MAFS bride reveals harrowing childhood trauma and how she was forced to leave school and work at Bunnings at 16 to support herself
Married At First Sight star Sierah Swepstone has recalled her harrowing upbringing in an emotional Q&A on Instagram.
The 31-year-old made heartbreaking admissions about the childhood trauma she refused to share with TV husband Billy Belcher on the show and detailed what her post-MAFS 'PTSD' looks like.
The Melbourne-based financial advisor revealed she had only recently completed her university degree when she applied for MAFS.
Sharing a photo of her teenage self, Sierah said that she didn't go to university right out of high school.
'Nope, I got kicked out of home at 16 and had to work at Bunnings to support myself,' she explained.
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'I went to university as a mature-aged student and finished my degree age 30.'
In a particularly raw moment, Sierah opened up about being a domestic violence survivor, revealing she was in an abusive relationship from the age of 16 to 18.
She explained how trauma survivors like herself are often hyper-vigilant and triggered in toxic environments.
'I spent 14 years reprogramming and working on myself. But I will always be vulnerable to certain behaviours that trigger me – especially in an environment where your pain is amplified, exploited, and you are extremely isolated,' she explained.
In recent days, Sierah has made numerous claims about the show's editing, her emotional trauma, and set the record straight on that now-infamous 'footsie' scene with co-star Adrian Araouzou.
She slammed the show's focus on trivial drama while overlooking the serious issues she was dealing with.
'If I knew that I would be treated like my life didn't matter, I obviously never would have done [MAFS] because it left me with PTSD,' she said.
Sierah claims that cast members did not see the MAFS experts outside of the on-screen interactions filmed during the weekly commitment ceremonies
'That for me looks like: ruminations that consume my mind daily; severe anxiety; weight loss /lack of appetite; increased alcohol intake; social withdrawal; difficulty falling asleep and waking up in the middle of the night from nightmares.'
Following filming for the show, Sierah was seen being escorted by three police officers and a paramedic into the back of an ambulance in Melbourne at around 12.56pm on February 13.
She appeared visibly distressed and clutched her chest as she climbed into the ambulance which transferred her to the Alfred Hospital.
The distressing incident occurred as her explosive 'footsie scandal' with groom Adrian played out on the hit reality show.
She has insisted that nothing ever happened between her and Adrian, and the pair are just friends.
Sierah also confirmed that much of her storyline was cut from the show, including the reasons behind her departure.
'My narration was cut out. My feelings were never included. The way I was treated wasn't shown,' she said.
She suggested the lack of context was deliberate, writing: 'The fact it was so sensationalised, because no one questioned why I removed myself… those were the real issues.'
Sierah claims that cast members did not see the MAFS experts outside of the on-screen interactions filmed during the weekly commitment ceremonies.
However, she detailed three private interactions of her own.
At the second commitment ceremony — during which both Sierah and Billy both voted to leave the experiment - she said she had a 'trauma response' and had to be removed from the set.
'The experts saw me on break and said I was a brave woman, or something to that effect. I didn't feel brave I felt violated,' she said.
At the wild MAFS reunion that saw a fight erupt between Sierah and multiple cast members, the bride told producers: 'I can't wait to get to the party and tell everyone to get f**ked.'
'After being attacked by four people at the reunion, I had a severe anxiety attack and hyperventilated,' Sierah explained on her Stories.
'Which is why I actually left. When I crossed paths with John, he said I handled myself very well.'
At the reunion commitment ceremony, Sierah added that Mel Schilling gave her a compassionate hug and said, "I'm sorry you had such a s**t experience sweetheart."
'That made me cry and I legged it and left,' she explained.
Prior to her stint on MAFS, Sierah appeared on the 2021 series of The Bachelor and failed to find love with her co-star Jimmy Nicholson.
Her elimination from The Bachelor went down in reality TV history as one of the best exits when she hilariously confessed Jimmy wasn't into 'tall, horny bogans' after he sent her home.
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