Going on MAFS Australia can be an amazing opportunity to find the love of your life (or find some lucrative brand deals). But several iconic former MAFS Australia participants have whinged that going on the show actually made dating harder for them. Oops.

Dave Hand

That’s the Dave from MAFS Australia 2025, who married (and allegedly ghosted) Jamie Marinos. After the nation watched his relationship with Jamie crumble, he struggled with dating.

Remember them?
(Image via Channel 4)

Dave said on Instagram: “My dating life after MAFS? Non-existent. No dates.”

He decided to focus on mental health and fitness instead.

“It’s been a rollercoaster since the show started airing,” he continued, “Your emotions are all over the shop. So, I want to make sure that if I do start dating somebody, that I’m in the right spot mentally, and I can be myself. For them.”

In the year since MAFS Australia aired, Dave doesn’t seem to have found a new girlfriend. He’s going on another reality TV dating show, Perfect Match, instead.

Lucinda Light

Although Lucinda went on MAFS Australia to find the love of her life, she’s been so busy since the show that she hasn’t had much time for dating. Ahead of appearing on Celebs Go Dating, she told Channel 4: “I suppose more than anything I’ve been invested in not only myself, but the village, the community that I’ve sort of gained out of being on MAFS and all the opportunities that have come with that. You know, being on stage, writing my book, being in a couple of TV shows, it’s been very busy and that’s where my focus has been.”

Apparently, her love life hasn’t gone very well since she was on MAFS. “I’ve definitely never been asked out on so many dates, many of which I’ve just felt overwhelmed and kind of left dangling.”

Layton Mills

I was so invested in this saga (Image via Channel 4)

I shipped Layton and Melinda so hard by the end of MAFS season 10. They lasted one whole year after the show.

Layton’s dating life didn’t go very in the aftermath. He told Yahoo Australia: “I sort of isolated myself a lot post-MAFS.”

He felt fame made dating harder, especially as he had “a lot of respect” for Melinda. He was “always thinking” that if he went on a date, Melinda would find out about it.

“I feel like maybe the men who are saying that [MAFS improved their love lives] are probably not necessarily the dating has been easier but meeting women.”

Tahnee Cook

Tahnee and Ollie were the golden couple of MAFS Australia 2023. They moved in together after the show, but called it quits after 16 months together. Even though Tahnee came out of MAFS Australia looking pretty angelic, she still struggled with dating after the split from Ollie.

She told Elle: “Dating felt slightly more challenging off the back of the show. I didn’t even go on a date until around six months after my breakup. It felt so daunting and I had anxiety about what people would think of me having been on a reality TV show like MAFS.”

Aw, I had such high hopes for them…
(Image via Channel 4)

Tahnee worried people would have “preconceived ideas” about her, or that they’d feign interest so they “could say they went on a date with someone from MAFS”.

Her theory is that MAFS is watched by more women than men, so straight men who went on MAFS get asked out more often, and have an easier time finding a new partner. “After MAFS, female contestants typically use social media to further their careers and explore opportunities, but for men, it can end up being a dating platform.”

She continued: “I would issue a warning to future contestants: your chance of finding love on the show is pretty slim and, in all honesty, your dating life will be significantly harder off the back of the show.” Yikes.