What made you want to marry a stranger? It seems like the most logical first question to ask any Married At First Sight contestant – the Channel 4 show where strangers tie the knot just minutes after first meeting.
Sacha Jones, star of the current series, laughs, ‘I was abstinent after splitting up with my boyfriend and I kept saying, “I’m waiting for my husband now”. Then I thought, “I must be ready for a husband, so why not speed up the process and let the experts find me one?”’
Viewers saw aesthetics practitioner Sacha paired up with painter and decorator Ross McCarthy on the show. And while the pair initially hit it off, seeing the experiment through to the very end – which aired last week – they have unfortunately since split.
But despite not finding her forever love, Sacha says she gave her marriage – which was not legally binding – and the experiment her all.
‘This was such a huge deal to me, I was 100% committed to putting everything into it,’ she says. ‘My dad has a heart condition. He’s had a few heart attacks, and he told me on the operating table he’d thought, “I might never live to see my daughter’s wedding day”. So the wedding itself was a very emotional day for us. My dad couldn’t believe he was there to walk me down the aisle.’
Sacha’s vow of abstinence – where she will only have sex in committed relationships – was a big talking point on the show, telling her fellow brides at their joint hen do that she wouldn’t be sleeping with her groom.
She explains, ‘I think for most women, sex is more emotional than for men and I think we can get a little attached. I don’t want to give so much of myself to someone who isn’t worthy or serious about me. It’s funny though because my best friend of 20 years thought I was asexual at one point because I just didn’t have sex. But it’s important to me that sex is within a relationship.’
Since the show, Sacha has become a committed Christian and she says her views on abstinence have only become stronger since, explaining, ‘I’ve seriously thought about it, and I don’t think I would have sex outside of marriage now.’
Expanding more on finding her religion, she says, ‘I’ve always felt slightly drawn to God, and I come from a Christian family, but after the show I became a believer. I now go to church twice on a Sunday and read the Bible and pray every day. The church has been a fantastic community for me too, everybody is welcome and it’s all about love. And what’s not to love about that? Religion has enriched my life so much.’
One thing Sacha admits she has struggled with since leaving the show is trolling. After one particularly explosive dinner party aired, she says she found the nasty comments left on her Instagram really upsetting to read.
‘They were like vultures,’ she says. ‘I thought I was prepared for it but I honestly could not have expected what was to come. It’s hard to see hate messages, but then they started saying things about my parents, and attacking family is just the tipping point for me.’
After a particularly bad night of trolling, Sacha limited all her social media.
The TV star adds, ‘I turned off my comments and my DM requests and I can’t be tagged in anything. I woke up the next day a new woman because nobody could get to me. There is also something empowering about it because I know the trolls must be desperate to comment and they can’t!’
Now that the show is over, the former Miss Birmingham says she is enjoying getting recognised in the street and meeting fans.
Sacha smiles, ‘People know my voice before anything else! But it’s lovely being asked for photos and everyone I’ve met has been so nice. I’m lapping it up.’
She adds that her parents, Bryn and Alison – as well as her cat Diego who appeared on the homestay episode – are also enjoying their new-found fame.
‘My dad’s a celebrity now,’ she laughs. ‘He has a really distinctive look, you couldn’t miss him from a mile off! So everyone’s asking him for photos. My parents are basically the stars of the show and my cat Diego – everybody loves him!’
Sacha's behind the scenes MAFS secrets
Sacha says she prepared for the show by listening to interviews with former contestants, but even then some aspects of the filming surprised her.
‘I didn’t realise how much time and privacy you get with your groom,’ she says. ‘I thought it would be non-stop filming, but they [the producers] actually want you to connect with your spouse so there aren’t cameras in the rooms all the time like Love Island. You have a scheduled time to film and then you can do what you like around London. That’s why a lot of off-camera stuff happens and you become close, because you live with this person for two months.’
But Sacha says there are some long days. ‘The dinner parties and commitment ceremonies are long. There’s a lot involved on those days. With the commitment ceremonies every couple gets 45 minutes to an hour on the couch. So imagine when we had everyone there and when the new couples came in? It took ages!’