Married At First Sight’s Gia Fleur breaks her silence and reveals the REAL reason she changed her name – as she takes a brutal swipe at co-stars

Married At First Sight bride Gia Fleur has broken her silence after co-star Danny Hewitt attempted to expose her ‘real name’ during a tense appearance on Stan’s MAFS: After The Dinner Party.

Speaking exclusively to Daily Mail, the 35-year-old mother-of-one said she was left ‘deeply hurt’ after her castmates revealed her birth name, Gianna Fleur Symonds, on the spin-off series in what she believes was an attempt to shame her.

‘It’s a very sensitive topic,’ Gia said.

‘I actually changed my name because of a domestic violence situation I was in,’ she continued. 

‘It was a very dangerous situation and things have happened to me in my past. So people bringing that up as something to laugh about and joke about is not okay.’

Gia explained that her decision to change her name was rooted in safety and privacy, not image.

‘I never tried to hide that Gia wasn’t my birth name,’ she said.

‘I didn’t change it to be cool and have a stage name.

‘My brother’s also changed his name to maintain his privacy. It’s something to do with my family and it’s really insensitive that people are going around and doing this sort of stuff.’

The outspoken bride, who has previously admitted to engaging in bullying behaviour during the experiment, said she is now focused on accountability and growth rather than retaliation.

While she is aware that Danny and fellow bride Bec Zacharia have been speaking about her in the media, Gia insists she will not respond in kind.

‘I’m not stooping to that level,’ she said.

‘I’m trying to move away from bullying. And I think when you’re bullying on the show, which is what I was doing, which was not okay, I’m not gonna now in life months later, bully somebody else.’

Gia added that motherhood has shifted her perspective, revealing her daughter is at the forefront of her mind when it comes to how she handles public criticism.

‘I’m trying to be a role model for my daughter and show her that my behaviour wasn’t okay, and I would hate for someone to do that to her,’ she said.

‘I don’t really wanna answer anything else regarding Bec and Danny. I just think they’re in their own lane. I’m in mine. I don’t really care what they’re doing.’

It comes after Bec also took a swipe at Gia during an unfiltered interview with Daily Mail last week, referring to the bride by her birth name.

‘The moment I met Gia – actually, I’m going to say Cassandra because that’s her real name,’ she began.

‘The moment I met Cassandra, I didn’t like her. I feel like I should have trusted my intuition and my gut and stayed away from her.’

Gia also posted to social media to shut down rumours that she ‘chickened’ out of her appearance on the Stan series.

‘Last week I was invited to appear and flew to Sydney with every intention of attending,’ she said.

‘Unfortunately, I was admitted to hospital due to being unwell and wasn’t able to go ahead. I didn’t “chicken out,” I simply prioritised my health at the time.

‘I’ve since been invited back to comment on others’ behaviour.’

She continued: ‘After reflecting on my own behaviour at the dinner party, I don’t feel it’s appropriate or aligned for me to sit there and critique anyone else. It wouldn’t feel authentic for me to call out other people’s actions as a way of deflecting from my own.’

Daily Mail can confirm that Gia did in fact fly into Sydney on February 14 ahead of her appearance before being rushed to St Vincent’s Hospital.

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