At one stage during the MAFS experiment, Bec Zacharia and Danny Hewitt looked like they might actually make it. They had banter, chemistry, momentum.
But in the weeks leading up to Final Vows, things were already unravelling - and not simply because of would make him a 'bitch'.
Behind the scenes, things had turned sour. The cause? A throwaway comment from Danny that effectively signalled the end of the couple's marriage.
They were discussing their future outside of the experiment when Danny casually told Bec he would 'pencil her in' - meaning he would try to make time to see her.
After months spent living in each other's pockets and planning a future together, it was shattering.
'That line stuck with her,' an insider says.
Bec and Danny were discussing their future outside of the MAFS experiment when he casually said he would 'pencil her in'. Those three words shattered their relationship
'It made her feel like she wasn't his priority - just someone he'd get around to if nothing better came up.'
From that point on, there was no coming back.
Of course, the imbalance between them had been building for weeks, and, if we're being honest, had been there since the very beginning.
Bec was all in. She had already told Danny she loved him - a huge step for her - but Danny couldn't meet her there.
Sources say he hesitated, deflected and struggled to give her a straight answer about where things were heading.
'She was emotionally ahead of him the entire time and she could feel it,' a source says, adding that the uncertainty started to eat away at her confidence.
'Bec could sense the attraction wasn't there,' notes my source. And with Danny pulling away, their personalities began to clash.
Bec wanted reassurance, intensity and passion; Danny was laid back, often deflecting serious conversations with humour or avoidance.
Bec retaliated by complaining about their sex life to her back-up match during the 'Is the Grass Greener on the Other Side?' challenge, which is set to air on MAFS next week
'She needed him to step up, but he never really did,' says an insider.
Things came to a head during the 'Is the Grass Greener on the Other Side?' task, which is set to air on MAFS next week.
For those unfamiliar with the challenge, it was introduced last season and involves the participants being given the option to meet their 'back-up match' - another bride or groom the experts had on standby.
This year, however, there was no option and they were simply told it was happening.
Clearly feeling bitter, Bec was particularly keen to participate, even mocking Danny's fashion sense as she waited for her second option to arrive.
'She was already off him before the challenge even started,' a source says.
During her date with her back-up match, Bec opened up about the fractures in her marriage, she felt like Danny wasn't fully invested.
'She felt like he was keeping her as an option,' the insider explains, adding that Bec even complained about her sex life with Danny.
'She said she wanted a husband who actually wanted to f***k her,' said a spy.
(It's unclear whether that particular remark will air on TV, although I have it on good authority it was captured by the cameras.)
The fact Bec was leaning into the 'Grass is Greener' task so heavily was a sign of how frustrated and 'checked out' she was.
'She was embarrassed by it all,' a cast member tells me.
She told her back-up match that Danny wasn't fully committed and that he'd given her the impression that she wasn't his first choice.
That sense of dissatisfaction extended to Bec encouraging fellow bride Gia Fleur to explore her other options too. (I'll have more to say on that this weekend.)
Meanwhile, Danny also engaged with the 'Grass is Greener' challenge - unlike other grooms who refused to participate - though he didn't go quite as far as Bec.
'He sat there, had the conversation [with his back-up match] and gave it a go.'
Still, the fact that Danny met his back-up while other grooms refused to participate strengthened Bec's resolve that he wasn't fully invested in her.
'Bec said she wanted a husband who actually wanted to f***k her,' said a spy
Danny looked noticeably distant from Bec the morning after they consummated their marriage
By the time Final Vows approached, insiders say the outcome was all but inevitable.
'They were pretty much done,' a source says, bluntly.
What viewers are now watching unfold can be traced back to a small but telling remark. It wasn't a big fight, rather a moment when Bec realised she wasn't Danny's first choice.
It was being told that, after everything they'd been through, the best Danny could do was 'pencil her in'.
After that, there was no saving them.
New to DailyMail+? Here are our most-read stories from the past week
