The 2026 season of Married At First Sight has been a lot for viewers and it’s only been a few weeks. In fact, there has been so much drama packed into a few early episodes that Aussies wanted to tune out.
Many have told Yahoo Lifestyle that the fighting and controversial characters are too much this year and they were going to boycott the Channel 9 show. Some even said that after 13 seasons, MAFS had finally hit “rock bottom”.
The boycott fever started after the third dinner party last week and grew even more when groom Tyson Gordon entered the experiment, as he talked about wanting a “submissive” wife and was against “woke culture”.
But, Channel 9 hasn’t had a problem attracting an audience.
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When MAFS debuted on February 2, the reality TV show pulled in 2.89 million viewers.
The following episodes on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday similarly received between 2.58 million to 3.15 million viewers.
In the second week, the show ranged between 2.93 million and 3.28 million viewers over four nights, and people witnessed some messy behaviour between some of the cast members, but nothing too explosive.
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The third week, MAFS continued to be the biggest show in the country with 3.02 million to 3.2 million viewers on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
We saw 27-year-old Brook abruptly leave the experiment on Tuesday, only to come back the following night and lash out at several people.
Viewers called out her “disgusting” behaviour and said they didn’t want to watch the show anymore.
A poll of more than 26,000 Yahoo Lifestyle viewers overwhelmingly said Brook went “too far” and some threatened to turn off the telly as a result.
Brook did not hold back on Wednesday night’s dinner party episode. Picture: Channel 9
And yet, on Sunday, MAFS was the most popular show in the country with 3.541 million viewers.
Monday this week saw the introduction of 30-year-old Tyson Gordon, who said he was against “woke culture” and wants a “submissive” wife.
His bride, Stephanie Marshall, also said progressivism had gone too far in Australia.
Another poll of more than 1,400 viewers found 45 per cent would stop watching MAFS because of the couple, with many saying Channel 9 shouldn’t be airing those sentiments.
On Monday, 3.192 million tuned in, along with 3.023 million on Tuesday, and 3.024 million on Wednesday.
According to VOZ, which is a ratings measurement company, last night was “highest-rating Wednesday night episode of MAFS in history”.
So, to recap:
Week 1: 2.58 million to 3.15 million viewers
Week 2: 2.93 million to 3.28 million viewers
Week 3: 3.02 million to 3.54 million viewers
Week 4: 3.02 million to 3.19 million viewers (and that’s without Sunday night’s figures)
For comparison, this year has been a big improvement on the 2025 season:
Week 1: 2.523 million to 2.90 million viewers
Week 2: 2.70 million to 3.06 million viewers
Week 3: 2.62 million to 2.97 million viewers
Week 4: 2.72 million to 3.3 million viewers
SHOP:
There are slight fluctuations between each episode as they are formatted differently depending on the day.
There are a few reasons Sunday’s are typically popular:
It’s a weekend so people are home.
The show is on 30 minutes earlier.
The couples reveal whether they’re staying or leaving.
The experts to give their true thoughts on each person.
Wednesdays also bring in viewers because that’s when the dinner party airs — a time when drama is known to erupt.
Mondays and Tuesdays can be quieter because the episode consists more of how each couple is navigating their newfound relationship and the challenges that they’ve been given by the show.
So while people on social media might claim they’re changing the channel, they’re either lying, or Channel 9 is bringing in fresh viewers as the season unfolds.
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