{"id":608214,"date":"2026-04-15T10:04:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T10:04:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/608214\/"},"modified":"2026-04-15T10:04:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T10:04:14","slug":"mafs-steven-reveals-how-he-really-feels-following-brutal-split-from-rachel-as-he-discusses-backlash-and-one-thing-that-happened-off-camera-that-would-change-everything","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/608214\/","title":{"rendered":"MAFS’ Steven reveals how he REALLY feels following brutal split from Rachel as he discusses backlash – and one thing that happened off-camera that would change everything"},"content":{"rendered":"

Married At First Sight groom Steven Danyluk has broken his silence in a no-holds-barred interview, lifting the lid on his failed relationship with bride Rachel and the controversy that followed.<\/p>\n

Sitting down with Daily Mail Australia, the Sydney-based mechanic, 35, insists he was ‘genuine’ in the experiment and has slammed claims he ghosted his on-screen wife after filming wrapped.<\/p>\n

‘I did not f***ing ghost Rachel,’ he said bluntly.<\/p>\n

‘We stayed in contact. I flew to Melbourne<\/a> to see her. There’s a lot of bulls**t online that just isn’t true.’<\/p>\n

Steven entered the experiment as a self-confessed ‘hopeless romantic’, admitting he signed up on a whim after a late night at the pub.<\/p>\n

‘I say dumb things, do dumb things \u2013 I thought maybe the experts could teach me something,’ he said.<\/p>\n

\"Married <\/p>\n

Married At First Sight’s Steven Danyluk has broken his silence in a no-holds-barred interview, lifting the lid on his failed relationship with bride Rachel and the controversy that followed<\/p>\n

\"Sitting <\/p>\n

Sitting down with Daily Mail, the Sydney-based mechanic, 35, insists he was ‘genuine’ in the experiment and has slammed claims he ghosted his on-screen wife after filming wrapped<\/p>\n

Before the show, his life was ‘mundane’ – working as a mechanic, fishing on weekends and watching friends settle down.<\/p>\n

‘I’m in my mid-thirties\u2026 everyone around me is having kids and moving on. You start thinking, I want that too.’<\/p>\n

Steven was matched with Rachel in one of the season’s more grounded pairings, but their connection got off to an unusual start.<\/p>\n

He recalled their wedding day nerves, a prank moment where he briefly thought a male guest was his match, and Rachel’s now-infamous giggle.<\/p>\n

‘There was a lot of laughing\u2026 but it actually helped me. The nerves went away,’ he said.<\/p>\n

While their early days showed promise – including sharing a bed on their wedding night and a relatively smooth honeymoon – cracks quickly began to appear.<\/p>\n

A turning point came during intimacy week, when Steven refused to kiss Rachel during a key task.<\/p>\n

Looking back, he admits it was a mistake.<\/p>\n

\"'I <\/p>\n

‘I did not f***ing ghost Rachel,’ he said bluntly. ‘We stayed in contact. I flew to Melbourne to see her. There’s a lot of bulls**t online that just isn’t true’\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘I should’ve just kissed her,’ he said.<\/p>\n

‘But I didn’t want to be performative or fake it. There was so much going through my head.’<\/p>\n

The moment left Rachel visibly upset – and marked the beginning of growing emotional imbalance in the relationship.<\/p>\n

‘That’s when I realised she was more invested than I was,’ he admitted.<\/p>\n

One of the biggest controversies came during the couples’ retreat, when a crude comment about their sex life was exposed in front of the group.<\/p>\n

Steven has since apologised, calling it a ‘bad choice of words’, but insists the situation was blown out of proportion.<\/p>\n

‘I said something dumb in private. That doesn’t give someone the right to stand up and announce it to everyone,’ he said.<\/p>\n

The fallout deeply affected Rachel and put further strain on their relationship.<\/p>\n

\"Steven <\/p>\n

Steven was matched with Rachel in one of the season’s more grounded pairings, but their connection got off to an unusual start\u00a0<\/p>\n

Despite their ups and downs, Steven insists their connection was real – and claims he did develop genuine feelings for Rachel.<\/p>\n

He pinpointed homestays as the moment everything shifted.<\/p>\n

‘I started thinking – I could do life with this woman,’ he said.<\/p>\n

‘She had my back, even with my family. That meant everything to me.’<\/p>\n

By Final Vows, both chose to continue their relationship – a decision Steven stands by.<\/p>\n

‘I needed to see what it was like in the real world,’ he said.<\/p>\n

Off-camera, however, reality quickly set in.<\/p>\n

With Steven based in Sydney and Rachel in Melbourne, distance proved to be their biggest challenge.<\/p>\n

‘MAFS isn’t real life,’ he said.<\/p>\n

‘There’s no bills, no work, no responsibilities. Then suddenly you’re back in it and it hits hard.’<\/p>\n

\"'I <\/p>\n

‘I should’ve just kissed her,’ he said. ‘But I didn’t want to be performative or fake it. There was so much going through my head’<\/p>\n

While the pair remained in contact and spoke regularly, Steven admits communication wasn’t perfect.<\/p>\n

‘I could’ve done things differently. I regret that,’ he said.<\/p>\n

When he eventually flew to Melbourne to see Rachel, the reunion didn’t go as planned.<\/p>\n

‘The energy just felt off,’ he revealed.<\/p>\n

After hours of emotional conversations, the pair mutually decided to end things.<\/p>\n

‘She said, ‘Are we just delaying the inevitable?’\u2026 and she was right.’<\/p>\n

Their breakup made the reunion even more complicated, with the pair initially planning to enter together before a last-minute change.<\/p>\n

‘It was confusing. We weren’t together, but we still had each other’s backs,’ he said.<\/p>\n

\"Despite <\/p>\n

Despite their ups and downs, Steven insists their connection was real – and claims he did develop genuine feelings for Rachel\u00a0<\/p>\n

Since leaving the show, Steven has been subjected to intense online trolling – including speculation about his sexuality and mental health.<\/p>\n

‘People calling me gay as an insult – that’s what upset me,’ he said.<\/p>\n

‘Even if I was gay, why is that funny? Why are people laughing?’<\/p>\n

He also pushed back against claims he was ‘awkward’ or ‘on the spectrum’, blaming editing for shaping a misleading narrative.<\/p>\n

‘I’m not as much of a dork as they made me out to be,’ he said.<\/p>\n

Steven claims key moments of his relationship with Rachel were left out – including their growth as a couple and emotional scenes.<\/p>\n

‘We both f***ed up at times. We worked on it. That development wasn’t shown,’ he said.<\/p>\n

He also revealed tensions with the experts, particularly during the final commitment ceremony.<\/p>\n

‘I felt like I was being forced into an answer,’ he said.<\/p>\n

‘They put me in a position where I felt like the asshole.’<\/p>\n

Despite their breakup, Steven insists there is no bad blood between him and Rachel.<\/p>\n

‘We’re cordial. We still talk quite often,’ he said.<\/p>\n

‘I’ve got nothing but respect for her.’<\/p>\n

But he admits one question still lingers.<\/p>\n

‘What if\u2026 what if I did things differently? Would we still be together today?’<\/p>\n

Now focusing on personal growth, Steven says the experience has changed him.<\/p>\n

‘I’ve learned I’m my own worst enemy,’ he said.<\/p>\n

‘I was too worried about being liked instead of just being myself.’<\/p>\n

And for future contestants, his advice is simple:<\/p>\n

‘Speak your mind and be yourself – otherwise you’ll regret it.’<\/p>\n

Rachel and Steven’s relationship timeline: What went wrong\u00a0 <\/p>\n

Early cracks \u2013 honeymoon tears over ‘harmless’ joke<\/p>\n

Their relationship didn’t exactly get off to a smooth start.<\/p>\n

During their honeymoon, what should have been a light\u2013hearted moment quickly spiralled when Steven made a comment about Rachel’s love of footy \u2013 leaving her visibly upset and fleeing their date in tears.<\/p>\n

It was the first sign their communication styles were wildly different, with Rachel taking things to heart while Steven struggled to read the room.<\/p>\n

Brutal rejection during Intimacy Week<\/p>\n

Things took a devastating turn during Intimacy Week \u2013 a moment many insiders say defined their entire relationship.<\/p>\n

In a vulnerable gesture, Rachel planned a romantic ‘Love Actually’\u2013style moment, asking Steven for a meaningful kiss.<\/p>\n

But instead of leaning in, he shut her down.<\/p>\n

‘I can kiss you Rachel, I can kiss you but I’m not sure that it’ll make you feel something,’ he admitted, confessing he felt more like they were ‘friends’ than lovers.<\/p>\n

Rachel was left humiliated, storming off in tears as the reality of their disconnect hit hard.<\/p>\n

‘We were all rooting for them’ \u2013 early promise<\/p>\n

Despite the setbacks, the pair initially showed real promise.<\/p>\n

At their first Commitment Ceremony, they appeared completely smitten, bonding over shared experiences and a similar sense of humour.<\/p>\n

‘I really like Steven\u2026 I will tell you every freaking day if I have to,’ Rachel gushed.<\/p>\n

At the time, they were seen as one of the experiment’s most genuine couples \u2013 a stark contrast to the chaos unfolding around them.<\/p>\n

Retreat drama brings them closer \u2013 then blows up<\/p>\n

Ironically, one of their strongest moments came during one of the season’s most explosive group settings.<\/p>\n

At the couples retreat, Rachel was left humiliated after a crude comment about her intimacy with Steven was aired in front of the group.<\/p>\n

But rather than tearing them apart, it initially brought them closer.<\/p>\n

Rachel later revealed Steven ‘had her back’ during the fallout, strengthening their bond at the time.<\/p>\n

However, the situation also exposed deeper issues around trust, communication and how they handled pressure from others.<\/p>\n

The underlying issue \u2013 friendship vs romance<\/p>\n

Throughout the experiment, one theme kept resurfacing \u2013 Steven wasn’t sure if the spark was truly there.<\/p>\n

While Rachel appeared all\u2013in from the start, Steven repeatedly questioned whether their connection was romantic or simply platonic.<\/p>\n

That imbalance became the quiet tension running through their entire journey.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Married At First Sight groom Steven Danyluk has broken his silence in a no-holds-barred interview, lifting the lid…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":608215,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[64,63,100,134,16995,647,670,2017],"class_list":["post-608214","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-dailymail","tag-entertainment","tag-married-at-first-sight-australia","tag-melbourne","tag-sydney","tag-tvshowbiz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/608214","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=608214"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/608214\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/608215"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=608214"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=608214"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=608214"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}