A MAFS star has revealed the shocking length of the show’s commitment ceremonies.
Pro-dancer Julia-Ruth Smith, who is married to Divarni on the E4 hit series, took to Tiktok to reveal the gruelling length of filming for the show’s iconic commitment ceremonies.
The first ceremony of the series saw Julia-Ruth lay bare her concerns over partner Divarni[/caption]
In her Tiktok, which came off the back of fan criticism towards her unique one-handed clap, she said that while viewers get to see “five minutes” of what goes on in the show, the cast would film “for hours”.
Opening up about the gruelling process, she explained: “The commitment ceremonies that you seeing, about five minutes per person on the couch.
“But we were there for hours. Like 13 hour days.”
Commitment ceremonies usually mark the longest-running episodes of the popular show, clocking in at over 80 minutes run time.
It means Julia-Ruth’s revelation of the gruelling film schedule on commitment ceremony days makes sense.
It follows criticism from fans on social media around her unique way of clapping, which left the pro-dancer baffled.
On her Instagram story, she claimed the unusual way of clapping stems from black, Latin, and LGBTQ+ communities which she is “heavily a part of” as a dancer, and questioned why fans are bothered about the “smallest thing ever”.
She said: “I’m actually screaming that I have to jump on here to say this – just because you guys are so vexed that I didn’t clap with both hands, I clap with one.
“I want to jump on here to kind of say that this actually originated from black and Latin communities and the LGBTQ+ community which I’m heavily a part of being a dancer.
“It means to give someone their props, to acknowledge them, that you see them, that you’re sending them love and acknowledge them.”
The MAFS star was addressing social media commentary from the series’ first commitment ceremony episode, where viewers mocked her one-handed clap on X.
One wrote: “I cannot stand Julia-Ruth’s f***ing finger clapping”.
In the replies, one viewer chimed: “Its f***ing annoying and ridiculous.”
But others in the replies seemed aware of the gesture and its origins.
One said: “It means clock it. A gen Z flex [laughing emoji] I was taught it by my nephews haha”.
While another wrote: “It comes from the queer community. It originated in ball room culture: it’s not her thing, she’s involved a lot with the queer community hence why she does it.”
Married at First Sight’s best moments
Married at First sight has brought eight explosive series of drama to the small screen. These are some of the best moments
- When series 8 couple Rozz Darlington and Thomas Kriaras brought secretly brought a sex toy to the couple’s dinner party. Unbeknownst to their fellow cast members who they were having dinner with, Rozz wore a vibrating egg gadget whilst husband Thomas had the controls.
- Also in series 8, Ella Morgan cheating on Nathanial Valentino with fellow groom JJ Slater.
- Nikita’s exit in series 6. Nikita was removed from the show early on due to her behaviour, which led to her husband Ant re-entering the experiment with Alexis.
- A slightly more heart warming highlight from series 6 was watching Dan and Matt’s relationship unfold. Dan and Matt were the first same-sex couple on the show, and their relationship was both ground-breaking and adorable.
- Emma and James’ wedding in series 1. They were the first couple to ever get married on the UK version of the show. Emma and James, had a beautiful ceremony that set the tone for the series.
- The dinner party showdowns are always a MAFs highlight with explosive arguments and unexpected alliances forming.
