3 days ago
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Updated March 4, 2026 — 12:22pm,first published 12:03pm
Australia’s social services minister has accused Married at First Sight, the nation’s most popular reality show, of giving a platform to “coercive control”, after a male contestant agreed that he might want a romantic partner that is more like an “obedient” dog than an equal.
Tanya Plibersek, who has been leading the government’s push against domestic violence since taking over the portfolio following the May election, urged parents not to let their children watch the reality show, which she said had normalised unhealthy, controlling behaviours.
“When men who idolise ‘submissive’ and ‘obedient’ women are normalised on prime-time TV, it means coercive control is given a national platform,” Plibersek wrote in a social media post on Tuesday.
Plibersek posted a clip of the show’s companion series MAFS: After the Dinner Party, which showed the interaction between host Laura Byrne, and contestant Tyson Gordon, where Byrne challenged Gordon’s views on what his role as a man in a relationship should be.
“If you want someone who is obedient, yes, it’s controlling, and you want a dog,” Byrne said.
“Maybe that’s what I want,” Tyson replied.
He later backtracked when challenged by the panel of hosts, saying “I don’t want a literal dog, but I want to be man of the house”.
The intervention from Plibersek is the latest condemnation of the show, which has repeatedly courted controversy for its depiction of problematic behaviour.
Married at First Sight faced similar criticism last year after contestant Paul Antoine allegedly punched the wall of the bedroom he shared with on-screen wife Carina Mirabile during an argument about her previous sexual partners (a topic that Gordon has also expressed discomfort with on the show this season).
The behaviour was labelled “toxic, inappropriate and unacceptable” by the show’s in-house relationship experts on air, but some fans and domestic violence experts criticised the reality series for allowing Antoine to continue in the experiment and not using the moment to have a broader conversation about coercive control.
NSW Police also launched an investigation into the incident, which has since been closed and no further police action is expected.
“The fact that this is being mainstreamed on a really popular show is really disappointing,” Plibersek said of this latest incident. “I really do think the makers of this show need to think twice before platforming this sort of misogyny.”
She said presenting some men’s need to exert control over women as normal had to be called out, and urged parents to prevent their children from watching and being exposed to the behaviours aired.
“That’s not entertaining, it’s incredibly dangerous. This is the exact kind of cultural messaging we’re trying to change,” the minister said.
She said the messaging encouraged the dehumanisation of women and was supercharged by algorithms “peddling misogyny for profit”.
“We’re doing our bit as a government – we’ve delayed kids access to social media for this very reason, and we’re investing in education programs that promote healthy and equal relationships,” Plibersek said.
Reflecting on previous controversies last month, before this season’s premiere, the show’s long-running relationship expert John Aiken told this masthead he took pleasure in being able to “highlight the inappropriateness of that behaviour”.
“I wanted to be the person to call it out, to make very clear to the audience and to the group that this is unacceptable,” he said.
Though he pointed out “the show is very unpredictable” and “unscripted”, arguing production can’t foresee such events, Aiken also took pride in the series’ ability to “shine a spotlight” on what is “inappropriate” and “unacceptable” behaviour in relationships.
Channel 9, which broadcasts MAFS, has been approached for comment on this latest incident – as has Laura Byrne, the co-host who confronted Gordon on After the Dinner Party.
Stan, which broadcasts After the Dinner Party, is owned by Nine, the publisher of this masthead.
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