Married At First Sight’s Cam Merchant Brutally Axed Minutes Into The Traitors Australia Premiere in Shock Twist
A reality TV star has been kicked off the premiere episode of the new season of The Traitors Australia just 18 minutes into the show.
The series, which is set to air tonight at 7:30pm on Channel 10 but has released early on 10Play, saw 22 Australian celebrities assemble for the new season.
But just 18 minutes into the premiere, former MAFS star Cam Merchant was booted off by fellow contestant Shane Gould in a ‘brutal’ first challenge.
The opening episode began with contestants assembling in front of the manor, where they will compete for a prize pool of $250,000.
Host Gretel Killeen kicked things off by asking the celebs to pick the most ‘virtuous’ player among them, with the stars choosing Olympic swimming champion Shane.
Shane then learned there were not enough rooms in the manor for everyone, and her first task was to boot a fellow contestant before they could even begin the show.
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A reality TV star was kicked off the premiere episode of the new season of The Traitors Australia just 18 minutes into the show. Pictured: Shane Gould
‘Are we one [bedroom] key short, or one player too many? You’re the virtuous one – you make the decision. You either leave, or you take someone else’s key,’ Gretel said.
Shane, who previously won Australian Survivor in 2018, protested, telling Gretel: ‘This is mean. We’ve all just organised our lives to be here. It’s just brutal.’
Another star complained, ‘We just got out of the car,’ but Gretel held firm and demanded Shane choose to leave or pick another contestant to go in her place.
A reluctant Shane then made the brutal decision to send home Married At First Sight star Cam Merchant.
‘Cam. I’m sorry to say so early in the piece: Please leave immediately,’ Gretel told the stunned reality TV star.
It comes after this year’s Traitors stars Keira Maguire and Alex Nation revealed they have now made peace with each other after becoming two of The Bachelor franchise’s biggest rivals.
The reality stars, who famously clashed during Richie Strahan’s 2016 season of The Bachelor Australia, recently told Daily Mail the show helped them put their bitter past behind them.
Their feud became one of the most talked-about storylines of The Bachelor franchise after Alex quickly emerged as one of Richie’s favourites, receiving the first white rose of the series and setting herself up as an early frontrunner.
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Twenty-two Australian celebrities assemble for the new season. Pictured: Cam Merchant
Keira, who was known as the season’s outspoken villain, was far from impressed, with the pair repeatedly butting heads inside the mansion.
At the time, Keira accused Alex of playing a game and questioned her connection with Richie, while Alex hit back at what she saw as Keira’s attacks and competitive behaviour.
The tension continued beyond the show, with the pair taking public swipes at each other in interviews and on social media, including Keira making digs about Alex ‘using her sexuality for attention and ratings’.
But almost a decade on, the women admit they can barely remember what started the drama in the first place.
‘We’re a lot older than when we first went on TV. Like it’s been 10 years, even since we first met,’ Keira told Daily Mail at the launch of The Traitors in Sydney last week.
‘Like I actually forgot why we were fighting.’
Alex said the passage of time had allowed them to see each other differently.
‘It’s nice because 10 years have passed, we’ve grown into the women that we are now, and I think we respected each other for who we were as women now,’ she said.
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But just 18 minutes into the premiere, Cam Merchant was booted off by fellow contestant Shane Gould in a ‘brutal’ first challenge
Keira joked that their relationship had now evolved into something closer to family.
‘I also say, like, she’s like family to me, I can’t get rid of her,’ she laughed.
‘You don’t choose your family. No, but seriously, I say that as a joke, but I genuinely mean it. I feel like you feel like family. I know that sounds a bit cliché.’
Alex said their time filming The Traitors played a major role in repairing their relationship.
While they have moved forward, the pair admitted they will probably never agree on exactly what happened all those years ago.
Keira revealed they chose not to apologise because they both still remember the situation differently.
‘I didn’t apologise for anything… we agreed to disagree that we all had our own version of the truth,’ she said.
Alex added: ‘I feel like if we tried to, like, apologise for things, [we] would go round and round in circles.’
The Traitors Australia premieres Tuesday at 7.30pm on Channel 10
