Married At First Sight Australia episode 20 recap: Paul’s wall-punch sends shockwaves through the experiment

Paul's aggressive behaviour was revealed at the latest Married At First Sight dinner party. Photo / Nine AU

This was the Married At First Sight Australia week no one was expecting.

It was a week filled with such disappointing and distressing behaviour that even the Australian police have become involved.

As reported by multiple news outlets over the past week, the seemingly lovable Paul got so mad at his wife Carina’s passing comment about sleeping with a rapper that he punched a hole in their apartment door.

“She couldn’t give me my space and I absolutely lost it,” he told the camera through tears.

“It’s not the right thing to do. It’s disgusting and unacceptable, and I’m hating myself for doing this”.

Police are investigating Paul's alleged behaviour, with the often-chipper groom harbouring dark sensibilities. Photo / Nine AU

Carina, who comes across as still shellshocked, said while she didn’t condone the behaviour, she “wasn’t scared” of her groom and was determined to stand by him after he fronted up to the wider group at the dinner party.

Judging by looks of grave concern on the experts' faces as they watched the confession, next week will likely see Paul face the full brunt of his actions and even a possible expulsion from the experiment.

Tense interactions were far from finished though. At Morena and Tony’s place, Morena is still coming to terms with her husband’s announcement that he wants children.

This leads to an explosive reaction at the dinner party, where Morena is still adamant that the statement was just a cop-out deflection from Tony.

Awhina and Adrian and Veronica and Eliot got ready in separate apartments after the last episode’s fallouts, with the questions still lingering as to whether this week will be their last on the show.

“I’m not your mother, I’m not here to fix you,” Veronica tells Eliot during an argument, as the (seemingly now former) man-child groom pleads that he has been as upfront and honest as he could be.

Veronica faces backlash from the other couples for being too hard on Eliot. Photo / Nine AU

But things take a sudden turn when the group at the dinner party unleash a grilling on Veronica for not fully appreciating Eliot’s small step in the right direction.

Jamie, acting as a de facto relationship counsellor, tries to get Veronica to understand that she “should be patient”, with Eliot, something she vows to do moving forward.

While Jacqui “hasn’t cried in four days,” she’s still fuming at Rhi over her perceived refusal to give an apology for making her feel bad last week.

Jacqui had previously texted Rhi’s husband Jeff for advice when her marriage to Ryan was in turmoil, and Rhi hit back publicly during their commitment ceremony at how inappropriate it was.

After an icy reception, Rhi just wants to put the event to bed and move forward, so after bickering back and forth, she apologises. I doubt we’ll see the end of this saga though.

And just to make the proceedings even more dismal, Adrian once again storms out with eyes rolled, claiming he feels hard done by.

“Adrian has one set of rules for himself and a different set of rules for Awhina,” the experts rightly decipher.

Gasps are heard from the table when after the couples ask if Adrian had “made an effort” and taken Awhina out for a nice dinner, to which he replies they “went to Nando’s”.

“Has anyone heard what I need?” he cries, before walking off in a sook.

Awhina, who is used to the behaviour by now, doesn’t even act surprised and shrugs it off, content that everyone now knows her husband’s true colours.

The drama drags on, and yet we have another week without any major conflict resolution. Surely the experts are ready to step up and step in as things continue to unravel.

Mitchell Hageman joined the Herald’s entertainment and lifestyle team in 2024 and has taken on the unofficial role of MAFS correspondent for this season. He previously worked as a multimedia journalist for Hawke’s Bay Today.