"Selfish little man child" - Married At First Sight Australia's Ashleigh criticizes Jake for leaving the show

Married At First Sight Australia season 12 episode 9 premiered on Nine on February 9, 2025, featuring this season's first Commitment Ceremony.

During the episode, Ashleigh expressed that she wanted to stay with her husband, Jake, and give him another chance. In contrast, Jake revealed that he wanted to leave noting that Ashleigh broke his trust when she told her castmates about his Photo Ranking task.

Since the couple didn't have the same answer they were kept in the experiment for another week so that they could work on their relationship. However, before that could happen Jake left the show feeling betrayed by his wife.

Ashleigh talked about Jake's sudden exit in an interview with 9Now, published on February 10, describing it as a "selfish" move. She expressed that she wanted to work on their connection and criticized Jake for leaving without explaining.

"So I just think, shame on you buddy, you selfish, selfish little man child," she said.

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Married At First Sight Australia star Ashleigh opens up on being in a relationship with Jake

In her interview with 9Now, Ashleigh revealed that after returning from the Commitment Ceremony, her husband, Jake, packed his belongings the next morning and told her he was leaving both her and the show.

Reflecting on the incident, Ashleigh noted that Jake leaving the show was a "selfish" move. She was upset that her husband decided to leave without giving any reason or telling her what he was feeling.

The Married At First Sight contestant added that while she and Jake didn’t find love together, she was grateful for the experience and the opportunity to learn more about herself.

Further in the interview, Ashleigh recalled meeting Jake for the first time noting that he had a pretty good vibe and the two "hit things off" with each other instantly.

"[Jake] was really friendly and it was really comfortable and easy straight away so I thought that was a really good sign," she said.

However, things changed for Ashleigh when she moved in with Jake. She noted that the more she got to know her Married At First Sight partner the less attractive she found him. Moreover, she realized that Jake wasn't on the same emotional intelligence level as she was.

"I had a lot of trouble with his mentality, he would just be a bit immature and the jokes and the fun and the laughs started to go a bit downhill because he wasn't taking anything as seriously as I was," she concluded.

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Why happen between Ashleigh and Jake?

In Married At First Sight Australia season 12 episode 8 Jake participated in a Photo Ranking task, where he ranked the female participants based on their looks and made some comments about them.

The following episode, episode 9, featured the season's first Commitment Ceremony. During the ceremony, the married couples had to sit before an expert to discuss their relationships in depth. After reflecting on their experiences, they had to reveal whether they wished to stay in the experiment with their partner or leave.

During, Ashleigh and Jake's segment, Ashleigh revealed that she found Jake's Photo Ranking task comments disturbing and informed their cast mates about them.

Jake, however, felt betrayed, believing that his Married At First Sight wife had broken his trust by discussing his remarks behind his back. During the Commitment Ceremony, he expressed his desire to leave the experiment, while Ashleigh revealed she wanted to stay.

Since Ashleigh and Jake had a differing answer during the Commitment Ceremony they were asked to stay another week in the experiment. However, Jake was still upset at his wife and might have left the show because of it.

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Married At First Sight Australia season 12 episodes are available to stream on 9Now.