16 hours ago
Married At First Sight star Dave Hand shares heartbreaking news: 'It's taken a toll'
Married At First Sight star Dave Hand has given a heartbreaking update about his father Howard's health.
The reality groom, 36, shared his father's cancer journey with viewers during his homestay visit with TV bride Jamie Marinos.
Despite revealing at the time that his father had 'turned a corner', Dave admitted to The Mirror this week that Howard's cancer had returned.
'The tumours my dad had on the show that had previously shrunk – they've come back pretty quickly,' Dave told the publication.
Dave added that Howard was currently taking part in a clinical trial in an effort to beat the disease.
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'He's on a trial now. Only 200 people in the world are doing it,' Dave explained.
'My dad's response for doing it is, "If I can help somebody out, I'm going to give this trial a crack and help the future."
'He's been fighting it for five years and now it's taken a toll on him.
'He's a bit frail and now he's got to go into battle again.'
MAFS fans were introduced to Howard and Dave's stepmother Karen during a homestay visit with Jamie.
It was an emotional reunion for Dave, who hadn't seen his father since before his reality TV wedding.
Dave revealed that the reason Howard missed out on the nuptials was that he was undergoing chemotherapy.
The groom was then shown on his wedding day sitting alone and FaceTiming with Karen and Howard.
'I wish my dad was well enough to come to the wedding,' he said.
'He'd just started chemo for the fourth time.'
Dave also admitted that his father's cancer battle had taken a personal toll over the last four years.
'Seeing dad over the last four years, it sort of does take a lot out of me,' he said.
'You take it all on board.
'So, this visit hopefully is a bit different. I got some news about him yesterday but I haven't spoken to him yet, so it'll be good to see him.'
After a happy introduction, the family sat down at the table to hear Howard deliver his news.
'There were three tumours, two tumours have shrunk and the third tumour has gone,' Howard revealed.'
'Another four doses should hopefully clean it up. Something's finally working.'
Dave said at the time he was over the moon with the good news.
'I'm so glad that my dad's turned the corner – he's been on my mind since day one,' he said.
'Seeing him with a bit more pep in his step, I'm super, super happy. I'm a bit emotional but happy.'
Speaking exclusively to Daily Mail Australia in April, Dave revealed his emotional outbursts on the series were due to his heartbreak over his father's cancer battle, but claimed much of the explanation was 'cut out' and as a result he was left looking like a terrible husband and 'horrible person'.
'[My Dad] took a turn and I was really struggling with that, but they completely cut that out of the edit so it looks like I did a total backflip on Jamie, but I was communicating my feelings about my dad,' he explained.
He went on to say he cried while explaining the situation on the couch with the experts, and told them he was 'struggling' with the experiment due to him being so preoccupied with his father's illness.
'Watching that back on screen and seeing how they edited it was really difficult for me, because everyone in the experiment knew how much I was struggling, my friends and family knew, but it didn't come across that way at all, it was just like "he's a terrible person."'
Dave admitted he had 'no idea' why the footage was cut, but blamed it on the tough realities of showbiz and said all he could do now was 'move on'.
'I know how I handled myself in there was the best I could have in that capacity,' he said.
'If I had to go back there it was a really scary place to be, because I knew I was struggling and I turned up to be the partner Jamie needed but, in the edit, it looks like I did a huge backflip.'
