Lacey Martin became the target of trolls following the showmance reunion row with Nathan Campbell
Married At First Sight UK star Lacey Martin has fired back after she became the target of trolls.
Trolling is a darker side of what some reality contestants experience when making appearances on shows — and TV bosses have duty of care protocols in place to help support contestants.
The TV personality has said she has been called a "narcissist" and a "gaslighter" since the reunion aired on Monday 24 February, where her ex Nathan Campbell accused her of asking him to fake their romance. The explosive row took centre stage of the drama in the reality TV special and it has led to Lacey receiving abuse from keyboard warriors.
Not staying quiet, the MAFS UK star has been sharing the abuse she has been receiving in her DMs on her Instagram stories. One of the messages she had shared on social media read: "Ur one manipulative c***, disgusting wh***."
Nathan was in tears when he confronted Lacey about their split and told her: "So you didn't say to me then, 'I think we should fake it.'"
After facing trolling in real life, Lacey said she has turned to therapy to help her out of the "dark place" and she called on her ex to take action. She told The Sun in a new interview: "I would be lying if I said I wasn’t struggling. I just wish Nathan would put out a statement — I feel like that would really help the situation."
Lacey claimed the show was edited to make her come across as the "villain". She added: "They've [Married At First Sight TV bosses] edited it to make me out as this villain. It was completely off. They cut out all of my responses to Nathan."
Nathan had asked people to be kind before the fiery argument erupted on-screen on Married At First Sight UK.
He wrote on Instagram: "Hi gang, so Tonight’s episode promises to be an experience. It’s like a soap opera without the Queen Vic, but I want to give you a heads-up—this one is emotionally charged and I may find difficult to watch at times. But as we navigate through the intense moments, let’s remember to support each other and maintain a positive atmosphere afterward."
Shona Manderson
Lacey isn't the only MAFS UK star to receive unkind comments after the reunion episode aired.
Shona Manderson told Yahoo that she had faced cruel remarks from social media users over her appearance on the reunion. She celebrated getting "semi-engaged" to Matt Pilmoor on the reunion show as he popped the question with a promise ring in a special moment that ended the E4 show.
A promise ring is a pledge for life but is a mini step in a relationship, where the couple are in no rush to get engaged.
She told Yahoo UK: "It's [A promise ring] just another nice thing to do, a lot of people already have kind of put their negative vibes my way, like ‘what a waste of time’ and ‘such a teenager thing to do’. That's such a sad outlook on life to just be like it's just another way of celebrating like another little milestone, and it's nice.
"I don’t know why they have to bring the low energy to it but that’s just other people and let them… This is our vibe, I think it’s really cute!"
In real life, the couple have gone from strength to strength since meeting on the 2023 reunion show. They have been living together with their dog Winston and embarked on new careers (Shona is now a yoga teacher while Matt is chasing his dreams of being a personal trainer).
Marriage is in the future but Shona revealed the couple are taking things slow as they have only been dating for a whirlwind 16 months so far.
Throughout the MAFS UK 2024 series some of the others stars experienced trolling. Amy Keynon spoke about receiving trolling over her appearance while Kieran Chapman said he was trolled after he left Kristina Goodsell heartbroken.
Duty of care
Channel 4 have previously said the duty of care is "paramount" when it comes to their reality show Married At First Sight UK.
TV bosses have previously said that there are robust contributor care protocols in place and appropriate support available before, during and after the broadcast of the show.
There is also access to an independent psych team, according to TV bosses.
Yahoo UK has reached out to Married At First Sight UK representatives for further comment.
Married At First Sight UK's Reunion Special is steaming on Channel 4 now.
