Her stint on Married At First Sight Australia last year saw her embroiled in the biggest cheating scandal the hit dating show has ever seen, when videos of both Beck Zemeck and her “husband” Jake Edwards kissing other people were aired at the final reunion show.
And while Beck, whose real name is Rebecca, was labelled “uptight”, her reputation as the series villain was secured when former footballer and musician
Jake, 34, revealed the experience had been so “challenging” and “emotionally abusive”, that he’d fled to a remote part of Australia to recover.
Meanwhile, Beck, 28, was left to face the music and was fiercely trolled.
READ MORE
It's war! Kim Kardashian plots revenge after Kanye's shock marriage proposal
MAFS UK's Nikita Jasmine: 'I want to get married again, I'm not as fussy now!'
But a year on from the final reunion show being filmed, Beck is glowing as she speaks to Closer – revealing she’s happily loved-up with new man Ben Mitchell, 28, as the couple gear up to welcome their first child together in May.
“We started filming for the show 18 months ago, and that feels like a lifetime ago. I had to have a thick skin, but I learned a lot about myself,” says Beck.
“Spending two months focusing on what a good relationship looks like, and what I’d tolerate, made me realise how much people will put up with, because they’re scared they’re going to be lonely. I’ve learned a lot about self-worth from standing up for myself.
“All of this led me to Ben, and I’m so full of joy to be pregnant – it was the shock of my life!”
Beck was previously engaged to an Australian footballer, who she dated for a decade prior to their split a year before she entered the show in a bid to find love.
The former business manager was paired up with Jake, and while the duo had loved-up highs, they also had bitter rows about their lack of sexual chemistry and his love of partying.
Despite both choosing to give their relationship a go in the real world, things came to a head when Beck accused Jake of “drinking too much” over Christmas, and a video emerged on social media of him sharing a kiss with fellow star Booka Nile on New Year’s Eve.
The reunion show, which aired two months later, saw Beck kissing another man during a trip home.
At the time she said the mystery man had been her brother, but later confessed it had been an ex-partner.
She has denied the kiss was intimate, and now adds, “People think it was more romantic than what it was in that video. At the time, my dog was dying. It was more of a greeting, like, ‘I’m so happy to see you, thanks so much for helping with a traumatic experience.’”
Beck first met Ben before she entered MAFS. And after the show, she realised her feelings for him had grown stronger during their time apart. She says, “When we saw each other again, it was like, ‘What are we doing without each other?’”
Revealing they started talking about having a family early on in their romance, Beck says she told Ben she suffers with PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome – a condition where small cysts on the ovaries can lead to fertility issues).
She says, “I was pretty much told I’d need IVF, so we went to see a doctor. I have friends who’ve had IVF and it has taken them two years [to conceive], so that was our plan.”
She continues, “I had a follow-up appointment three months later but I’d been feeling sick... I thought it was an effect of my Covid jab, but blood tests revealed I was pregnant. It was a total shock!
“I’ve always wanted kids. Ben has a very close family, and he wants a few. This pregnancy has been rocky and my morning sickness lasted all day, so we’ll see!”
After a gender reveal in December, the couple found out they were having a girl, with Beck adding, “I’m so excited. I want her to be my best friend and feel she can come to me for anything.”
Check out: 28 things you didn't know about Married at First Sight
28 things you didn't know about MAFS (slider)
1 of 281
**A LOT of people applied to take part in Married at First Sight 2016.**Over 1,500 people applied to take part in the first series, but experts whittled them down to just three couples.
2 of 282
**HOWEVER over in Australia, not everyone who appears on the show actually applied.**Yep, season six groom Sam Ball revealed in a BTS exposé on his Instagram that his 'on-screen' wife, Elizabeth Sobinoff, didn't actually apply for the show and was in fact, scouted.
3 of 283
**AND the first UK series was pushed back because a LOT of people got cold feet.**According to reports, Channel 4 was forced to push back Married At First Sight UK twice because candidates kept getting cold feet.
4 of 284
**They take their matchmaking VERY seriously.**Married At First Sight sees a panel of experts – including evolutionary anthropologist Anna Machin, psycho-sexual therapist and psychologist Jo Coker, psychology professor Dr Mark Coulson and priest Reverend Nick Devenish – working together to pair up singletons. They genuinely want this experiment to work.
5 of 285
**Which means that the application process is INTENSE.**The experts put candidates through workshops, interviews, background checks, various tests and personality questionnaires (some of which can take over 12 hours to complete) until they had 15 candidates with particularly strong matches. They narrowed this down even further when they took dealbreakers into account, such as smoking. In the end, for the first series, three strong couples were identified and matched - although only two of them ever made it down the aisle!
.png?auto=format&w=1440&q=80)
6 of 286
**BUT, in Australia, some of the cast have claimed the matching isn't quite so, err, thought through...**Indeed, single hopeful Lauren Huntriss took to her Instagram to tell fans, "God MAFS is so full of s--t. Lol OK John [Robertson - one of the love experts] we all know you did not spend months finding the perfect match."Producers pulled ppl (like me) off the street just weeks before lol."
7 of 286
**The wedding is a CIVIL CEREMONY.**To avoid criticism from religious groups, all of the marriages on Married At First Sight begin with a civil ceremony. You can find out more about the legalities and requirements of a civil ceremony here.
8 of 288
**Are Weddings on Married at first sight real?**Yes they are legit. A legal wedding requires a marriage license, containing vital information of the spouse - and couples do sign one immediately after the ceremony.
9 of 289
**But they ARE given legal protection if it all goes wrong.**Speaking to The Wrap, Chris Coelen - who works on the US version of the show - explained, "There is a prenup that is built in. It's a very short, brief prenup. It basically says what they walk in to [the marriage with], is what they walk out of the marriage with."We want to give them some protection walking in. If for some reason it does not work out, at least you are protected with this basic form. You are not going to get yourself into any legal trouble. Once they are in to the marriage, everything is completely up to them."
.png?auto=format&w=1440&q=80)
10 of 2810
**Meanwhile, in the land down under, the weddings AREN'T real.**Yup, the Aussie cast merely 'promise' their love to one another at a faux wedding (complete with all their family and friends), before then attending commitment ceremonies to assess the progress of their relationships.
11 of 2811
**Couples DON'T get paid to take part.**As Jessie J would say, it's not about the money, money, money.
12 of 2812
**But they DO get an all-expenses paid honeymoon.**So that's something, eh?
13 of 2813
**However, in Australia, they do get paid a flat day rate.**Season six's resident drama queen, Jessika Power, revealed that while the Aussie cast do, in fact, get paid, it's not a huge amount at £83 a day (or $150 Australian dollars).
14 of 2814
**They DO have to live together for six weeks.**Yup, couples spend six weeks living together as man and wife – at the end of which they decide whether to stay together or call it a day. You can imagine the former doesn't usually happen.
15 of 2815
But, if they fall out, the couples can **ask for a separate apartment. Well, in Australia, at least.**In MAFS Australia season six, several of the couples ended up needing separate apartments, with Ines and Bronson getting the ball rolling and, further down the line, Tamara and Dan following suit.
16 of 2816
**Some of the couples DIDN'T know it would be televised.**Wait, what?Participant Emma Rathbone - who married James Ord-Hume for the first series of the show, told This Morning, "Initially I didn't know it would be televised. I'm finding the television part very difficult."
17 of 2817
**The first UK season ended entirely in divorce.**Yes, all of the couples ended up splitting after the six weeks. One couple, Jason and Kate, split just two weeks after their wedding after Jason was found on Tinder. Another couple (Sam and Jack) pulled out before the wedding but, in a bizarre twist, were seeing each other secretly after the show finished filming... but then broke up. And the final couple, James and Emma, stayed together til the November after the February wedding but broke up after saying it "didn't feel natural". And a bit forced. Funny, that.
18 of 2818
**The show WILL help pay for a divorce - but there's a catch.**According to the executive producer of the US show, if the couples decide to go for divorce, Married At First Sight does not bear the divorce costs. He added that they provide assistance only "within a certain period" to cover the legal costs, although the amount provided is very nominal.
19 of 2819
**You CAN apply to take part in it.**To apply, send your name, phone number, age, location and email address to: marriedatfirstsight@cplproductions.co.uk.
20 of 2820
**But you CAN'T have been married before.**According to the Channel 4 website, you are only allowed to apply if you do not have any children and have never been married. They're very traditional, clearly.
21 of 2821
**And they WILL need to know your physical data.**Yup, they need to do a DNA test, and they'll ask for your physical data, such as hip to waist ratio in women and hip to shoulder in men.
22 of 2822
The show originated in DENMARK.… where none of those couples who initially walked down the aisle stayed married, we'd like to point out.
23 of 2823
**There are a LOT of other versions of Married At First Sight.**In addition to UK and Australia, the show has German, Finnish, and Bulgarian editions - all of which have produced successful unions.
24 of 2824
**However it HAS sparked controversy.**The show particularly irked the folk of Australia, with the public starting up a petition to get it taken off the air. They said, "This television show is a disgrace. It is morally unsound and should not be aired on Australian television."
25 of 2825
Couples are contractually obliged to stay married for the duration of filming.So 2019 couple Jonathan and Stephanie breaking up literally days after their nuptials made media circulations a little awkward.
.png?auto=format&w=1440&q=80)
26 of 2826
**And, in Australia, they can't resume their day jobs until the show finishes airing...**Season six's Jessika Power spilled the tea, claiming, "You can't work until the show finishes airing, and you've done all your publicity and that's like a month. Probably about a six-seven month process [overall]."
27 of 2827
**There are a few success stories.**But sadly not from this side of the pond. The US series' Jamie Otis and Doug Hehner are still going strong and have welcomed a daughter, and their series co-stars Cortney Hendrix and Jason Carrion are still married, too.
28 of 2828
Plenty of MAFS stars have gone onto cash in on their experience. MAFS 2016 star Clark Sherwood has gone onto write about his marriage for a number of publications, and of course, Ben Jardine has become a bonafide celebrity Z lister in his own right.
And she says that – as she hits the five-month mark – her body has totally changed.
“I’m squishy everywhere, but it’s a good squishy, because I’m doing what’s right for my baby and not putting myself under pressure,” she says.
“This is the one time I can get away with eating whatever, so there are a few chocolates and lollies hidden, and I have eaten meat and crackers at 2am! I’m constantly napping. I’m always drained, but I’m still going for a walk every day and doing yoga and Pilates.
“I’m in no rush whatsoever to bounce back – I’m quite against it. I want mums to know your body just did the most amazing thing it can possibly do.”
WATCH: Chloe Brockett speaks out on Lauren Goodger returning | TOWIE Secrets
And despite previous MAFS Australia contestants like Jessika Power and Tamara Joy turning to surgery, Beck says she prefers to stay fit and healthy with a diet of protein, greens, fruit and very little refined sugar.
She says, “I come from a place where there’s more to life than looks. I find happiness through experiences and helping others – things like that. But I’m not against surgery if someone feels it will improve their quality of life.”
And despite her rocky experience of being in the spotlight, Beck surprisingly says she wouldn’t stop her daughter from becoming a reality TV star.
She says, “She can do whatever she wants. I want her to be supported in any crazy ideas she has. But I want the environment she grows up in to never make her feel less than herself.”