Married at First Sight: The two South Yorkshire couples still going strong, and new love for Sheffield man

For two couples from South Yorkshire, appearing on Married at First Sight was the best decision they ever made.

Years after starring on the hit Channel 4 and E4 reality TV show, the lovebirds from Sheffield and Doncaster remain happily married, and both couples have gone on to have a child together.

Things didn’t work out quite so well for two other singletons from Sheffield who appeared on the show, but one has gone on to find love outside the show while the other’s musical career has blossomed.

With a new series of MAFS UK beginning soon, we look at what happened to the couples from South Yorkshire who appeared on previous series of the show.

Michelle and Owen

Michelle Walder, a teacher from Sussex, and Owen Jenkins, a Sheffield IT worker, tied the knot as strangers on series five of MAFS UK back in March 2020.

The longest surviving couple from the UK version of the reality TV programme celebrated the birth of their first child, Jessica, last December, describing her as the ‘best Christmas gift in the world’.

Michelle and Owen initially settled in Sheffield together before moving down south to be nearer Michelle’s family last year.

Michelle told The Star: “Jess is growing quick and is crawling and exploring everywhere. We are missing Sheffield but settled into life down south, although coming back to visit whenever we can.”

Adam and Tayah

Doncaster couple Adam Aveling and Tayah Victoria, who live in Sprotbrough, met on series six of MAFS UK in 2021.

They welcomed their baby daughter Beau into the world in October 2022, saying they were ‘completely besotted’.

In December 2023, Adam and Tayah, who had appeared on the first UK series of the show in which the couples were not legally married, tied the knot for real.

Adam worked as an electrician after leaving school but is now a health and fitness coach, while Tayah worked as an estate agent when they met. They each have more than 200,000 followers on Instagram.

Richie and Lara

Richie Dews, a musician and sales executive from Mosborough, Sheffield, never quite hit it off with Lara Eyre after they were paired together on series seven of MAFS UK in 2022.

He put that disappointment behind him by focusing on his music career, and last year he annunced that he had become a full-time member of the rock group Heavy Pettin and was joining them on their South America tour.

Richie, who has worked with artists including Sheryl Crow, previously appeared on the ITV dating show Take Me Out. He said his experience on MAFS UK had not put him off trying to find love on another TV show in future.

Jordan and Erica

Jordan Gayle, a personal trainer from Sheffield, and Erica Roberts met on series eight of MAFS UK in 2023.

After a turbulent time on the show, they committed to staying together in the series finale.

Jordan subsequently told The Star how Erica was the person he wanted to ‘spend the rest of my life with’.

But things sadly didn’t work out, with the pair breaking up over Jordan’s birthday weekend, shortly before the reunion episode aired in February this year.

Jordan has since found love with Melissa Golik, an Australian emergency nurse and DJ.

He told The Star they were very happy and had recently moved to Sheffield.

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