Married At First Sight (MAFS) alumn Eden Harper has dished on what the infamous Dinner Parties are ~really~ like, stating that it’s an experience she “wouldn’t recommend” to her “worst enemy”.

As a seasoned MAFS observer, I would definitely claim that the weekly Dinner Party is the most iconic part of the show. The Dinner Party is usually when all the drama comes to the surface, resulting in screaming matches, emotional revelations and wine-throwing amongst the participants.

While it looks like fun to indulge in — solely as a viewer and not as someone who’s in the crossfires of a couple’s drama — Eden Harper, who previously appeared on the show in 2024, has revealed that it’s not as exciting as we would think it would be.

In a mammoth tea spill to Yahoo! Lifestyle, the former bride said the meals she ate on the show were always “terrible”.

“I wouldn’t recommend it to my worst enemy. It was cold and there wasn’t enough of it,” she dished.

“By the time I even leant over for a piece of chicken, all that was left was lettuce. It was not good.

“But towards the end of the season, because you get less and less people, you end up getting more and more food. Always eat before the dinner parties, I’d tell that to anyone, any season.”
The way I would UberEats a meal in if I was stuck with just lettuce!!! (Image source: Nine / Married At First Sight)
Further in her chat with the publication, Harper also revealed that there’s a one to two-hour gap between the cocktail party and the actual Dinner Party. Within that time frame, the couples are ushered to a tent where they will film voxxies or do photoshoots.

“What people miss is that after the cocktail party and before the dinner party, you go back into a tent for like an hour, or maybe even two hours sometimes. So even if you had four drinks and you’re a bit tipsy by the time you go to the dinner party, you’re sober again,” Harper added.

“You go back into the tents, every single person does a voxie, and then there’s the photo shoot. So you’ll notice if you look at the cocktail party, usually when they do the ‘Ding, ding, ding’ it’s daylight, and then when you see them sit at the table, the sun’s down and it’s pitch black.”
POV: I’m on MAFS and I’m trying to act normal while hiding a Large Zinger Box with Mountain Dew in my dress at the Dinner Party. (Image source: Nine / Married At First Sight)
During this time, the former bride revealed that she would bring a full-on “bag of food” for her and her on-screen hubby Jayden Eynaud so that they would be full ahead of the Dinner Party festivities.

“Jayden ate a lot so I used to bring sushi and all the snacks and the whole lot. And Lucinda [Light] would make like a charcuterie board in the tent and she’d be passing it under to the others,” she dished.

“All the tents are connected, but you’re not allowed to talk in between. I’m torn whether the tents are there to make you go crazy or the tents are there just because they’re trying to work out who’s going in what order and what’s happening.”

How much do MAFS participants drink during the Dinner Party?

Ever since the inception of MAFS, fans speculated that the alcohol provided at these shindigs was what fuelled the explosive drama. However, this theory has been slammed by executive producers Alexandra Spurway and John Walsh, who described the claim as the “most hurtful one”.

“MAFS is like an iceberg. The support system of MAFS is this massive thing underneath the surface which takes a lot of time and resources,” Walsh told PEDESTRIAN.TV.

Spurway also added that they cut participants off if they’ve had too much to drink during these Dinner Parties and they’ve done it plenty of times throughout the show’s 12 seasons.

“Can I just say, I will cut people off if I think they’ve had too much to drink. At the dinner parties especially, we are monitoring their alcohol intake,” Spurway dished.

“You’re no good to me if you’re slurring your words. I will send you home. It will never get to that point, because I’ve cut you off. And you’re lucky we do because, if we didn’t, there’d be some very embarrassed, sore heads the next morning.

“The amount of participants I cut off at each dinner party, you would be astounded.”
Last night’s dinner party was DRAMATIC AF. (Image source: Nine / Married At First Sight)
She also adds that contestants are usually “shocked” when they get cut off.

“The duty of care is incredibly robust. There are resources behind the scenes on a daily basis while we film but also prior to, during and after the show finishes,” Spurway continued.

“We’re very proud of our support system.”

This sentiment was also echoed by Harper, who told Yahoo! Lifestyle that drinking was “strictly monitored” during the Dinner Parties. However, for the cocktail party, it was a different story.

“At the cocktail room, it’s a bit more of a free-for-all with the drinks. So if you’re one of the first in the room, you can usually get a few drinks,” she said.

“But then in the actual dinner party, it’s maybe like three or four jugs of wine across the whole table. It’s red or white, and if you don’t drink right away, there are no other options.”
It’s looking like water and white wine on this table. (Image source: 9Now / Married At First Sight)
Well, there ya have it! That’s what the infamous MAFS Dinner Parties are like. There are (allegedly) not much nibbles, so everyone is probably just hangry.

Honestly, this is the perfect opportunity for KFC to partner with the participants. I would love to see someone say “Did someone say KFC?” followed by “I Love It” in the middle of a wine-throwing!!!

Married At First Sight returns Sunday on Channel Nine and 9Now.