The tables well and truly turned during Married At First Sight’s reunion episode on Sunday night as Ben Walters handed his villain title over to Jono McCullough following his big relationship reveal with Ellie Dix.
The drama kicked off the moment Jono and Ellie walked through the door hand-in-hand, following their texting scandal behind wife Lauren Dunn’s back.
Ben, who previously fell out of favour with viewers thanks to his harsh treatment of Ellie during their on-screen marriage, meanwhile emerged as a surprise hero of the night after he stood up to Jono at the dinner table.
The part-time construction worker piped up to reveal Ellie had said ‘I think Jono likes me’ weeks into the experiment, but insisted there was no blood between himself and his ex.
Turning to Jono, Ben added: ‘I’ve just got a problem with you,’ to which Jono astonishingly replied: ‘I don’t give a s**t! Shush your face, I’m talking!’
Married At First Sight fans have rallied behind former villain Ben Walters (pictured) after he stood up to Jono McCullough during Sunday’s explosive reunion episode
Viewers were quick to praise Ben for calling out Jono, albeit briefly, during the heated group conversation.
‘Good seeing Ben motivated for the first time in months,’ one wrote on X, as another added: ‘Ben finally cracks me up.’
Others admitted they were wrong about painting Ben as the villain earlier in the season, with one commenting on X: ‘Me when I think of the Tweets I wasted feeling sorry for Ellie getting stuck with Ben….’
Viewers were quick to praise Ben for calling out Jono, albeit briefly, during the heated group conversation
Meanwhile, Jono cemented his place as the latest MAFS villain when he managed to deflect attention from his relationship with Ellie by throwing fellow groom Tim Calwell under the bus.
‘I heard Tim say that he felt like he was rushed at Final Vows and if he did have that time he would have made a different decision,’ Jono said, implying the groom doesn’t actually want to be in a relationship with Sara Mesa.
‘Deflection, deflection,’ groom Timothy Smith shouted out as the other couples were left stunned by the admission.
Ben emerged as a surprise hero of the night after he stood up to Jono (pictured) at the dinner table, telling him: ‘I’ve just got a problem with you’
As the brides began questioning where Jono got this information, he continued to deflect back at Tim claiming it was all true.
Jono’s plan appeared to work as Sara immediately turned her fiery temper to Tim, saying: ‘What did you say to Jono?’
‘I didn’t say I would have made a different decision, I said I potentially could have,’ Tim said, attempting to play down what he confided to Jono.
The drama kicked off the moment Jono and Ellie (left) walked through the door hand-in-hand, following their texting scandal behind wife Lauren Dunn’s back
‘What do you mean?’ Sara shouted him, to which Tim replied: ‘It was a hectic rollercoaster.’
‘But that’s you saying that you would have said “no”,’ Sara pushed, though Tim continued to deny it.
Meanwhile, Ellie and Jono seemed to be having a happy time across the table, giggling together as Sara and Tim continued to argue.
‘I feel like we can’t laugh. Hold it in,’ Ellie said as Jono attempted to hide his smile behind his hand.
‘Don’t look so [bleep] happy, you [bleep],’ Timothy told them.
Meanwhile, Jono cemented his place as the latest MAFS villain when he managed to deflect attention from his relationship with Ellie by throwing fellow groom Tim Calwell (left, with wife Sara Mesa) under the bus
Earlier in the episode, Jono had also taken aim at Lauren, claiming the blonde had ‘no right to be upset’ about his new relationship.
‘It was worth crawling through hell on broken glass to end up with this beautiful woman,’ he said.
Jono and Lauren later came to blows, with a furious Lauren calling her former groom a ‘dog’.
‘You’re the nastiest person I’ve ever met in my life, Lauren,’ Jono snapped back.
