He has provided endless entertainment with his husband Thomas Hartley on this series of Married at First Sight UK. And now Adrian Sanderson tells Closer that despite the drama, the tears and the arguments, he’s taken away a lot from his experience on the show.
Adrian – who does not give any spoilers or reveal whether he and Thomas, 31, are still together – says, “I really enjoyed my time. I learned a lot about myself. I learned that patience pays off – and that love will grow in the most unlikely of spots at times.
“And I learned that you can’t expect the world and not put the effort in. Me and Thomas had a real fight on our hands when it came to understanding each other, but I can proudly say that we both really developed. I’m proud of the experience.”
Despite bonding over their Liverpudlian roots at the altar, Adrian, 37, and Thomas’ polar opposite personalities caused some tension in the early days of the experiment. During their honeymoon in Mexico, an outgoing Thomas accused his husband of “holding back”, while a more reserved Adrian remarked, “When you speak, it’s so performative.” They became embroiled in several heated rows, one of which ended with Thomas fuming, “I’m not f--king talking to you.”
But the couple worked through their issues and became a solid Adrian and Thomas team, with Adrian rushing to Thomas’ defence and calming him down when he got caught up in arguments with other cast members.
Mental health care assistant Thomas was at the centre of much of the drama, including being accused of bitching about Chanita Stephenson to April Banbury. He also caused chaos when he branded April and George Roberts' relationship "fake", which resulted in him shouting across the room and storming out of both the dinner party and the commitment ceremony.
Last week, we also saw an explosive episode when it emerged that contestant Matt Murray had "cheated" on wife Gemma Rose with Whitney Hughes, who was married to Duka Cav. Romance rumours had been swirling on the retreat when Matt and Whitney grew noticeably closer, and they eventually kissed – and shared a bed – which had viewers on the edge of their seats.
And digital designer Adrian now shares the behind-the-scenes work that goes into these arguments – and says he was actually surprised at how "organic" being on a reality TV show is.
He says, "You know the cameras are there, you can see them – they're not hidden. But because they become your everyday life, you get used to it. And I really was surprised at how the show aimed for everything to be as organic as possible.
"We, as a cast, were absolute nightmares – we weren't a quiet bunch. We'd all be in our apartments and have free rein to see each other and drama would happen. The producers would catch wind and then ask us to comment about it on camera – but it wasn't them producing the drama themselves. They'd ask us to explain what had already happened."
Some of the cast – such as Kasia London and Sophie Brown – have hit out at the show for editing them in a different way, but Adrian says, “Honestly, I think it’s very well edited. Everyone’s narrative is there. I think it’s been a fair game. And this show is actually something I’ve been really proud of. It’s real life and we’re real people.”
Looking to the future, Adrian says he finds people recognising him crazy, but would love to do more TV work.
He says, “It’s been really busy, and I’ve barely had a minute to myself. The other day, I just went to the pub for a drink to get out of TV land, of the just for half an hour. But I didn’t get left alone! I’m definitely not complaining, everyone is so nice – it’s just a strange experience being recognised.
I’d love to do more TV – maybe presenting, that would be a gorgeous opportunity. I do get so many messages saying, ‘Thomas and Adrian need their own show!’ It’s so funny that we’ve come across as funny, because we didn’t try to be! We just became really in tune with each other.”
MY VIEW ON:
Matt and Gemma
Thomas and I said that we didn’t think it was going to work out for Gemma – but she was really trying. Matt should have just said, “This isn't going to happen. Let’s just enjoy ourselves as singles.”
Jonathan and Sophie
I had Sophie’s back when Jonathan upset her with his comments about women’s body shapes and weight. I honestly wouldn't like the job of trying to pair people, but I commend her match with Jonathan.
Whitney and Duka
There was a really big reaction when it was revealed that Whitney and Matt were giving things a go. It’s a shame that she and Duka didn’t work out because they went through a difficult process together.