{"id":487878,"date":"2026-06-21T03:06:09","date_gmt":"2026-06-21T03:06:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/487878\/"},"modified":"2026-06-21T03:06:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-21T03:06:09","slug":"inside-bec-zacharias-mafs-experience-and-why-she-loves-new-zealand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/487878\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside Bec Zacharia\u2019s MAFS experience and why she loves New Zealand"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cI\u2019ve had one of the best coffees I\u2019ve ever had,\u201d she gushes. \u201cEveryone has been so hospitable. I cannot wait to come back.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"BecBec found fans and good times in Pukekohe, Auckland. Photo \/ Oliver Foote Media<\/p>\n

But we\u2019re not here to talk flat whites. Any recent viewer of MAFS will know Bec\u2019s time on the programme was, to put it mildly, a lot. Matched with British-born Danny Hewitt, 34, her experience on the show was defined by confusion, emotional exhaustion and, she claims, a partner who knew exactly what he was doing in front of the cameras.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was in a constant state of panic at all times, not knowing which way was up and which way was down,\u201d she tells Woman\u2019s Day. \u201cIf I ever brought up an issue with Danny and he didn\u2019t agree with it, it would be twisted and made to look like I\u2019d done something wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since leaving the show, Bec says her suspicions about Danny have proven correct. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe told someone, allegedly, that he and his best friend had a business plan the whole time. But then you can\u2019t take anything Danny says for gospel. When we were on the show, he said you\u2019d never see him on Instagram or doing podcasts, and lo and behold, he\u2019s doing every podcast, Instagram and TikTok he can get on.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Bec admits the couple had some fun times, putting a lot of their challenges down to long filming days, and being away from friends and family. The stress contributed to what she calls a \u201cpressure-cooker environment\u201d that saw MAFS producers encouraging couples to air their grievances with others on camera.<\/p>\n

\"BecBec says her MAFS man Danny always \u201ctwisted\u201d the issues. Photo \/ Woman’s Day<\/p>\n

Bec reveals that contestants are kept waiting for hours, phones confiscated, with nothing to do, often dressed \u201cin full glam\u201d before dinner parties even begin. And once at the parties, they\u2019re not allowed to leave until execs get what they want.<\/p>\n

\u201cAn executive producer will walk in the room and say, \u2018If you haven\u2019t given me what we\u2019re looking for, we\u2019re not moving and you\u2019re staying.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

On one occasion, Bec took matters into her own hands.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne night, we were all arguing so much, I just stood up and said, \u2018Girls, we\u2019re done,\u2019 and we all walked out.\u201d<\/p>\n

But while there are calls for the series to be cancelled following allegations of rape on the UK series<\/a>, Bec insists, \u201cLook, I wouldn\u2019t be here in New Zealand without the show, so I can\u2019t say I wish it hadn\u2019t happened. There are a lot of great things about MAFS too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite the chaos, Bec has built some genuine friendships from her TV experience. She speaks to fellow brides Rebecca Zukowski and Samantha Moitzi every single day, chats regularly with Rachel Gilmore and Stella Mickunaite, and has formed a surprisingly strong bond with Alissa Fay, with whom she had multiple run-ins on the show. <\/p>\n

\"BecBec Zacharia on MAFS Australia. Photo \/ Woman’s Day<\/p>\n

\u201cAlissa and I are very close now,\u201d she insists, adding that they\u2019re both based in Adelaide.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not so surprising Bec has \u201czero communication\u201d with nemeses Gia Fleur and Juliette Chae, and she\u2019s equally dismissive of grooms David Momoh and Scott McCristal. <\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think David was accurately represented as to who he actually is,\u201d she tells. \u201cThe boys this year were very much protected. It was all about the villainous women.\u201d<\/p>\n

And Danny? \u201cHe\u2019s not in my life,\u201d she says with barely concealed contempt.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

These days, Bec is focused on paid appearances, an upcoming brand trip to Bali and hot dates, although she\u2019s keeping the details on the latter firmly under wraps.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m keeping everything private until it\u2019s something to talk about,\u201d she smiles.<\/p>\n

As for regrets on the show?<\/p>\n

Bec shares, \u201cIf I could give my past self some advice on day one, I\u2019d say, \u2018Stop, breathe and don\u2019t react. Trust your gut and leave because he\u2019s not into you.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cI\u2019ve had one of the best coffees I\u2019ve ever had,\u201d she gushes. \u201cEveryone has been so hospitable. I…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":487879,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[74,95,9526,19103,85,180674,244654,2946,5136,17515,1888,2944,424,92823,19652,9610,13085,13631,117,111,43,139,69,4762,6926,20863,143997,18916,73172,5662,1961,76351,4524,4276,6730,1530,110683,244655,244653,80],"class_list":["post-487878","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-after","tag-and","tag-another","tag-attend","tag-australia","tag-bec","tag-catfights","tag-dinner","tag-drama","tag-experience","tag-first","tag-inside","tag-life","tag-loves","tag-mafs","tag-married","tag-matches","tag-never","tag-new","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-party","tag-season","tag-she","tag-shouting","tag-sight","tag-tears","tag-think","tag-this","tag-traumatic","tag-want","tag-why","tag-would","tag-years","tag-youd","tag-zacharia","tag-zacharias","tag-zealand"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/487878","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=487878"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/487878\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/487879"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=487878"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=487878"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=487878"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}