Married At First Sight Australia's Scott McCristal has admitted he was left 'broken' after Homestays following a string of 'toxic' comments made by his 'judgemental' wife Gia Fleur.
The successful businessman, 33, brought his bride, 35, back to the fancy suburb of Holywell on the Gold Coast to show off his impressive $1.9m waterfront property, with the hope she would move in after the experiment. But his gated villa surrounded by the sea, which had access to a swimming pool, tennis courts and private gardens, didn't live up to his wife's standards, with her branding it 'too messy' and 'too small' to consider it as a home.
Viewers were stunned by her multiple insults about the place he was obviously so proud of, but the MAFS groom has now opened up about even more digs she made off-camera that were so 'toxic' they left him feeling 'degraded'. Since the episode aired in Australia back in March, he has been lifting the lid on his partner's behaviour that wasn't seen on the show – and claims it was worse than any fans thought.
Speaking to nine.com.au, Scott said: 'She pointed out a lot more problems when the cameras weren't there. When someone tries to degrade you like that it makes you feel pretty sh*t to be honest. I was a carpenter for 10 years, I built my businesses by myself. I've never been given anything, and when you appreciate and value what you buy for yourself and your home and the life I chose to live, I'm happy with it. To have her pick it apart was rough.'
Gia and Scott have been flying through the experiment until recently, getting matching tattoos and planning a future together as soon as filming wrapped. But their relationship began to unravel towards the end of the series, and the former power couple reached an all-time low during Homestays Week, which made Scott realise it was time to 'pull the brakes'.
'Gia was always convincing me to look for places to move into straight after the experiment, but I realised I can't move in with her yet,' he told the MAFS producers. 'I'm not moving until, number one, I'm in love with her because I'm not making someone move states unless I genuinely love the person. Number two, I need to see her behaviours change because I don't like the toxicity she brought to my environment.'
The fitness fanatic also dished more dirt on Homestays to TV WEEK, explaining just how awful the whole experience really was for him. 'At this point in the experiment, I was a bit of a mess. I wasn't myself anymore. I couldn't even talk. Little things would trigger her. What was hurting Gia the most was when she was trying to find an issue with me – she couldn't find anything. It wouldn't end and it was getting worse and worse. It wasn't healthy.'
He also felt like no amount of effort would ever be enough for the ex-Playboy bunny as they only seemed to have a 'spark' when he showered her with gifts, treated her to dinner or whisked her away. 'In an everyday world, it's impossible to take someone away every day of the week,' he continued. 'We all have a life. We all go to work. It's very hard to manage someone like herself that wants to be treated with gifts every day of the week – especially if you're not getting that in return.'
Despite the negative impact he claimed her constant put-downs had on him, Gia has since insisted she was totally unaware of how her husband was feeling as a result of her actions. There's two sides to every story and she recently told WHO that her husband had 'never voiced any of these things' during filming or even when the pair had a private moment alone. Shocking her with his allegations, the mum-of-one admitted she felt 'blindsided' by his latest admissions because he 'constantly reassured' her that they 'were good'.
Gia said: 'He would say I've said this and that so that I would be nice… I was doing everything he wanted behind the scenes, and then he would go on voxies and totally lie. He gaslit the fu*k out of me.'
