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The stars of this season’s Married at First Sight have soared on social media.
Figures released by social media ranker Fabulate for March reveal that some cast members including Dave Hand, Rhi Disljenkovic and Awhina Rutene have captured an online following of over 100K.
Heading for social media stardom is fan favourite Jamie Marinos who leads her MAFS co-stars in online popularity after racking up 184.6K followers on TikTok.
The 28-year-old has another 182K followers on Instagram.
She has seen quite a leap in interest since she was sitting on 169,000 only last week.
Jamie’s TV husband Dave Hand, 36, has also attracted attention online, scoring 143K followers on Instagram.
The stars of this season’s Married at First Sight have soared on social media. Figures released by social media ranker Fabulist for March reveal that fan favourite Jamie Marinos is headed for stardom after racking up 184.6K followers on TikTok and another 182K followers on Instagram. (Pictured)
Jamie’s TV husband Dave Hand, 36, has also attracted attention online, scoring 143K followers on Instagram. (Pictured)
Also popular with social media users is controversial groom Eliot Donovan who captured 129.6K followers on TikTok.
Meanwhile, Rhi Disljenkovic and Awhina Rutene both managed to attract 112K followers on Instagram.
However, not all MAFS cast members are performing as well on social media.
Controversial groom Adrian Araouzou, who had a famously stormy match with Awhina, has accumulated 74,000 fans on TikTok as regular followers.
It comes after a group of rebellious Married At First Sight stars defied Channel Nine and risked breaching their contracts by taking back control of their Instagram accounts.
And insiders say the network is fuming.
Daily Mail Australia revealed last week that groom Dave and intruder bride Veronica Cloherty have successfully reset their Instagram passwords are now refusing to hand the accounts back to the show’s publicity team.
Dave and Veronica are understood to be planning to cash in on their newfound stardom by launching influencer careers immediately – but this sneaky move is a direct violation of their contracts with Nine and production company Endemol Shine Australia.
Rhi Disljenkovic (pictured) and Awhina Rutene attracted 112K followers on Instagram
According to the insider, Nine’s publicity team is ‘not happy’ with the rogue participants, who have blindsided network bosses by jumping the gun.
An insider close to production told Daily Mail Australia: ‘It’s not a good look. Nine and ESA can’t risk them going rogue online while the show is still airing overseas’.
In a major shake-up this year, Channel Nine has tightened the reins on cast members’ social media activity, banning them from reclaiming their accounts until May 10 – well after the Australian finale – to coincide with the show’s broadcast in the UK.
‘They want to control the narrative for as long as possible and stop participants from bad-mouthing the show over their “horrible edits,”‘ the source said.
It’s a huge blow for this year’s cast, many of whom were banking on post-show fame to launch paid partnerships and lucrative influencer deals.
One furious bride, who asked not to be named, told Daily Mail Australia: ‘I’ve had a few brands approach me, but they all say the same thing – I need control of my account before they’ll sign me’.
During the show’s airing, Nine’s publicity team maintained an iron grip over the participants’ accounts.
The brides and grooms were only allowed to write captions under strict supervision, with comments disabled and no access to direct messages – blocking any potential brand opportunities.
In the past few weeks, participants were allowed to supply photos and captions, but Nine’s social team had the final say on what was posted.
