MAFS Australia's Jack reveals truth behind controversial 'whale' comment
3 April 2024, 11:28
Married At First Sight Australia groom Jack has broken his silence after calling his castmates 'whales'.
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Last night's episode of Married At First Sight Australia saw Timothy Smith, 51, claim that Jack Dunkley, 34, called himself, Lucinda Light, 43, and Tristan Black, 30, 'whales'.
The controversial statement came after the cast embarked on a couple's retreat which saw them spend time with their fellow brides and grooms outwith the dinner parties and commitment ceremonies.
During this time, Timothy told Lauren Dunn, 32, and Sara Mesa, 29, that whilst he, Lucinda and Tristan were lounging by the pool, Jack walked past and said: "I see the whales are here today."
As imagined this led outrage within the group, with Jack stating that his words were 'taken out of context'. Now both he and his wife Tori Adams, 27, have defended his comments, claiming that Timothy wasn't there when the 'whale' jab was made.
Speaking out after the episode aired, Jack revealed that not everything was as it seemed on the show.
In an interview with Channel 9, Jack gave his side of the story, saying: "I walked into the pool one day, and I think it was Jade and Lauren, or Jade and Sara, two very attractive, fit girls that are very happy with their bodies.
"I did a bit of a walk and said, ‘the whales are out today’. It was a joke – not a joke I would make to anyone and everyone."
Watch MAFS Australia's Timothy discuss Jack's comments here:
Jack calls fellow MAFS cast whales
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He went on to add that he did not make the comment to Tristan, who has been open about his body image stuggles.
Jack stated: "I’m really tight with Tristan, I love the guy. Not in a million years would I make a joke like that to someone like Tristan, I’m not that stupid.
"As far as I know, I didn’t think he was at the pool. He got wind of the joke as Timothy brought it up when everyone’s around the fire pit having drinks and it was horrible."
Tori also backed up her husband's account, telling Refinery29 Australia: "Timothy wasn't even at the pool at the time the comment was made.
"When the comment was made... I believe what happened was Jack walked into the pool area and there was a few people there — Lauren, Jade. He made the comment and they all barrelled in laughter."
She continued: "Then they're doing backflips into the pool and it's all one big laugh."
Tori then explained how things took a turn in the evening when Timothy claimed he heard Jack call him a 'whale'.
The MAFS star said: "Then it comes to later that night, and apparently Timothy was there and Tristan was there.
"Timothy did come to the pool at some stage but it wasn't when the comment was made, because Timothy was at the pool when I was at the pool — and I wasn't there when the comment was made.
"The whole thing just looked so premeditated, it looked so planned, you could see the holes in it. It's funny how people remember things."
This isn't the first time Jack has made controversial comments on the show.
The 34-year-old became the villain of the season after he told Jonathan McCullough, 38, to 'muzzle your woman' when he was arguing with Jono's wife Lauren.
Understandably this caused a stir online, with MAFS Australia expert John Aiken calling out the groom for his 'disgusting' insult.
Jack also received backlash from fans when he asked Tori to 'convince' him that she was the 'hottest' bride in the experiment during a cringeworthy photo ranking challenge.
This led to the groom being branded the 'worst kind of human' on social media following this awkward exchange.
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