Reality television and relationships are synonyms with one another this point. Since there’s so many dating shows on the market right now, a new concept of dating is a necessary tool in order to grab the attention of viewers these days. That’s where Married At First Sight comes in. The reality show first premiered on July 18, 2014 and it was a smashing success!
The concept: The show focus on singles looking for a lifelong relationship as they consent to getting married to a total strange they’ve never met before. It’s quite a ridiculous concept for anyone taking love seriously, but it sparked plenty of juicy content throughout its run. With the success of the American version, different incarnations of the series were made that followed citizens across the globe.
Married At First Sight: Australia has been on the air since 2015. The series is currently in it’s tenth season and it’s had plenty of wild and intense moments. Some of those moments came from one of the more memorable characters in the tenth season, Alyssa Barmonde. The Australian citizen from South Wales was a primarily villain on the show who married Duncan James.
Alyssa Barmonde Was Originally Born In Utah
Before moving to Australia, Alyssa was born in Utah and lived there throughout her childhood. The reality television star described her childhood as strict, but she was still happy nevertheless. Alyssa and her family were Mormon, so they lived by a certain code of honor throughout their daily lives. However, that all changed at the age of 16 when Alyssa’s father came out as gay.
The Mormon religion didn’t accept homosexuality and in support of her father, Alyssa left the Mormon church, “He came out when I was 16. Soon after that, I left the church because homosexuality is frowned up,’ she said. “I wasn’t going to align myself with a religion that wouldn’t accept my dad for who he is.”
The 35-year-old would go on to continue her pathway of success, finishing school and ultimately becoming an executive assistant. Alyssa was even married! She also has a son. Her ex-husband’s name has never been mentioned, but the reality star was actually still married throughout her time on Married at First Sight. The divorce process was ugly, but Duncan James was supportive of the entire process.
Alyssa Barmonde and Duncan James
For Alyssa, dating was extremely hard following the exit of her first marriage. She struggled to find a companion for twelve months, though she likely didn’t think that reality television would be the way to go for finding true love, “I was actually scouted for MAFS via my Instagram,” she explained to Cosmopolitan. “A lot of people aren’t aware that probably half of us are scouted.”
Alyssa was a bit hesitant at first, but opted to give the reality show a try. She ended up marrying Duncan James, a cyber security director. A high value man who was looking for a wife to call his own, Duncan had the model of parents who were married for over 40 years! It seemed that Alyssa had the perfect man by her side, but the single mom seemed like her own worst enemy throughout the series.
Alyssa Claims That She Was Given A “Villain Cut”
Throughout the show, Alyssa came across as cut-throat, consistently gaslighting and emotionally manipulating Duncan. Alyssa’s insecurities and fear got the better of her, but the single mom seemingly made the relationship about her and invalidated his feelings.
Duncan ultimately spit with Alyssa, much to joy of most fans watching the show. Surprisingly, a good majority of the cast has come out in defense of Alyssa. The single mother also made it clear that the edits purposely made her a super villain, “I do wish the best for Duncan and his future relationship, but the person portrayed on TV is definitely not me,” she said.
“[The editing] almost gave me more doubts about the entire relationship. Because then I started thinking back and I think there was the time when the experts asked him if it was a concern that my child would be a priority. And in real life, he said ‘Yes, it’s a concern’, but then they edited him to say ‘No, it’s not a concern’ and I thought ‘I can’t do this anymore’,” she said.
Whether this is true or not, the couple has moved on from the experience. Duncan is actually dating someone else from the show, Evelyn. Alyssa hasn’t had the same luck yet, but the single mom hopes that Tinder can find her next Prince Charming.
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