Married At First Sight groom Steven Danyluk has broken his silence in a no-holds-barred interview, lifting the lid on his failed relationship with bride Rachel and the controversy that followed.
Sitting down with Daily Mail Australia, the Sydney-based mechanic, 35, insists he was ‘genuine’ in the experiment and has slammed claims he ghosted his on-screen wife after filming wrapped.
‘We stayed in contact. I flew to Melbourne to see her. There’s a lot of bulls**t online that just isn’t true.’
Steven entered the experiment as a self-confessed ‘hopeless romantic’, admitting he signed up on a whim after a late night at the pub.
‘I say dumb things, do dumb things – I thought maybe the experts could teach me something,’ he said.
Check out Steven’s insights in this video (from minute 17 onwards)👇🏻
Steven was matched with Rachel in one of the season’s more grounded pairings, but their connection got off to an unusual start.
He recalled their wedding day nerves, a prank moment where he briefly thought a male guest was his match, and Rachel’s now-infamous giggle.
‘There was a lot of laughing… but it actually helped me. The nerves went away,’ he said.
While their early days showed promise – including sharing a bed on their wedding night and a relatively smooth honeymoon – cracks quickly began to appear.
Looking back, he admits it was a mistake.
‘I should’ve just kissed her,’ he said.
‘But I didn’t want to be performative or fake it. There was so much going through my head.’
The moment left Rachel visibly upset – and marked the beginning of growing emotional imbalance in the relationship.
One of the biggest controversies came during the couples’ retreat, when a crude comment about their sex life was exposed in front of the group.
Steven has since apologised, calling it a ‘bad choice of words’, but insists the situation was blown out of proportion.
‘I said something dumb in private. That doesn’t give someone the right to stand up and announce it to everyone,’ he said.
The fallout deeply affected Rachel and put further strain on their relationship.
He pinpointed homestays as the moment everything shifted.
‘I started thinking – I could do life with this woman,’ he said.
‘She had my back, even with my family. That meant everything to me.’
Off-camera, however, reality quickly set in.
With Steven based in Sydney and Rachel in Melbourne, distance proved to be their biggest challenge.
‘MAFS isn’t real life,’ he said.
‘There’s no bills, no work, no responsibilities. Then suddenly you’re back in it and it hits hard.’
‘I could’ve done things differently. I regret that,’ he said.
When he eventually flew to Melbourne to see Rachel, the reunion didn’t go as planned.
‘The energy just felt off,’ he revealed.
After hours of emotional conversations, the pair mutually decided to end things.
Their breakup made the reunion even more complicated, with the pair initially planning to enter together before a last-minute change.
‘It was confusing. We weren’t together, but we still had each other’s backs,’ he said.
Since leaving the show, Steven has been subjected to intense online trolling – including speculation about his sexuality and mental health.
‘People calling me gay as an insult – that’s what upset me,’ he said.
He also pushed back against claims he was ‘awkward’ or ‘on the spectrum’, blaming editing for shaping a misleading narrative.
‘I’m not as much of a dork as they made me out to be,’ he said.
Steven claims key moments of his relationship with Rachel were left out – including their growth as a couple and emotional scenes.
‘We both f***ed up at times. We worked on it. That development wasn’t shown,’ he said.
He also revealed tensions with the experts, particularly during the final commitment ceremony.
‘I felt like I was being forced into an answer,’ he said.
‘They put me in a position where I felt like the asshole.’
Despite their breakup, Steven insists there is no bad blood between him and Rachel.
‘We’re cordial. We still talk quite often,’ he said.
‘I’ve got nothing but respect for her.’
But he admits one question still lingers.
‘What if… what if I did things differently? Would we still be together today?’
Now focusing on personal growth, Steven says the experience has changed him.
‘I’ve learned I’m my own worst enemy,’ he said.
‘I was too worried about being liked instead of just being myself.’
And for future contestants, his advice is simple:
‘Speak your mind and be yourself – otherwise you’ll regret it.’
