PIRIPI & STEPH WHAT REALLY HAPPENED!

The groom's TV confession left his bride reeling from the start

- Hayley Barnett

When they first laid eyes on each other at their Vanuatu wedding, Stephanie Archer and Piripi Clarke seemed like a match made in heaven - both young, good-looking and ready to take on the world. Of course, as contestants on Married At First Sight New Zealand, things didn't go so smoothly.

Despite Piripi's puppy-dog charm and easy-going nature, viewers have been trying to get their heads around why Steph, 31, just can't seem to get on board. She comes across as an overthinker who takes life too seriously.

But when talking to Woman's Day, the Auckland marketer reveals there's one thing that coloured her judgement from the start and it wasn't the fact that Piripi, 28, has two children.

"Piri told me on our wedding night that he had applied for FBoy Island NZ and that was how he ended up being approached by the MAFS producers," says Steph. "He told the boys at the stag do too, so it wasn't something he was embarrassed about or hiding.

"I had signed up for a marriage and I was ready to go the whole nine yards from the beginning. That conversation made me feel I was put with someone who didn't see the value in the marriage.