{"id":547836,"date":"2026-03-18T06:40:14","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T06:40:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/547836\/"},"modified":"2026-03-18T06:40:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T06:40:14","slug":"mafs-bride-mel-finally-breaks-silence-on-horrific-stalking-claim-on-channel-9-show-careless","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/547836\/","title":{"rendered":"MAFS bride Mel finally breaks silence on ‘horrific’ stalking claim on Channel 9 show: ‘Careless’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mel Akbay has finally addressed the comment<\/a> she made on Married At First Sight<\/a>\u00a0that sparked calls for her to get booted from the show.<\/p>\n

During a chat with her on-screen husband<\/a>, the 28-year-old communications specialist claimed she “love” stalking her ex-partner, and would drive past his house at night to check he was home.<\/p>\n

Stalking awareness advocate Di McDonald told Yahoo Lifestyle Mel’s comments were “horrific” and was shocked Channel 9<\/a> would even air them.<\/p>\n

But Mel has now spoken out after leaving the show.<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/p>\n

“I do not think stalking is funny and l absolutely do not condone that behaviour,” she said in a statement on Instagram.<\/p>\n

“I was referring to something from when I was 17 and joking with friends, and it was careless of me to say it the way I did.<\/p>\n

“I regret it.”<\/p>\n

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

What did Mel Akbay say about stalking on\u00a0MAFS?<\/p>\n

During Revelations Week, the couples were tasked with asking each other pointed questions about their views and lifestyles to get to know each other better.<\/p>\n

Mel’s husband, Luke Fourniotis, asked her what was the wildest thing she did after a breakup.<\/p>\n

“[I’d] get in the car with my friends and drive past his house multiple times during the night time to make sure he was home,” she said on the show.<\/p>\n

“We’d do laps. Go to the servo, get a treat. Laps. If his car was there, it meant that he was home.”<\/p>\n

\"While<\/p>\n

While Mel thought her stalking admission wasn’t a big deal, her husband, Luke, had other feelings. Picture: Channel 9<\/p>\n

Mel added that it wasn’t just her ex-partner who received this treatment, as she and her friends would then go to someone else’s ex’s home.<\/p>\n

“Depending on whose heart was broken that week or that month, that’s the house we would focus on,” she said.<\/p>\n

In her audition tape, she claimed “we all” have “some kind of psycho, stalker-ish tendencies” but she tried to keep it hidden from her romantic partners.<\/p>\n

“I’m not a stalker…well I am, but they don’t know that,” she said.<\/p>\n

She even admitted to having several fake social media accounts in the past to keep tabs on her ex-partners.<\/p>\n

Her comments went down like a lead balloon with audiences, many of whom said it was not okay.<\/p>\n

Some also stressed that if the roles were reversed and a man was doing that, then it would get called out instantly.<\/p>\n

Di McDonald, founder of Stalking Awareness Day Australia (SADA) told Yahoo Lifestyle the comments should have never made it to air.<\/p>\n

“I’m appalled at Channel 9 that they knew that she did this and they still put her on the show,” the safety advocate said.<\/p>\n

\"Anti-stalking<\/p>\n

Anti-stalking advocate Di McDonald was horrified by what MAFS bride Mel said this week. Source: SADA<\/p>\n

“I think she should have been removed.<\/p>\n

“They’re trivialising stalking. What we go through is hell and some some people don’t make it. And here they are making light of it.”<\/p>\n

Yahoo Lifestyle reached out to Channel 9 for comment.<\/p>\n

Di even wrote a letter to the TV network begging for them to take Mel off the show.<\/p>\n

“Mel has to be made aware of just how damaging stalking someone is and that there are consequences for it,” she added.<\/p>\n

Mel and Luke eventually elected to leave the program as they weren’t gelling with each other after several weeks.<\/p>\n

Mel addresses her time on MAFS and shuts down rumours<\/p>\n

In the 28-year-old’s statement on social media, Mel said it’s been difficult to watch herself on MAFS. <\/p>\n

“There were moments where l didn’t communicate well and came across insensitive,” she said.<\/p>\n

“For that, I’m truly sorry to anyone who felt hurt or offended.”<\/p>\n

The NSW worker said she’s “not perfect”, and being on the Channel 9 show has been a “huge learning curve”.<\/p>\n

It’s made her realise how she handles situations and promised she would “keep growing”.<\/p>\n

SHOP:<\/p>\n

But Mel also addressed parts of the show that caused a lot of speculation.<\/p>\n

She first addressed rumours that she kept her distance from her soon-to-be husband’s family at the wedding.<\/p>\n

“I did not ignore Luke’s sisters,” she said. “I went over, hugged them and spoke with them, as well as his mum, who were all lovely to me.”<\/p>\n

When they were on their honeymoon, Mel also told Luke he could sleep on the floor with a towel as a blanket because she didn’t feel comfortable sharing a bed with him.<\/p>\n

She said that was just a joke and he slept in the bed “the entire time”.<\/p>\n

“Lastly, I’m sorry for not developing romantic feelings for Luke and that the experiment didn’t go the way we both would’ve hoped,” Mel added.<\/p>\n

“Luke is a good person and I genuinely wish him the best.”<\/p>\n

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