MAFS: Bronte stuns everyone with Commitment Ceremony decision

Monday night in the UK sees the final Commitment Ceremony of this year’s Married at First Sight Australia, and Bronte makes a decision that shocks the whole group.

Somehow, we’re 7 weeks into this year’s MAFS Australia, and Bronte and Harrison are still together.

It’s hard to keep track of how many arguments and near-breakups they’ve shared, and how many lone nights they’ve spent in different apartments, but Bronte keeps forgiving and forgetting Harrison’s behaviour.

In recent weeks they’ve almost seemed solid, as Bronte has defended her husband in the face of an endless barrage of advice from the other girls that she should run for her life.

Yet despite Bronte defending her husband yet again at last week’s separate boys’ and girls’ nights, Harrison managed to find a way to turn her defence into a point of contention.

Returning home, she explained that she found it exhausting having to defend herself, Harrison and her relationship, “and no matter what I say, they don’t want to hear it, and they hear whatever they want to hear.”

She explained to Harrison that she told the girls that they’re “in a more positive place,” that they “did a 180” and that they’ve “both worked really hard at this relationship.”

These all sound like positive things. Yet somehow, Harrison turned this around on Bronte as he seemed suspicious of what they were attacking her over.

“I get two different stories, I get your story, and then I get their story, and they don’t align.”

“It sounds like the girls just wanted an answer for what she’s been saying,” Harrison told producers. “You can’t badmouth your partner for weeks on end, call them every name under the sun, but stay in the relationship, and expect that not to bite you in the arse.”

But when Harrison accused her of turning things around onto him, Bronte had seemingly finally had enough.

“He’s gaslighting me again,” she told producers. “Did he once show any empathy for how I’m feeling? No. It’s all about how Harrison looks.”

She decided against going to the dinner party, and was seemingly done with the relationship.

“I just don’t see how you and I can overcome the hurt that’s been inflicted on us by each other and by the group. I feel completely broken. Obviously I wanna go, I think that’s obvious. I have nothing left.”

“I’m literally getting on a plane and going home,” she added her in her chat to producers. “Like, I’m done. Yeah, I’m done.”

Harrison sheepishly attended Thursday’s dinner party alone, where he confessed to the group that Bronte had told him she was done with them.

When later asked by Ollie if there’s was any chance that he’s going to write stay in tonight’s commitment ceremony, he replied with a no.

“Unequivocally, there’s no chance I’m writing stay,” he replied, despite the others pointing out that he’d claimed he was planning on leaving last week.

“No chance,” Harrison added.

As tonight’s final commitment ceremony begins, Bronte has a new clarity as she talks to the producers.

“When you’re wearing rose-coloured glasses, you’re kind of blinded by love, and you want to see things in a way that isn’t necessarily real,” she tells them. “And I’ve finally woken up. I’ve finally taken those rose-coloured glasses off.

“I’ve sat here and literally gone over the last few weeks with Harrison and some of the things that have been brought to my attention, like emotional manipulation and his lack of empathy.

“I’m really struggling to see the light at the end of the tunnel with him.”

Is it finally time for Bronte to vote leave?

As they sit on the couch, their body language certainly makes it seem like there’s no warmth left between them.

When it’s their turn on the couch, expert Mel in particular wants to know exactly where their relationship is at, and Harrison responds that he doesn’t actually know.

“I think if this is going to be a relationship, there’s a lot, a lot of work that needs to be done,” he adds.

In a remarkably un-Harrison-like manner, he admits that he has to “take some responsibility” for what’s happened, and that he’s held Bronte accountable “for deal breakers or boundaries that I didn’t articulate.”

So it’s still all Bronte’s fault; he just hadn’t warned her what his deal-breakers were before she deal-broke them.

He explains that Bronte’s constant claiming that she wants to go home and leave “in a moment of anger” is a dealbreaker. He also explains that he’s fine with Bronte venting to friends and family about him, calling that healthy, but that “it’s what you say when you vent that can paint a picture of your partner,” and he resents that Bronte has pointed out issues with his character.

“I feel like when you start attacking someone’s character, sometimes [those things] can’t be taken back.”

Yet when prompted by Mel as to whether Harrison has crossed that same boundary by badmouthing his wife’s character to others, Bronte retorts that he’s told Lyndall that she’s fake, a gaslighter and a liar. Of course, Harrison has no recollection of saying those things.

So, then we come to the final decision, and everyone eagerly awaits the opportunity to say goodbye to Harrison once and for all.

But, in a move which shocks all of the other couples, and even frustrates the experts, drops a bombshell.

“There is still so much of my life that I want Harrison to see before I make any sort of decision, so knowing that homestays is literally around the corner, and I really want to show him where I’m from, so… I chose to stay.”

The faces of the others say it all.

Harrison, despite his claims in yesterday’s dinner party, also writes stay.

He’s quickly called out by Melinda, who reminds him that he told the other participants he was definitely leaving – “unequivocally,” Lyndall reminds him.

He owns up to saying it, but claims that leaving would be easy, and he wants to be able to work on thingd.

Bronte adds that she hasn’t been herself in Sydney the last few weeks, so she can’t wait for them to go to Perth where the “extra spark” she’ll have will hopefully help them.

But that causes the usually quiet Ollie to pipe up: “Harry, did you not say at the boys’ night that you didn’t want to go to Perth at all?”

Melinda digs the knife in further. “And also that you thought Bronte was only taking you to Perth, her words, that you said, she just wanted to hop into a bikini and show off.”

“Yep, yes, I said those things,” Harrison admits awkwardly.

It seems everyone’s using their final session on the couch to lay into Harrison and make Bronte see sense before it’s too late.

With those revelations out in the open, the homestays could be pretty awkward as the week goes on!

Or will Bronte forgive him once again?

Before they leave the couch, Mel Shilling asks them why exactly they’re still here. Harrison claims it’s down to their chemistry, while Bronte adds that “when things are good, they’re really good, but when things are bad, they’re really bad.”

So will Bronte and Harrison live happily ever after?

Read on for spoilers.

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Thankfully we can confirm that they don’t!

Bronte finally sees sense between the final commitment ceremony and next week’s ‘Final Decision.’ She sticks around for the homestays, but leaves the show in this Thursday’s final dinner party, meaning Harrison is forced to leave the experiment too.

The Daily Mail reports that Harrison has already moved on. Shortly after his and Bronte’s final episode aired down under in March, Harrison was spotted partying in Sydney with his new girlfriend Gina. The pair weren’t able to go public with their romance while Harrison and Bronte were still on the show.

Just what will happen during homestays and the dinner party to make Bronte finally see sense? All will be revealed later this week.

Married at First Sight Australia airs on E4 and All4, Monday–Thursday at 7:30pm.