Danny Hewitt has apologised after previously unseen footage from Married At First Sight showed him criticising his ex-wife Bec Zacharia’s appearance, leaving the Adelaide socialite in floods of tears when the clip was played to her, her co-stars and viewers during MAFS: After The Dinner Party.
In an Instagram statement posted after the footage surfaced, the 34-year-old British groom said he was “so ashamed” of himself and apologised to Stephanie Marshall and Bec, saying he wanted to own up to his mistakes rather than make excuses. He also told viewers he understood why many would hate what they saw, and said he felt he had let down the production team and the wider MAFS cast and crew.
The backlash centres on comments that had already been circulating on social media before the television broadcast gave them wider exposure. In the clip, Danny is heard saying he could “roll up to Coles right now, aisle four, and there’s a bird in there — she’ll be better than Bec”, a remark that landed as the footage was shown back to the people involved. Zacharia, 35, broke down in tears as the comments played out on screen.
The apology comes after a separate wave of criticism over Hewitt’s conduct during the reunion episode, when he was overheard calling Marshall a “f*****g little skank”. The pair had also been accused of a secret romance after Final Vows, after they were caught texting and sending voice notes and Marshall sent him a bikini photo on social media. That sequence has left the show dealing with more than one damaging off-screen story at once.
Hewitt said he had a “very dry sense of humour” that can come across badly on television, especially to people who do not know him, but he stressed he was not using that as an excuse. For now, the damage is not about whether the words were heard — they were — but about how much more the show can absorb from contestants whose private messages and public insults have become part of the broadcast itself.
