Married at First Sight Australia‘s Rachel Gilmore and Steven Danyluk left the experiment as ‘boyfriend and girlfriend’ after they both decided to remain together during Final Vows.

Sadly, the pair didn’t make it very far as a couple as they’d already called it quits before the reunion was filmed. Despite their breakup, the pair remained friends and even attended some events together, keeping up with their storyline as MAFS aired.

However, they ended up attending things together less and less, and their public separation didn’t go unnoticed by fans. Despite this, at a MAFS viewing party, Steven claimed that he and Rachel are good friends and “talk almost every day”.

Rachel has since said the complete opposite, revealing why they’re officially no longer on speaking terms.

 
MAFS Australia’s Steven and Rachel at Final Vows. Picture: Nine

The former MAFS bride opened up about why she’s decided to distance herself from Steven. Speaking on The Ella Era podcast, Rachel said that it was his new found ‘party boy persona’ that turned her off of her friendship with Steven.

She said: “When he started going to the boat parties and all of that, I had a conversation with him and I was like, ‘Look, I think you just need to be really careful about what you’re doing. Protecting our story is so important to me.’

“I kind of felt like we were back in it, in a way. No other couples talk from this season, expect for Steven and I, in terms of exes, so Steven and I are the only two who would be invited to the same event. We had a beautiful mutual respect for each other.

“But when he started doing it all, the narratives started. ‘Stevo’s out, where’s Rach?’ And I’m not going to these big parties.”

Rachel went on: “I remember having a phone call with Steven and I said: ‘I’m starting to not recognise you. This is not the man I fell in love with.’

“But when you’ve got the lads all telling you, ‘This is not going to last forever, live it up’, that’s so fine but don’t call me telling me how much you regret things when that’s how you’ve behaved. It’s cringe.”

Despite finding his behaviour “cringe”, Rachel has said she doesn’t blame Steven: “I think Steven just got caught up in it all, it’s so easy to do. Even I’ve had to pull myself back,

“I know he’s had conversations with other cast members being like ‘I’m going to stop doing things like that, it’s not who I am, I don’t want to be seen that way,’ but it’s too little too late mate, you’ve been out there doing that. You’ve created this image for yourself.

“Ultimately he’s not a bad guy but one that can’t say no. He’s not a yes man trying to cause harm, he’s a yes man because he’s trying to people please.”

Rachel married Steven on Married at First Sight Australia. Picture: Nine

And since they’re not on speaking terms, Rachel was asked what message she’d like to send to Steven should he be listening. She said: “I just hope that he’s well and he’s actually looking after himself. I hope that his healing journey is more than just going to the gym.

“I hope that he looks at more than that, what actually lights him up, what’s actually going to make his heart beat for himself and fill his cup every day, because it can’t just be about looks and the way that you look. He’s so much more than that.”