MAFS Australia: why Bryce should never have appeared on TV

Finally, everyone knows what I've known for a while. Yes, here's the thing: I've been streaming that entire season when it was available in Australia. I really couldn't (and didn't want to) wait until Videoland decided to put it online. In hindsight, I'm not so sure if that was a good decision, because I had no one to talk to about it. And that was quite frustrating, since this is a season I wanted to talk about a lot.

And especially about — this shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone, I think — what a terrible pig of a person Bryce is. Seriously, where do they find a guy like this? And even worse: why do they pair such a nasty guy with such an insecure girl like Melissa? This really felt like a slow train wreck: you can't stop watching, even though it gets more painful and ugly.

Because – slight spoilers here — those two are still together. In fact: they are expecting. A twin. But I don't even think that's the worst part. No, the worst part is how Melissa looks these days.

At the beginning of this season, we were clearly explained what Bryce does and doesn't like and especially that Melissa absolutely did not fit that picture. Wow, it was tough for him that she had green eyes and not blue. But smooth and noble as Bryce is, he had gotten a bit used to it by now. Apparently, he still had a bit more trouble with it, because Melissa was soon spotted with blue contact lenses. And of course with platinum blonde hair. Because Bryce likes that. Can I have a little bowl?

What you might not have known is that all of Australia was also quite critical of these two. In fact, a petition was started to get them both removed from the show. It was massively signed, alongside all the complaints that poured in at Channel 9, where MAFS is broadcast. The reason: Bryce was said to emotionally abuse Melissa in their relationship, treat her poorly and torment her (which didn't lead to pleasant episodes) and evoke unpleasant memories for victims of similar abuse.

His unsolicited and unwanted kiss towards Beck (who also fell quite short, by the way?) was categorized by viewers as ‘sexual harassment’ and that was the last straw for many: Bryce had to go.

Now, to be honest, I agree with that, because I thought it went way too far between Bryce and Melissa. How he kept her under his thumb, manipulated her, and isolated her from the rest of the group. Now Melissa is an adult woman, so to what extent can you control that if she is really blind to it, but as far as I'm concerned, these two could have left the series early.

Some might think that this kind of disaster TV is very entertaining, but honestly: don't we much prefer a Mike instead of these types? Or a Cam and Jules who get a happy ending? You get it: I want season 6 back.