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Friday 15 February 2019

Mel Schilling: "I'm always going to call out that behaviour." Response to Bronson's use of 'c' word

Mel Schilling, the psychologist on 'Married At First Sight' who called show participant Bronson out for the use of his word c*nt on TV, stands by her words.


Mel Schilling on 'Talking Married'

On 'Talking Married', the weekly show which features interviews with 'married' couples from current and past #MAFS seasons, as well as the resident TV experts, Mel joined relationships expert John Aiken for a prerecorded interview where the elephant in the room was tackled head on.

With a gazillion comments written on myriad social media posts, as well as articles deconstructing what happened during last Sunday's commitment ceremony, even a petition to have Mel sacked (at least count with over 61,000 signatures), Mel and John answered questions from the wonderful show hosts Shelly Horton and Jayne Azzopardi, with the line of questioning centring on Mel confrontation of Bronson for his choice of language directed to his TV bride Ines.


But the psychologist stands by her words, despite massive public backlash against her.


"It's actually never excusable to use that language toward anyone," she told the panel on Wednesday night's episode of 'Talking Married'.


"It's disrespectful, and it cuts down someone's self esteem and it can have lasting effects. So, I'm always going to call out that behaviour."


Missed the 'Talking Married' ep? Here it is in full, and the Mel and John interview is in segment two of this episode:


CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL EPISODE.


Mel took Bronson to task about a derogatory term he used to describe his wife Ines, where he said about her during the commitment ceremony:

"When we did the questionnaire thing, Ines was amazing that night," he began.
"Like really amazing, I loved her to pieces that night. The next morning, the hulk come out. Straight back to BEEP.
"I'm not calling her a BEEP, I'm just saying she acts like a BEEP."
And then Mel started with her advice to Bronson.
"When you use language like that in relation to a woman, how do you expect her to respond to you? A tip from me to you: Don't use language like that if you want any chance of a relationship," she told Bronson.

This week, speaking on 'Talking Married' about the now controversial comment, Mel also made a point of making it clear that gender has nothing to do with the advice she gives participants.


"If you looked around the room and saw all of the brides and grooms, their reaction was the same. Using that language is inappropriate and in any setting toward any person, I'm going to call that out whether it's a man or a woman."


Mel also let viewers know that future drama is to happen further into the experiment, in which "the women are called to account on a number of occasions, so there really is quite a balanced approach."


Both John and Mel addressed the public backlash surrounding the commitment ceremony, and John Aiken put it all into perspective.


"My thoughts are that people are absolutely invested in this show and in the couples, and they were really outraged by some of the behaviours that they've seen."


And the biggest reveal of all?


The expert reminded viewers that during filming, the experts aren't privy to the footage that viewers see on TV, "So we're dealing with what's in front of us."


What? Wow!


So, while many are defending Bronson in line with the context of Innes's behaviour, Mel and all the experts are not seeing what we're seeing! Now that's a revelation for sure.

For those playing at home, Bronson and Ines have had a fiery start to their TV marriage right from the get go.

On first sight, Ines walked up the aisle to lay eyes for the first time on her new groom and what he got was: "Can you take your eyebrow ring out please?"

On learning Bronson was a stripper (he actually still owns a stripper hire company), Ines was not impressed with his past profession. It all went downhill from there.

On their honeymoon, while the pair were on a boat en route to a parasailing adventure, Ines is visibly shaken and Bronson is seen asking the boat skipper questions about the expedition, seemingly distressing Ines further. She tells Bronson to "shut the fuck up."

During the exchange, Ines says:
"The less talking you do, it’s going to be better for me, I’m trying to compose myself,” she tells Bronson.
"Just breathe deeply," Bronson, her new husband offers.
"Shut the fu** up. When I say don’t speak shut the fu** up. Get me off the boat," she yells.
At this stage, Bronson stops playing the nice guy and admits: "As a human, you are a horrible person."

He then looks at the cameraman and asks, "Ah, too late to get a divorce?"
Bronson goes on to defend himself in front of the camera. "If I’m in the wrong... but trying to talk to someone and getting shut down and told to shut up, no I don’t think anyone deserves that."
Missed the drama?
Here is that clip for reference:
Back to the 'Talking Married' ep. John adds during the interview, the derogatory word said by Bronson's was a shock to all, "not only us, but everyone in the room… That sort of language is totally inappropriate, and we'll call it every time."

Following the controversial commitment ceremony, John acknowledged Bronson was sorry and aware "he overstepped the mark with that language."


"You saw a very marked difference in reactions between Bronson and Ines during that debrief," he added.


On the 'Talking Married' desk that night was also season five groom Ryan Gallagher, who came out in full support of Mel, asserting that the backlash against the expert was "very unfair".


"Mel backed me from the start… she called Davina out and everything she did to me. She's not biased at all… she's fantastic."


Thoughts?


'Married At First Sight' Season 6 airs Sunday at 7pm and Monday to Wednesday at 7.30pm on Channel Nine. For more on MAFS, including past episodes and behind-the-scenes clips, head to the MAFS official site.

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