Charlene Douglas has explained the decision to bring back Whitney and Matt amid complaints (Picture: E4)
Married At First Sight UK expert Charlene Douglas has defended the decision to allow Matt Murray and Whitney Hughes back into the experiment after widespread criticism, while also applauding the couple’s bravery.
The E4 dating show shocked viewers earlier this month when the pair were granted permission to return as a new dating couple after their marriages to their original partners, Gemma Rose and Duka Cav, didn’t work out.
Charlene, along with fellow experts Paul C Brunson and Mel Schilling, welcomed Matt and Whitney back into the throws, asking them to be ‘respectful of the other couples, their feelings, and their emotions’.
The show was immediately met with backlash by fans who felt like the move ruined the legitimacy of the experiment.
Speaking exclusively to Metro.co.uk, Charlene explained the decision, saying it would have been all too easy to let Matt and Whitney walk out.
‘On Married At First Sight, we don’t want to shy away from real issues that happen in relationships,’ she begins.
Matt and Whitney’s return to the experiment as a new dating couple angered viewers (Picture: E4)
Charlene reckons it would have been easy to say goodbye to Whitney and Matt (Picture: Instagram)
‘Of course, it would have been really easy for us to have been like “look, you guys like each other, there’s a spark there, go out into the real world and do your thing there.”
‘We absolutely could have said that, but for us it was really important to give the other couples the opportunity to share their views and thoughts on the situation, and also give Matt and Whitney a chance to speak about their journey and to hash out some of those conversations.
‘We hoped that with our intervention they were able to see some of their mistakes but also that we could help them to build on their own relationship. Hopefully, we did a good job in doing that.’
Charlene stressed that there were lots of conversations between herself, Paul, and Mel over Matt and Whitney’s return, and revealed ‘some of us were more open to it’.
The pair became an item while still coupled up with their respective spouses (Picture: Instagram)
Explaining why they chose to stick by the pair, Charlene says: ‘We did see remorse, we did see a genuine spark, and both Matt and Whitney had been really receptive to our advice within their own relationships. I think collectively we decided it would be a good decision to bring them back.’
Their return was neither easy for the experts nor the couples though, with Charlene admitting it was ‘uncomfortable’ for all parties to begin with.
‘We promote love and we promote marriage, and that’s really important for us, but we also promote when you’ve made a mistake to own up to that and take responsibility,’ she continues.
Charlene and fellow experts Mel and Paul spent a lot of time deliberating on Matt and Whitney’s return (Picture: Instagram)
‘We’re a society where we don’t want to work through difficult emotions. We want to run away, we want to blame others and not face it. But Married At First Sight, we’re like, let’s talk about.’
Married At First Sight UK fans were up in arms over the situation, with many pointing out that Matt and Whitney’s involvement in the show as a new couple undermined the experiment altogether.
‘I can understand that people had different views on our decision making,’ Charlene notes.
‘I understand there are going to be people saying it goes against the process. That was also highlighted, we did tell them that they had gone against the process. From that, we had to make a decision on what the consequences were.
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‘To some extent, it would have been easier for them to have walked away from the experiment and gone off into the open world, but actually it takes a lot of courage and a lot of bravery to come back into the fire.
‘They knew there were going to be quite a lot of people who weren’t going to be happy. I respect them for that.’
Married At First Sight UK airs tonight at 9pm on E4.
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The show was met with backlash from fans who felt like the move ruined the legitimacy of the experiment.