{"id":432352,"date":"2026-01-23T14:21:20","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T14:21:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/432352\/"},"modified":"2026-01-23T14:21:20","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T14:21:20","slug":"john-aiken-and-kelly-swanson-roe-a-complete-relationship-timeline-of-mafs-expert-john-aiken","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/432352\/","title":{"rendered":"John Aiken and Kelly Swanson-Roe: A complete relationship timeline of MAFS expert John Aiken"},"content":{"rendered":"

John Aiken<\/a> is the no-nonsense expert best known for delivering harsh truths to participants on the MAFS<\/a> couch.<\/p>\n

But when he’s not watching the mayhem of the Dinner Parties and raising his eyebrows at the Commitment Ceremonies, you can find John at home with his wife and children.<\/p>\n

The 55-year-old\ufeff has just celebrated 19 years of marriage to his Kiwi wife, Kelly Swanson-Roe, 51.<\/p>\n

\"MAFSThe couple marked 19 years of marriage. (Instagram @johnaikenlive)<\/p>\n

\ufeffStream every episode of Married At First Sight for free on 9Now<\/a><\/p>\n

“Jan 21st, 2007 \u2764\ufe0f#happyanniversary<\/a>\ufeff” the expert celebrated alongside a sweet photo of the couple in Queenstown.<\/p>\n

In honour of the milestone, we’ve done a deep dive on John and Kelly’s relationship \u2013 from their early years to the secret to long-term love.\ufeff<\/p>\n

John and Kelly’s relationship beginnings\ufeff<\/p>\n

John was born in Sydney but moved to Wellington, New Zealand when he was 12 for his father’s job\ufeff.<\/p>\n

It was in NZ that John first saw Kelly, a former newsreader, in the media.<\/p>\n

\"MAFSJohn first saw Kelly while she worked as a newsreader in New Zealand. (Instagram @johnaikenlive)<\/p>\n

READ MORE: Meet the real-life partners of MAFS experts John Aiken, Mel Schilling and Alessandra Rampolla\ufeff<\/a><\/p>\n

He’d always admired her on screen, before they officially met when he was presenting at a conference Kelly was attending.<\/p>\n

“I found myself doing a lot of my presenting to the corner she was sitting in,” he joked in an interview with Woman’s Day<\/a>. “I sought her out in the coffee break and introduced myself.”<\/p>\n

The pair started out as friends but it was clear things were more serious when they began flying regularly between Auckland and Wellington to see each other.<\/p>\n

\"MAFSJohn and Kelly started out as friends but knew things were more serious when they began flying to see each other. (Instagram @johnaikenlive)<\/p>\n

When John and Kelly met, he discovered she had faced unimaginable tragedy. Kelly’s first husband, Jon Roe, died in a canyoning accident in Switzerland, three years after they married. He was 30 and she was 24.<\/p>\n

John openly embraced all of Kelly’s past.<\/p>\n

\ufeff”Rather than saying, ‘No, I need to be separate with Kelly,’ I just said, ‘I’m going to bring her past partner into the relationship and really make him a part of it all. And that really changed everything,” John previously told 9Honey<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In Pictures<\/p>\n

\"MAFS<\/a><\/p>\n

In pictures: Meet the MAFS 2026 brides and grooms <\/p>\n

Tradies, single parents and a farmer. <\/p>\n

View Gallery<\/a>John and Kelly’s wedding<\/p>\n

John popped the question to Kelly at a restaurant in Sydney \u2013 after luring her there under false pretences!<\/p>\n

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about MAFS 2026 Season 13\ufeff<\/a><\/p>\n

“Look, I lied to her to be honest. I said, ‘I’ve got this book publisher that wants to meet with me’,” John said<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“I had the ring with me and we went to a restaurant down at The Rocks, just under the bridge. I got down on one knee and asked her to marry me. She didn’t see that coming.”<\/p>\n

They married on January 21, 2007 on Waiheke Island, off the coast of Auckland.<\/p>\n

\"HowJohn and wife Kelly on their wedding day in 2007. (Supplied)<\/p>\n

John told 9Honey<\/a> he had been calm and confident right up until the moment he saw his bride.\ufeff<\/p>\n

“I had never had felt that way before \u2013 it literally took my breath away. I struggled to talk.<\/p>\n

“We called it ‘New Beginnings’, because for Kelly, it was \u2013 and myself \u2013 it was a real celebration of something special, to begin again.”\ufeff<\/p>\n

John and Kelly’s family life\ufeff<\/p>\n

The couple moved from New Zealand to Sydney in 2008 where they settled before becoming parents to their two children, \ufeffson Aston, 15, and daughter Piper, 13.<\/p>\n

\"MAFSTogether John and Kelly are parents to Piper, 13, and Aston, 15. (Instagram @johnaikenlive)<\/p>\n

“Their upbringing has been quite different to mine,” he told Woman’s Day.<\/p>\n

“They’re not into sport. We want them to do things they’re curious about and to listen to their intuition. We’re exploring different things with them. We travel as a family, and take them skiing and snowboarding or to exhibitions. They love art and are very creative \u2013 they get that from Kelly.”<\/p>\n

WATCH: X-rated rendezvous, an arrestee husband and a groom threatening to quit over his bride’s appearance: Every shock from the MAFS 2026 trailer<\/a><\/p>\n

\"MAFSWhen he’s not on our screens, John’s a big family man. (Instagram @johnaikenlive)<\/p>\n

To him, teaching his children kindness was very important.<\/p>\n

“I’m around a lot of situations where people are not that kind. I want my kids to be affectionate,” John said.\ufeff<\/p>\n

John told 9Entertainment<\/a> that when he’s not on MAFS, he’s with his family.<\/p>\n

\ufeff”I spend a lot of time with the family. I try and get away for a couple holidays with the family and stay away from the spotlight.”<\/p>\n

John’s secrets to relationship success\ufeff<\/p>\n

After 19 years of marriage, John has plenty of advice to share.<\/p>\n

He told 9Entertainment that they had a few key things to keep\ufeff their relationship strong.<\/p>\n

\"HowJohn says relationship rituals are key to staying connected after 19 years of marriage. (Supplied)<\/p>\n

READ MORE: J<\/a>ules Lund, Brittany Hockley and Laura Byrne to host Stan Original MAFS: After The Dinner Party\ufeff<\/a><\/p>\n

“When one of us is under stress, the other person tries to listen but not fix,” he began.<\/p>\n

“I think we try and have little rituals of connection on a daily basis that keep us together, like having a coffee on the back deck in the early morning.<\/p>\n

“And we’re good at saying ‘sorry’ so that we can move forward.”<\/p>\n

Simple, but 19 years on, it is clearly effective!<\/p>\n

Married At First Sight Season 13 premieres Monday, February 2 at 7.30pm on Channel 9 and 9Now<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\ufeffStream every episode of Married At First Sight for free on 9Now<\/a><\/p>\n

FOLLOW US ON WHATSAPP HERE<\/a>: Stay across all the latest news from your favourite shows via our WhatsApp channel. No comments, no algorithm and nobody can see your private details.<\/p>\n