EXCLUSIVE: With their instant chemistry, Rebecca and Steve started out so hopeful as a couple on Married At First Sight.

Now, they were the first to leave the experiment in 2026, but not without one final word from Rebecca, 51.

Want the official inside scoop on MAFS, unfiltered and unseen? Watch After The Dinner Party here.

EMBARGO 22/2/2026 9:30PM MAFS 2026 Commitment Ceremony 2 Rebecca and SteveSteve and Rebecca both decided to ‘leave’. (Nine)

“I’m not going to settle,” she said of her decision to leave during Sunday’s emotional Commitment Ceremony.

As her marriage to Steve, 50, crumbled, the bride felt she was “robbed of the experience”.

But if she did have one message for ex-husband Steve, it would be this.

”I’m not going to hold a grudge,” she made clear.

That doesn’t mean she wasn’t upset. 

“When I love and care about people I give everything to them, and I feel like it was a complete waste of time,” she said holding back tears.

READ MORE: MAFS Australia expert Mel Schilling announces she is leaving the show – after 10 years on air

“I just felt like I was matched with this person that was just not ready.”

Despite a positive start, Rebecca and Steve faced their biggest challenges during Intimacy Week. Steve felt the pair were going at different “paces” in the relationship, while Rebecca felt Steve wasn’t “showing up for her” on a day-to-day.

“I think we were on different speeds,” Steve reflected when speaking to 9Entertainment after his exit.

EXCLUSIVE: MAFS’ Rebecca reveals moment you didn’t see on TV before ‘intimacy’ rejection from Steve: ‘I felt cheap’

“Rebecca was expecting a lot more for me and I wasn’t willing to maybe dive down a certain path just as quickly as she was.”

The groom said he was a “slow burn”, hoping to build a friendship first to see where that would go.

In Pictures

Stay or leave? Every brutal decision from the MAFS 2026 Commitment Ceremonies

As four participants leave.

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“Whereas Rebecca I think, wanted to have the full-blown marriage up front very quickly, and every part that goes with being married to someone, and I just wasn’t as quick to respond.”

Rebecca and Steve: Where are they now? 

Rebecca and Steve are no longer together.

But, after their decision to both ‘leave’ the experiment during the second Commitment Ceremony, they are both still open to looking for love.

EMBARGO 15/2/2026 9:30PM MAFS 2026 first commitment ceremony Rebecca and SteveRebecca and Steve had their ups and downs, and are now both ready to move on. (Nine)

“I’ve been single for three years and I can’t wait to meet someone,” said Steve.

“I think I’ve just got to be patient. I’m not going to rush it, that’s for sure.” 

EXCLUSIVE: MAFS groom Steve reveals he’s related to David Beckham

Speaking to 9Entertainment, Rebecca said she’s “definitely ready” to go back into the dating pool.

“Hopefully I won’t cry now, which I’m probably going to… Being single for eight years, I didn’t realise how lonely I am, I actually want to find love more than anything,” she revealed.

“I’m definitely ready to find love, hopefully he might find me.”

Want more exclusive? Catch Rebecca’s unseen MAFS audition tape here: 

Stream every episode of Married At First Sight for free on 9Now. Plus, exclusive footage, unfiltered interviews and exclusive video when MAFS: After The Dinner Party starts Wednesday, February 18 only on Stan.

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