Married at First Sight Australia stars not told partners had drug and violence convictions

Other cast members also said they felt the show had "dropped the ball" when it came to background checks. They include Katie Johnstone, from the 2025 series, and Tahnee Cook from the 2023 series.Neither were partnered with men with past convictions, but they say they are aware of others who were."If you're with someone who has a sketchy background, then you should be made aware of that," said Johnstone."Especially considering you're expected to be alone and share a room with this person," she added. "You need to know and it's not fair that women are being placed in these positions.""These checks can't just be a tick box," added Cook. "I don't think you should be allowed on with any previous offence. I think it's unsafe."Our Watch, an Australian non-profit organisation aiming to prevent violence against women, told the BBC that allegations or convictions must be treated as "a serious safeguarding issue" by TV productions, "and not withheld from the people most at risk".Channel 9 and Australia" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="145675" data-entity-type="organization">Endemol Shine Australia said they take their obligations in respect of the health, wellbeing and safety of participants "extremely seriously"."There is a structured, multi-stage checking process that every participant must complete and clear," they said - including police and criminal-history checks in each declared country of residence, independent clinical psychological assessment, medical screening, disclosure supported by a statutory declaration, and legal and digital due diligence.