The transtasman Mafs couple of Liam Cooper and Samuel Levi have recently been scouting wedding venues in Aotearoa. Photo / Emily Chalk
On a recent trip to Aotearoa, Married At First Sight couple Liam Cooper and Samuel Levi sparked speculation among friends they were here to secretly tie the knot.
Samuel, 32, laughs: “Everyone’s been asking, ‘Did you guys get hitched in New Zealand?’ Even my twin brother!”
The first successful international Mafs match, Liam, 34, who appeared on the Aussie version of the show in 2021, and Samuel, who starred on the Kiwi series in 2018, didn’t tie the knot in Godzone. However, they did use the fleeting trip to suss out possible wedding locations.
But the real focus was on family – in particular, Samuel’s grandma Sandra, who had a party to celebrate her 80th.
“My nana’s a star,” says Samuel. “She just loves Liam and loves Mafs – she watched both of our seasons and made an appearance on mine.”
While in Auckland, the couple spent lots of time spoiling Samuel’s nephews.
“They’re my twin’s sons and they live like kings when their uncles are around because they know we’ll give them anything they want!” says Samuel. “Liam is so great with them – he lets them jump and climb all over him.”
Liam adds: “Samuel’s family is lovely, accepting and open. It’s nice because I come from such a dysfunctional family.”
Samuel also used the trip to give Liam a nostalgic tour of his past, pointing out where he grew up in Piha, the schools he went to and other childhood haunts that “probably bored the hell out of him”.
It was Liam’s fourth trip to New Zealand, but their first since getting engaged. They stayed at Auckland’s Cordis Hotel, where they told Woman’s Day they won’t have a big, traditional wedding.
“We’ve already done that on Mafs,” Liam explains. “I genuinely, perhaps naively, thought I was only getting married once, so I invited everyone I wanted to that wedding. Now I feel like I’ve experienced that big ceremony and don’t need to do it again.”
Samuel agrees: “We’ll probably elope somewhere beautiful, with a best friend each, then we might share photos to announce it… Or we might not!”
After their disastrous matches on Mafs, Samuel and bisexual groom Liam met by chance at Brisbane’s Big Gay Day in 2021, months after Liam’s marriage to a woman aired on TV.
Samuel recalls: “We hit it off and I spontaneously said yes to a 12-hour road trip with Liam, driving from the Gold Coast to Sydney, where he had a shoot. The rest is history.”
They bonded over a shared passion for travel, but the ultimate test was when Samuel packed his bags to stay at Liam’s farm for a week, and a Covid lockdown kept them together for three and a half months.
“We were basically living the whole Mafs experience again, just without the cameras,” Samuel laughs.
Liam grins: “If we could survive that, we knew there was something real.”
When restrictions lifted, Liam left the farm to move to Melbourne to live with Samuel. After a brief but “dramatic” split in 2023, the couple announced their engagement last year and recently bought their first home together.
Life is busy, with Samuel pouring his energy into his growing beauty brand Luxe Sticks, which has expanded into the US and Canada, while former prison officer Liam works in family violence and homelessness services for indigenous Australians – meaningful work shaped by his own childhood experiences with domestic violence.
Recently, Liam reconciled with his mum after 15 years of no contact. She met Samuel three weeks later.
Liam says: “His being there during such a stressful time really showed me how much I love having him in my life. He was a huge help, just being there for me. He’s everything I ever wanted in a partner.”
And Samuel is equally effusive about Liam. “He has the biggest heart. He cares for everyone close to him and he always puts me first – something he’s taught me to do too. I was quite selfish before. He’s shown me what a loving relationship really is and he has the best sense of humour.”
Both have seen snippets of the new season of Mafs, but say they’re “far removed” from the series now.
Liam says:, “I did a little stint on a show, but it’s not my full personality. A lot of people do Mafs these days to build a brand or stay relevant. I actually went on to find love! However, I wouldn’t be quick to judge any of the contestants – they might be the nicest person getting the worst edits.”