MAFS Australia’s Tyson finally addresses backlash, but insists he wants a ‘traditional’ girl

‘I’m not looking to put my wife on a leash at all’

Former Married At First Sight groom Tyson Gordon has addressed the backlash surrounding his time on the reality show.

The Australian reality star appeared on season 13 of the series, which has recently finished airing in the UK. Tyson quickly became one of the most talked about contestants after sharing his expectations for a partner, including comments about wanting a “submissive woman”.

Despite the controversy, Tyson says he is still looking for a “traditional” relationship and now believes he used the wrong wording when describing his ideal partner.

via E4

“So, submissive was the wrong word to use. Traditional is the word I was looking for and traditional is a word I wanted to use,” he said during an interview on 60 Minutes Australia on Sunday, May 24th.

Speaking to journalist Amelia Adams, Tyson insisted he was not “looking for a dog” to obey him. “I’m not looking to put my wife on a leash at all,” he explained.

The property developer added: “I don’t expect to chain her up in the kitchen and say, ‘Make me a sandwich’,” before clarifying: “She’s not just going to be locked up in here all day. It’s nothing like that.”

via E4

Tyson also defended his views on relationships, saying: “there’s really nothing wrong with wanting a traditional relationship in this day and age. I think if you can financially support it, then why not?”

Experts on the show believed they had matched Tyson with his ideal partner in 2026 bride Stephanie Marshall, who appeared to share similar values.

However, it soon became clear the pair were incompatible, with tensions arising during conversations about their sexual histories on honeymoon.

Tyson took issue with Steph revealing she had slept with 20 people, despite admitting he had been with around 30 partners himself. He later defended his comments about “body count” as simply being a personal “preference”.

“I go to church – I want more of a pure girl,” he told TV Week. “Everyone’s got preferences. You’ve got preferences; the cameraman’s got preferences. For my preference, I just don’t want a girl with 200 bodies.”

CRE: https://thetab.com/2026/05/25/mafs-australias-tyson-finally-addresses-backlash-but-insists-he-wants-a-traditional-girl