presley was banned from being filmed from the waist down.
‘If a MAFS dinner party is all it takes to tear a hole in the fabric of Australian society, then we have bigger problems to deal with,’ he wrote.
Walsh’s comments come as he formally closes the chapter on a 31-year career at Channel Nine, where he helped shape some of the network’s biggest franchises, including Married At First Sight Australia, Getaway and The Voice.
Colleagues paid tribute to Walsh, with Nine’s Digital Editorial Director describing him as ‘the man behind TV shows that have shaped Australia’.
While stepping away from television production, Walsh is not leaving Nine entirely. He will remain with the company as a travel columnist for nine.com.au.
MAFS experts John Aiken, Mel Schilling and Alessandra Rampolla were among those to publicly praise Walsh, with Aiken calling him a ‘wonderful man’ and thanking him for his contribution to the show.
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