Gather around, folks! Married At First Sight (MAFS) is back for 2026, and it appears that we’ve copped our first villain groom of the season, Chris Nield. And fans — as well as some of the old MAFS castmates — are not too keen to see this bloke on their screens.
This article contains Married At First Sight spoilers. You can choose to leave or stay.
Ah yes. It’s that time of the year again, when we watch a bunch of singles give up their whole lives for a shot of love on the social experiment / chaotic reality TV show that’s MAFS.
And every year, the same characters pop up on the show. We’ve got the couple who are obviously gonna make it until the end, the brides who will definitely clash and the groom with problematic views (think 2025’s Tim Gromie and 2024’s Jack Dunkley).
Unfortunately, in this year’s shebang, Chris has been awarded the ‘great’ status of groom with the problematic views, or to put it shortly, the villain groom.
To give you a quick recap, Chris was introduced to us as one of the OG grooms for the 2026 season during the MAFS Bucks’ party.
However, ahead of his introduction, the spooky, dramatic strings started to play, hinting that Chris was gonna be a bloody handful.
As soon as he stepped into the party, Chris decided to knock on the bar for “service”. Honestly, can’t tell if it was a joke or not, but it was an ICK.
As he introduced himself to the group, he straight-up says he’s going to “forget all these names” to his fellow grooms.
What an entrance, amirite?
After getting the pleasantries out of the way — asking his fellow singles if they’ve already gone through “what they’re looking for” and all that jazz — Chris admits he’s someone you either “love or hate”.
The scene then cuts to his audition video, where he openly drops some pretty cooked opinions.
“What turns you off?” a producer can be heard off camera, before the Melbourne-based groom fired back, “Fake tan, needy and fat people”.
He then continued to spit some more polarising opinions, using floating quotation marks when referring to the MAFS experts.
He then told his fellow grooms that “looks are massive” for him and that a “deal breaker” is a woman who is overweight.
“It can be harsh, but I’m not afraid to say it,” he said.
“I don’t go on the street calling someone fat, but if I have a general interest in someone, they’re generally going to be like fit and healthy.
“Fat people are no go.”
Oh my… Do I need to remind you that this is EPISODE ONE?????
Naturally, the fans had ALOT to say about Mr Chris over here. Roll the commentary.
Fans react to Married At First Sight‘s Chris Nield’s preferences
Married At First Sight 2025 Bride Katie Johnstone responds to 2026 groom Chris
Ahead of the season’s premiere, Channel Nine shared a snippet of Chris’ red-hot audition tape, to which 2025’s Katie Johnstone responded.
For those who need a quick little rewind, Katie’s journey on MAFS was difficult to watch. From day dot, her match, Tim Gromie, was not into her.
In a confessional on her wedding day, the 2025 groom admitted he was confused as to “why [they] got matched” and that he “normally [goes for] short, petite” and blonde women.
During their honeymoon, hours after they ‘tied the knot’, Katie revealed that Tim said he wasn’t attracted to her.
“I think ‘sparks’ is just a cop-out for saying I’m not attracted to you,” she said at the time.
“I’m written off so early. How am I meant to build anything with somebody when you know they’re not into you.”
Reflecting on her hurtful MAFS experience, Katie shared an emotional video in response to Chris’ audition tape.
“This is a letter to the match, the bride of that person, it’s not your fault,” Katie said.
“You don’t deserve that, and you’ve been put in harm’s way intentionally for views and advertising spend, and you’re not deserving of that.”
Katie went on to slam the network, questioning “where the duty of care” was when Chris was brought on the show.
At the time of writing, the network has not responded to Katie’s video.
With that being said, it’s without a doubt that Chris is definitely going to be lighting up the timelines with his opinions. Let’s hope the experts put him in his place.
Married At First Sight 2026 continues tomorrow on Channel Nine and 9Now at 7.30pm.
