Fans of Married At First Sight UK should brace themselves for some possibly expected news as Shona Manderson and co-star Matt Pilmoor have officially confirmed their romance after weeks of conjecture.
Shona and Matt disclosed in an exclusive interview with OK! that they have been dating for several months, having first connected during the Married At First Sight reunion filming in June of this year.
Shona told the publication: “We have a really healthy, happy, safe, fun, relationship – I really appreciate Matt so much, it’s what I deserve, we deserve each other. I’m proud to be his girlfriend and it just works.”
In case you needed reminding, Shona was initially married to Brad Skelly on Married At First Sight UK, however the pair were asked to leave the experiment in the episode shown on 12th October, after the experts deemed their relationship unhealthy and asked them to leave the show. They dated for a few weeks after leaving the experiment but ultimately ended their relationship.
In a recent Instagram post discussing her MAFS UK journey, Shona mentioned she had found a new relationship, saying: “I met the kindest soul who loves me just the way I am and it’s what I deserve.”
It has since been verified that the individual to whom she was alluding is Matt Pilmoor, a cast member of MAFS UK.
As one of the final grooms to tie the knot with Adrienne Naylor, Matt entered the series near the end. As the couple enjoyed their honeymoon and seemed to be becoming stronger, everything seemed to be going well for them. But their discordant personalities and divergent aspirations for the future quickly caused problems for them; Matt was certain he would have children, while Adrienne wasn’t sure she saw having kids in her future.
The couple made it all the way to the final vow renewal where they decided to stay together outside of the experiment. However, by the time the reunion rolled around the couple had broken up mutually.
Before the series came to its conclusion it was reported by The Sun, Shona and Matt were dating after they had been spotted in a Starbucks together and seemed to be getting on well.
“They were chilling together in Starbucks and looked very relaxed in each other’s company. They even brought their pet dog along. They must have been together for a while because they were hardly dressed to impress,” a source told The Sun.
Matt and Shona said it was hard to keep their relationship a secret because of the show’s guidelines prohibiting competitors from disclosing their relationship status before the series ends.
“Matt would be driving and I would be in the back, we would be walking around Nottingham and I’d be all the way over there, we were like secret agents on a mission,” Shona recalled.
Along with revealing their relationship on social media, Matt uploaded a video of the two of them on Instagram, captioning it, “The moment the announcement was finally dropped and we could be free.”