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Married at First Sight UK 2025 weddings have kicked off to quite a dramatic start.
MAFS UK's Grace and Ashley got married in episode two, and let's say the day most certainly did not go off without a hitch. Midwife Grace seriously considered leaving before the vows, and the post-ceremony photo shoot saw her refuse her new husband's kiss, tell him that she's not into PDA. Ouch.
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Grace and Ashleys's MAFS journey so far
So what happened? Basically, Grace broke down in tears in front of the cameras after the ceremony, admitting: "I wouldn't say he's my type. I'm feeling no instant spark." Meanwhile, Ashley was feeling completely different, praising the experts for their incredible matchmaking skills, at the exact same time that Grace was considering giving up on the experiment already. So. Very. Awkward.
Speaking to the producers on camera after the ceremony, she admitted: "I don't know... maybe I did hope there'd be more of an initial spark. Maybe I just hoped it'd be there more. I'm not really sure why I'm being quite as wobbly as I am right now. I can't put my finger on it. I honestly... I just don't know how I feel. I don't want to do this, sorry."
When the producers said it was OK that she didn't feel an initial spark with Ashley, and questioned what she wanted to do, Grace responded: "I don't know what to say. It's just a lot. Sorry, I think I'm just in a negative headspace about it. I don't want to do this, sorry. I just... I can't."
She had a change of heart, though, and made it to the post-ceremony photoshoot, though she did keep Ashley waiting, which he admitted was “awkward”.
Four couples have been matched so far.
Grace and Ashley's first impressions on Married at First Sight
There were signs that things weren't going to go well – upon meeting, MAFS UK's Grace joked a lot with Ashley, which her friends and bridesmaids were concerned about as they thought that meant she was nervous, and not in a good way.
Ashley, however, seemed positive about the fact that she offered her cheek when he tried to kiss her. "I like the fact she didn't want to kiss straight away, it shows she's got morals. Now I've got to find out if I'm what she's asked for," he said.
Later, though, he did admit that her lack of PDA "feels a little bit of a knock back because I like someone who is affectionate".
Grace clearly had mixed feelings about whether she should've gone ahead with the ceremony, admitting: “I'm just frustrated that I feel negative when I really wanted to feel positive.”
Things got more uncomfortable when Grace remained very quiet when she was asked by her friend if Ashley was everything she was looking for. Eventually she responded:"Yeah, I think so..." she said adding: "I asked for someone confident, charismatic, someone respectful."
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Then, Ashley really rubbed Grace up the wrong way by saying he was raised to believe that the man was the main breadwinner of the house.
"God, here we go. It's 2025, Ashley, men don't have to be the moneymaker and the woman stays home," Grace vented to the cameras. When asked by Grace's friend Hannah if he was a feminist, Ashley responded “100% no”, later clarifying "Not 100 per cent no, that's not the right thing to say. I would say I do have old school morals and I was raised that the man was the breadwinner and things like that."
Her friends then expressed concern that he might not be a good match for Grace, who values women's rights and feminism really highly, whereas Ashley described himself as an “old school gent”.
On a more positive note, Ashley did emphasise that he would treat Grace with respect, and after a discussion as to what feminism really is – he admitted he was one, and just didn't know the definition. But he then joked to the cameras that he might be a feminist, but wouldn't be "burning his bra". Ick.
Grace didn't seem convinced, confiding to her friends: “Am I going to have to bring you [Ashley] up to speed with basic issues?” Sadly, she then cried to her bridesmaids: "I'm just really overwhelmed. I just thought I wanted it to be really easy. It's not easy."
Are MAFS UK's Grace and Ashley still together?
Of course, we don't know anything for sure, but things don't look good for Grace and Ashley on MAFS UK.
At time of writing, they don't follow each other on Instagram, so it could be that things took an even more negative turn later on in the marriage.
A honeymoon teaser clip also saw repeated disagreements over Ashley's “old school morals”, so we're predicting more conflict ahead either way.
We'll have to wait and see to find out how they fared in the experiment.
Because it's not a British reality show without at least one footballer.
