MAFS UK star Nathanial Valentino calls E4 show a 'complete sham'

Married at First Sight UK star Nathanial Valentino has called the E4 reality show a "complete sham" in a new interview reflecting on his experiences, and his decision to quit the programme.

The events manager has claimed he was "encouraged" into entering his relationship with Ella Morgan, the show's first transgender bride, despite wanting to be matched with a man or a woman with "very masculine energy". He said he initially refused but changed his mind after being told "it would ruin this girl's story."

Read more: MAFS UK star Nathanial hints at marriage breakdown as wedding airs: 'I wanted more out of this'

Speaking with The Mirror, Valentino said: "The way some were treated on the show became very dark. Pretty much from the start it was a complete sham."

He explained that his "deal-breakers" were marrying someone who smoked or who had previously worked in the sex industry. Morgan, he later learned, worked as a stripper in the past which is what led to their explosive arguments on the show.

He added: "Another occasion, a producer told me I wouldn’t be asked about my family. Not long after, Ella asked me why she was being encouraged to ask me about my family. That was the kind of manipulation that went on."

Valentino called the people working behind the scenes "goblins whispering in people's ears", claiming that their "manipulations" led to his and Morgan's arguments, and he said the same happened with other couples on the show.

MAFS sees eight prospective brides and grooms be matched up by dating experts who help them try to find love with a stranger that they meet at the altar.

The events manager went on to say that he came to grow close to another bride on the show, but when the unnamed woman told producers of their feelings she was told it wouldn't "be believable" for Valentino and her to get together on the programme because he "is gay". Valentino identifies as pansexual.

It was this experience that proved to be the final straw and led to Valentino deciding to quit the series.

Read more: MAFS UK star Ella on being show's first transgender bride: 'I don't want to say I'm a role model'

Valentino claimed that he asked Morgan for an apology via text but she didn't reply, and he also asked Channel 4 for an apology and has claimed they have not yet given one.

He added: "I don’t want to upset the good, kind people who work on the show, but what happened to me can’t happen to another person. This show needs to have a ‘For Entertainment Purposes’ all over it."

Yahoo UK has contacted Channel 4 representatives for further comment.

A representative for Channel 4 has denied Valentino's claims to PinkNews, saying he gave "full and informed consent" to enter into a relationship with Morgan and was never "encouraged" as he claimed.

The representative added: "Duty of care to all contributors is of paramount importance and MAFS UK takes its commitment to matching couples correctly very seriously and matchmaking is undertaken by a panel of experts."

Valentino's claims that the show is led by a team of writers who manipulate storylines was also refuted by the representative, who said the "show is an unscripted reality series which follows real events as they naturally unfold, and is in no way scripted."

Married at First Sight UK airs Monday to Thursday on E4.