Married at First Sight couple Awhina Rutene and Adrian Araouzou had all the hallmarks of a promising relationship.
But while their initial physical chemistry was sizzling hot, Adrian’s lack of honesty, accountability, vulnerability, and inability to empathise with his wife threatened to send the pair their separate ways before the experiment was over on countless occasions.
Despite it all, their relationship survived to Final Vows where they ultimately decided they wanted to see what their relationship would look like in real life. However, by the time the reunion rolled around a month later, they had split for good.
Scroll on for everything you need to know about Adrian and Awhina’s relationship on MAFS, and what has come to light since.
Cheating claims
In a two-part interview on the It’s a Lot with Abbie Chatfield podcast that was released on April 29th, Awhina claimed that Adrian cheated on her while the show was being filmed.
“Adrian did in fact hook up with someone… and had sex with someone, and he had told this person that ‘Don’t worry, she won’t tell anyone because she’s a good church girl,'” she claimed in the tell-all interview.
“So I had called him out during filming like, if this is the case like you know not only was your behaviour and the experiment was disgusting, but the one thing that I just expected like the bare barest of minimum is don’t cheat on me like don’t cheat on me like it’s that simple.”
Throughout the tell-all interviews, Awhina said Adrian also wanted to have confrontational conversations on camera, even if they were discussed privately.
She also spoke about the toll of the show and the stress it put on her. So much so that she gained weight. “I lived with him for seven weeks. I’ve actually gained six kilos already. Like it was shocking. I’m stressed, it was bad for me, but from stress, it was just bad,” she said.
The bombshell about being a mum
Those watching the show will remember that Adrian was shocked when he discovered that Awhina was a mum during their wedding.
Ideally, the single mother wanted to tell her new groom privately on their wedding day, but “that moment never came”. Awhina said she initially had her son included in her vows, but was told by production that it would be better to tell him in person.
“It was like ding ding ding. We’re doing speeches, and they’ve pre-approved everyone’s speeches. So they’ve chosen my mom’s speech first, having already known what’s in it. So it’s like that’s unfair,” she said.
She also said she did not think the news was going to be a big deal because the conversation would be had in the real world early on.
When Abbie asked Awhina about what she thought about Adrian’s comments during their honeymoon, the MAFS bride said she was not overly concerned. She explained this was because she knew she was only going to introduce someone to her son if she thought the relationship was in a good place.
“I don’t want you to take on my child, he’s got a dad,” she said, adding she hoped to meet someone who would be a great role model for her son. She then went on to say that she “never saw a future with Adrian”.
Ugly truths in the light
When she prepared to arrive at the reunion dinner party a month after the Final Vows, Awhina confirmed to producers that she and Adrian had sadly broken up.
“Even if me and Adrian lived in the same state it wouldn’t have worked. Our feelings didn’t progress beyond the physical level,” she admitted before sharing some other harsh realisations she’d come to about her time with Adrian.
“[He] made me feel less than. I didn’t feel good about myself around him. I’m not okay with how he treated me during the experiment.”
With Adrian just describing their breakup as “unfortunate”, it was clear the duo were on very different pages as they prepared to reunite.
Fast forward several hours, and jilted bride Sierah revealed that she and Adrian had exchanged lengthy messages with one another during filming and in the weeks after the show – despite Adrian still being with Awhina at the time.
“I feel disgusted when I see Adrian and Sierah together. Where’s the respect for me?” a hurt Awhina later vented to some of her friends at the table.
To make matters worse, Sierah also shared several texts messages Awhina had sent her which she made disparaging remarks in the heat of the moment about Adrian – comments that deeply offended him.
“For me, the worst thing that you can call someone is an idiot, it felt personal, and to hear those things from someone you think cares about you so much, it was just upsetting and disappointing. I want to be with someone who believes in me. If you do care for someone you don’t talk about about them like, no matter how upset you are with them.”
But while Awhina was apologetic, she did admit there was “some truth” to her comments.
“I felt small,l and sometimes I would lash out with those feelings of rejection and hurt. I just didn’t feel good about myself in the experiment,” she shared with Adrian.
“I don’t think from the beginning I was ever your person. My person wouldn’t make me feel like this,” she added.
Ultimately, the duo apologised to each other on the couch.
“I’m sorry I didn’t make you feel wanted. I’m sorry I didn’t bring out the best in you,” a surprisingly earnest Adrian then told his ex-wife.
A glimmer of hope for the future
In the most surprising Final Vows of the season, both Awhina and Adrian decided to end their relationship due to the long distance between their homes in Perth and Sydney.
“I see the potential for us to build a beautiful life together. I can’t deny that we have this unexplainable chemistry. When things are good, they truly are great,” Awhina read.
“Our journey has been a mixture of ups and downs, often leaving me unsure where we stand, and there have been times I have felt disappointed by the lack of support I have received from you. I don’t feel seen by you, truly seen.”
Going on to describe their relationship as a “losing battle”, Awhina was blunt in her decision: “You’re not my future right now, this is where our journey ends.”
For Adrian, his vows followed a similar train of thought.
“You make me laugh, you challenge m,e and you make me feel seen. In those moments, I can truly see a future with you. Looking back I can admit that I could’ve been a better partner to you,” he began.
“You are an amazing mother,r and I understand how important it is for you to get back to Perth and be with your son, and that’s the problem. After everything, I believe these hurdles are too big to overcome, which is why I am now deciding that it is best for both of us to walk away,” he concluded.
Curiously, despite their joint decision to end their relationship, Awhina then decided that she and Adrian owed it to themselves and each other to at least try to make things work in the outside world.
“I think we looked at this decision too black and white,” she explained to producers.
A heartbreaking realisation
When given the opportunity to meet with whom the experts almost paired them with in one final task, Adrian jumped at the opportunity.
For Awhina, her decision to go on this date came with a lot more thought (and tears). Ultimately, she decided to go knowing that her husband would go.
As she met with her potential match, Tim, he ticked all her boxes and gave her more assurance and validation than Adrian had in their entire relationship.
For Adrian, when he met potential match Maxine he quickly forgot he had a wife waiting for him and flirted heavily, even dubbing her “Awhina 2.0.”
As they both returned to their shared apartment, Adrian’s relaxed response to them both going on the dates left Awhina upset as she saw their joint decisions to go on the dates as a sign that their relationship wasn’t in a good place.
“I care that you don’t care,” Awhina told her husband, before telling producers: “I came here for a life partner and I’m not sure that’s Adrian.”
“From my perspective, it was a task, not a date,” he replied.
At the following dinner party – the last of the season – Awhina was visibly emotional as she grappled with Adrian’s confusing behaviour and inability to understand why she was so upset.
“He and I failed each other that day. He doesn’t see me, he only sees himself,” she vented to the cameras.
“I care for Awhina, but I’m not willing to do long distance for a long period of time,” he then told the other couples as they quizzed him over his intentions toward his wife.
Ultimatel,y he then admitted that he would never move to Perth, with Awhina answering “f*** no” when asked if she would ever relocate to his hometown of Sydney.
When she then asked her husband if there was any point in them going to final vows, he responded with “no” – leaving her heartbroken, especially after Adrian encouraged her to leave the experiment, and therefore him.
Imagining a future together after Homestays
It came as a shock to audiences tuning in from home, the other couples, experts, and even Adrian that his visit to Awhina’s hometown of Perth was so successful, especially after his last encounter with her sister Cleo.
Notably, however, given the rocky nature of their relationship, Awhina made the tough decision not to introduce her son to her husband when he was there.
“Although we’re in a healthy spot for us right now in the experiment, it still wasn’t far enough along where I wanted to introduce my child to someone,” she later told 9Entertainment of her decision.
Adrian then confirmed to the experts on the couch during the following Commitment Ceremony that he wouldn’t relocate to the West Australian city from Sydney to be with his TV bride, putting them in what the experts described as “a bit of a pickle.”
While he admitted he was open to long-distance, Awhina wasn’t so sure. He also admitted that while he had strong feelings for Awhina and could imagine moving to Perth, his feelings grew stronger in the future, he wasn’t there yet.
Ultimately, both he and Awhina wrote to stay in the experiment for one final week.
The aftermath of Friends and Family Week
In week four, Adrian’s sisters Elita and Nikola, plus best friend Jasmine, went on the attack, criticising Awhina for her apparent failings in her marriage.
But Awhina’s sister Cleo wasn’t having a bar of it, calling out the girls and Adrian for how they were treating Awhina.
The conversation quickly escalated with Awhina bursting into tears, unable to get a word in, and Cleo stepping up in defence of her heartbroken family member.
“He hasn’t even shown up. They are not good enough to be in my life, he is definitely not good enough to be in my nephew’s life,” Cleo exclaimed, before pointing at Adria,n adding: “I’ll never, ever, EVER let him meet my nephew.”
With Adrian’s party storming out, Awhina told her sister that she wasn’t going to tolerate being treated as she was any further.
“Make sure you leave the apartment,” Awhina demanded of her husband before he too stormed off, to which he responded “happily.”
Outside the criticism continued, with Nikola stating that “you can’t polish a turd” and Elita noting that “you can put a ribbon on a garbage bin, but it’s still trash,” in reference to Awhina and Cleo.
“I’ve genuinely done nothing wrong,” Adrian added, “I don’t think Awhina’s going to see what she and her sister have done wrong [either].”
Several hours later, as a still emotional Awhina was debriefing with a producer in their apartment, Adrian arrived home, fishing for an apology, which he didn’t get.
“This time, I’m absolutely not in the wrong and neither is my family,” the groom vented before storming out again.
Arriving at the fourth dinner party alone, Adrian was quick to tell the other couples his side of the story about the new conflict that was taking place in his relationship.
After listening secretly outside to Adrian speaking about her behind her back, Awhina then made her entrance. But before she had a chance to properly speak with the others, her husband pulled her aside in an attempt to control the narrative.
But it’s not only Awhina who recognised this, with expert Mel exclaiming that it was clear Adrian had “one set of rules for himself and a different set of rules for Awhina.”
As they sat down for dinner, Awhina finally opened up about how she was feeling, lamenting over how she felt Adrian hadn’t “shown up” for her in their relationship.
While he did attempt to defend himself, it’s clear the group didn’t believe he had been putting enough effort into Awhina, resulting in Adrian storming off from the table.
“I didn’t come here for a lesson, I came here for a life partner,” Awhina later vented to producers.
At Commitment Ceremony four Adrian was adamant that Awhina not discuss the events of the previous week with the experts, but she did anyway.
Despite everything, the couple both wrote to stay in the experiment for another week, much to the disbelief of the other couples.
Surprisingly, despite it all, the couple was able to reconnect at the couple’s retreat a few days later, and when returning to the couch for Commitment Ceremony five, told the experts they were “happier than ever” in their marriage.
This continued into week six after an honesty challenge where they had to speak from the heart to one another, which helped them bridge the disconnect they had been feeling with each other and re-establish some emotional intimacy.
Adrian exits the experiment
There were emotional scenes in Adrian and Awhina’s apartment at the beginning of week three as Awhina returned home from a promo shoot to find her husband’s wedding ring left on their kitchen counter.
After realising Adrian had packed up all his belongings, an emotional Awhina called him, looking for answers, explaining to the cameras that Adrian had stormed off the set of the shoot earlier in the day after not being included in one set of publicity photos.
“I’m not coming back. I’m pissed off that I’m not in the promo. It’s disrespectful. I’m not going to be treated like that, so I’m not going to accept it. This is a sh** go for me ’cause I don’t deserve it,” he ranted.
Despite Awhina explaining that he wasn’t the only spouse not to be included, Adrian was resolute in his decision to quit: “I’m not coming back until they put me in the promo.”
When questioned about what would happen if his demands weren’t met, Awhina was left heartbroken by her husband’s response.
“Then it is what it is. I had a fun time and it’s a shit go and I had a great experience…outside of that “god’s plan,” he vented before hanging up.
“I feel so insignificant to Adrian. I’m just left in limbo. I understand that he probably feels a little left out but a promo shoot isn’t what you come here for. I don’t think Adrian even thought of me in this decision,” Awhina shared sadly afterward.
“Our marriage might be over. I feel sick to my core.”
An explosive reunion
After days of pleading with Adrian to return to the experiment, he finally did, arriving at the apartment he shared with Awhina, where the door was slammed shut in his face.
As a furious Awhina gave him the silent treatment as he continued to deny any wrongdoing, both ultimately decided to attend the third dinner party of the season solo.
“Clearly Adrian isn’t here for a partner, and if he was here for a partner, that partner is not here,” Awhina later vented to producers.
It is then revealed at the dinner party that Adrian and Sierah had spent time together behind her and Billy’s backs, something Awhina previously had no idea about.
After this information came to light, and with Adrian sticking by why he left to begin with, Awhina made the shock admission: “Adrian and I are no longer a couple.”
At the third Commitment Ceremony, Adrian denied leaving the experiment over not being in the promo, revealing he left because he was “frustrated and upset” and had every right to be.
Despite this, he finally acknowledged that he had done the wrong thing by his wife: “I messed up. It was self-sabotage [and a] dumb decision [to leave]. I genuinely do care and I know I’m doing wrong and I need to do better.”
But it was too little, too late for Awhin,a who wanted to leave the experiment and return home to be with her young son.
“Your actions show me that I’m not your priority.”
As Adrian chose to stay, Awhina was then forced to remain in the experiment another week.
Intimacy week issues
Despite soaring through intimacy week with great enthusiasm, a frustrated Awhina shared her concerns at the second dinner party of the season that she had yet to form an emotional connection with Adrian.
While the duo definitely had physical chemistry, Awhina stunned the table when she revealed that she [didn’t] receive any love apart from intimacy in their relationship.
“I’ve been addressing our very real issues daily, and I’m not seeing any change or action from him,” she lamented.
“I have to date as a mum first. It’s hard to open my heart to someone when we might not work in the future,” she later shared with producers.
With her husband becoming embroiled in a shocking cheating scandal, Awhina was left unsure on the couch when quizzed by the experts about whether she wants to be in a relationship with Adrian, eventually telling them that she “thinks” she does.
Ultimately, despite their struggle, both choose to stay in the experiment another week after their second Commitment Ceremony.
Roadblocks during confessions week
Although the couple started confessions week strong by putting each other first in the photo-ranking task, the week sadly ended on a low after Adrian refused to participate in a task given to him by the experts to write his bride a letter from the heart.
Explaining the reason why, Adrian simply said that he didn’t have anything he felt was worth sharing, much to Awhina’s chagrin.
Arguing back and forth about the task and criticising each other’s communication styles, a frustrated Awhina was left heartbroken as her husband stormed out after they were unable to resolve their conflict.
Speaking with Yahoo Lifestyle after the episode aired, Adrian later clarified that he didn’t write a letter as he didn’t feel close enough to his bride after only knowing her for “around 10 days” to open up about his past.
“I’ve told people personal things [in the past] and they’ve burned me with it. So I didn’t know Awhina enough to want to share that message with her, just in case one day she would throw it back in my face.”
This followed yet another heated conversation for the pair after doing the ‘Ex-Files’ task. While both found mutual ground in their agreement that teamwork and communication were key to a healthy relationship (something they had learned from prior dalliances), Awhina was quick to put Adrian offside when confessing she had previously cheated on a partner.
Despite trying to explain that it was a mistake that she made in her early 20s, and she worked through with her ex-partner, Adrian told Awhina that there was “no excuse” for her actions.
“I feel like you’re coming at me as a competitor and not a teammate,” Awhina explained which Adrian replied: “I’m not coming at you, I’m trying to get to know you.”
While Adrian told his bride and producers that he had “never” cheated on a partner before, it was then revealed that he had “hooked up” with a girl in between seeing someone else seriously, but that they were not “together.”
“I had told Awhina, listen, the worst I have done was I had a girlfriend that I was in love with, we broke up – and knowing what I know now, I was still in love with her – and then a couple of months later, I hooked up with another girl. And then two months later, I got back with my ex-girlfriend,” he later explained to Yahoo Lifestyle.
“I feel like I cheated because I still had love for her and was in love with her…and I went and was seeing someone else even though we were broken up. Essentially to me, that felt like cheating,” he also clarified to 9Entertainment.
These are not the only tasks that have made the couple clash – so did watching their selection videos. In his confession, Adrian revealed that he wanted kids and that he “would’ve had them yesterday” if he could.
This surprised the mother-of-one, who said it showed that Adrian was ready to be a dad, but he was quick to shut Awhina down, revealing that he doesn’t want to be the father of a child who isn’t biologically his.
Fast forward to their first Commitment Ceremony as a couple, and the pair recognised that they had to work together on overcoming the conflict in their relationship in regard to children and make an effort to better understand one another.
A rocky start
Adrian discovered on his wedding day that his bride had a six-year-old son, which surprised him.
However, comments made on their honeymoon indicated that Adrian had no interest in becoming a potential parental figure for his new wife’s child.
Despite having a strong physical attraction to her new husband, Awhina made it clear to her husband that he needed to love and cherish both her and her baby boy.
But Adrian made his uncertainty over whether or not he would be able to love a child that was not his clear in a tense exchange.
“Having a kid is a special moment in your life. I don’t know how I feel about you [Awhina] experiencing that with someone else. I want to experience that special moment as a first with someone else’s first,” he shared candidly.
“And if I’m being 100% honest, if I know me, I don’t know if I can love my kids as much as your kid. I don’t know if I could love them [all equally],” he added.
While both have strong family values, the differences are obvious. For Awhina, she said that loving a partner should mean loving their child.
“My son is a huge part of my life, and he’s so important to me; we’re a package deal. So if Adrian isn’t able to love my child as much as the children we create together, this could be a big issue. I’m not just dating for myself, I’m dating for my son as well.”
After ending a 15-year-long relationship with her high school sweetheart, it’s been a long time since the now 30-year-old has dipped her toes into the dating pool.
But after a lengthy period alone, the aged care worker signed up for MAFS, putting her heart in the hands of the experts who paired her with Sydney-based e-commerce business owner Adrian Araouzou.
Bonded in their desire to be in a relationship that challenges them and helps them grow, and their mutual status as twins, the experts were certain this pairing would be one of the strongest of the season.
“They’re going to be the ones to watch,” said sexologist Alessandra Rampolla prior to their wedding.
As they met at the altar, the attraction was instant between the couple, Awhina describing her husband-to-be as a “knockout” and Adrian telling cameras that his bride was “just my type.”
But things quickly took a turn for the worse as the groom told the mother-of-one, “Don’t worry. I don’t have kids.”
“I’m a bit taken aback by his comments. I’m a mum, it’s a big part of who I am. I’m worried it’s a dealbreaker,” the Perth local lamented sadly to producers after the ceremony.
A nervous Awhina then struggled to find the right time to tell her new husband that she had a son, her mother and stepfather accidentally revealed her bombshell news before she had a chance to in their reception speech.
Calling an immediate time-out, Awhina raced outside for a moment alone with Adrian to explain the elephant in the room, where the 30-year-old was honest about his uncertainty about entering into a relationship with someone who has a child.
“It’s not ideal. Had we met in the outside world, I wouldn’t have entertained [a relationship],” Adrian revealed.
While entering the reception once more separately, Awhina confided in her friends about her internal struggles, ultimately declaring that no matter what happens her son will always come first.
“I know what I want in a partner, and I’m not going to settle this time. I don’t want to stay in a relationship unless it’s someone I’m going to spend the rest of my life with,” she said.
“My son is the most important person to me in my lif,e and I’m not just going to introduce anyone to him.”
After chatting with his new sisters-in-law, Adrian told his new bride that he wanted to see where their marriage could take them because he felt that there was a connection between them worth pursuing.
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