Married At First Sight is back with its ninth season showcasing 16 contestants across the UK looking to find their perfect match. Across the past four weeks, fans have been glued to their screens to catch the latest drama from the 2024 cast, including 32-year-old Bristolian Emma Barnes who has been at the centre of the E4 show.
Sporty sales executive Emma has been partnered up with 34-year-old gardener Caspar Todd, from the New Forest. But, despite what seemed like a perfect match straight out of a Bridget Jones movie, the pair started on the wrong foot, causing major backlash from viewers of the hit Channel 4 show. Now talking exclusively to Bristol Live, Emma is urging audiences to allow for “growth” and calls for the “torrent of abuse” to end.
A tense altercation between Caspar and his sister during the show saw Caspar commenting on his bride Emma. He said: “Emma is full of energy, big smile, really big laugh. [She’s] a beautiful, dazzling woman. But if I’m being completely honest, she very much reminds me of my sister… who I hate.”
The discord between Caspar and Daisy was further ignited when he made a private confession regarding his physical attraction (or lack thereof) towards his new wife, reported the Mirror. He said: “For me, the only thing I haven’t got right now is wanting to rip her clothes off,” to which Daisy immediately interjected, “Don’t say that out loud. Don’t say that to her.”
Outraged fans of the show have taken to social media to respond to his comments, however, the Bristolian has urged viewers “not to react.” She shared: “Seeing the public perception, actually, I think, what’s been given out is it is an edited show and you have to remember that, like, I think that you can’t film and put out every conversation and the whole conversation that you have.
“And I think a lot of what hasn’t been shown potentially is the deep dive in the whys and hows and reasons why people say things that they do because otherwise, it would go on for about 60 hours a night, right? But if you deep dive that for every couple, Casper in particular hasn’t received good feedback at all.”
Emma added: “And I think that you know, he’s a great guy. you know like I do adore Caspar, he’s fantastic. And no one deserves that, you know, And that can be said about a lot of the challenges we saw a little bit with Polly last week. You know, sometimes you just say different remarks that you don’t necessarily think that, you know, there aren’t always cameras when you say those things on a night out or a party that you can quickly spot and be like ‘Oh, no, I meant this.’
“Sometimes the context is taken out of what happens because you can’t share that whole conversation, and I don’t think it’s very fair, of course, that people are receiving that feedback online. It’s like shocking to read. I can sympathise but I can’t empathise because to be fair, I’ve had so much love and I find it difficult to be able to put my feet in their shoes.
“If they’re constantly receiving that tyrant of abuse and yeah, it’s it’s not great. But today’s news is tomorrow’s fish paper. I think that you know what’s great about this show in general is the journey and, you know, everyone at some point in this is gonna say something, but they think oh, no, did I really say that? And the audience and people watching it might think that now, but it’s all about the growth of people. And that’s why I love the show. You know, I always think ‘don’t react’, bear with.”
Despite unwanted comments on attraction, the star is still positive, bubbly and witty as ever. When asked if her confidence has faltered she shared: “Absolutely not – there are certain angles I think ‘oof I don’t look great there!’ but laugh at it, I actually think the camera work did a godsend for me also at times – I don’t think people will recognise me if I leave the house without make-up on!!”
Growth is set to be the new theme between the couple as they move away from the drama to working on themselves and as a couple. Emma uses her wit as a coping mechanism but the show has forced her to confront her raw emotions which has been a welcome challenge.
Emma admitted: “Caspar and I have always had the same thing in common and that we are here, and we were there to work on our relationships, work out why we were there and want to give it a go. And our work ethic, to listen to the expert’s advice and work on our relationship for the better. And make it work. Yeah, it’s top-notch.”
Without confirming her relationship status, Emma appears to be positive about her relationship with Caspar during the show. To find out whether the pair stay together, watch Married at First Sight on E4 and All4 from 9pm on Monday, October 7.