{"id":522070,"date":"2026-03-06T07:55:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-06T07:55:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/522070\/"},"modified":"2026-03-06T07:55:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-06T07:55:09","slug":"mafs-viewers-back-joel-moses-over-controversial-act-for-grown-man-disgusting-and-weird","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/522070\/","title":{"rendered":"MAFS viewers back Joel Moses over controversial act for grown man: ‘Disgusting and weird’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Married At First Sight<\/a>\u00a0groom Joel Moses left the cast massively divided this week<\/a> when they found out he still slept with a teddy. While it’s a mainstay for babies, toddlers, and kids, having a teddy as an adult isn’t as common.<\/p>\n

The 31-year-old reality TV show contestant was mocked by Gia, Tyson, and most importantly, his wife Juliette Herrera<\/a>, when his secret was aired at the dinner party on Wednesday night. But it seems like the rest of Australia disagrees with those MAFS star’s condemnation.<\/p>\n

A poll of more than 5,600 Yahoo Lifestyle readers found 96 per cent thought it was okay for a grown man to have a teddy.<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/p>\n

Readers told Yahoo Lifestyle that they couldn’t work out why it was such a big deal to still have a teddy and that it shouldn’t be grounds to be mocked.<\/p>\n

“Nothing wrong with it. Shows a tender side. It’s not hurting anybody. It’s probably just a comfort mechanism. My cats sleep on my bed sometimes, what’s the difference?” said one person.<\/p>\n

Do you have a story? Email stew.perrie@yahooinc.com<\/p>\n

“I dated a guy who kept a machete under his bed, think I\u2019d prefer a teddy bear any day,” added another.<\/p>\n

“Maybe that teddy has significant memories of his childhood? I don\u2019t see any problem,” wrote a third.<\/p>\n

Others compared it to red flags in a relationship like a wandering eye, a drug problem, issues with money, a lazy attitude, and said it was nothing to lose sleep over.<\/p>\n

What did the MAFS cast say about Teddygate?<\/p>\n

Joel hasn’t been shy about his connection to his teddy and introduced Australia to the raggedy blue toy on his first appearance.<\/p>\n

While his bride didn’t seem too crash hot on the idea at the start, she warmed to teddy after the wedding and didn’t seem to have a problem with it.<\/p>\n

But when it came time for Wednesday’s dinner party episode, she used it as ammunition against Joel.<\/p>\n

“He likes to cuddle up with his teddy bear at the end of the night, he wants to sleep with the teddy bear,” she said.<\/p>\n

“I’m not married to a man, is what I’m trying to say.”<\/p>\n

The revelation Gia and Chris shocked.<\/p>\n

“Joel with the teddy bear is absolutely disgusting and weird,” Gia said.<\/p>\n

“It’s not hot. No girls going, ‘Oh, that’s so hot. Should we have sex tonight with Teddy watching?’ It’s just gross.”<\/p>\n

Tyson added: “It is embarrassing. I want to sleep with my wife. I don’t want to sleep sleep with a stuffed animal.”<\/p>\n

SHOP:<\/p>\n

Gia then upped the ante and said she would have thrown teddy in the ocean and said it wasn’t manly to have a stuffed toy.<\/p>\n

Joel urged his detractors to not read too much into it, and he was supported by a few other cast mates.<\/p>\n

“I don’t think it’s fair to attack someone’s manhood because he has a teddy,” Danny said.<\/p>\n

“I think it’s brave to be a 30-year-old man and admit you’ve got a teddy. You can actually argue that he’s more masculine than us because he’s not scared of his masculinity and he has a teddy.”<\/p>\n

“Is it really the worst thing in the world that a man has a teddy?” Rachel asked.<\/p>\n

“I can think of a lot of worse things. That should not even be brought up because you’re bringing it up to put a guy down. You’re bringing it up to make him feel small as a person.”<\/p>\n

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