A BBC investigation revealed that participants in the “Married to First View Australia” program did not know that the bride and groom had a criminal record, which caused concerns about format security.
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17/06/2026
by
News to Minutes
A BBC News conducted an investigation into the “Married to First View Australia” program and concluded that some competitors were admitted in the format even though they were convicted or faced charges of violence, aggression or drug use.
Besides, the partners of these competitors didn't know the past of the husbands they met the day they got married.
The media regulator of Australia classified these claims as “serious and disturbing”.
The Australian Channel 9 and Endemol Shine Australia producer, responsible for the program, stated that they have “strict protocols to ensure the safety and well-being of participants”.
A spokesman for the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) told the BBC that it “recognizes the serious and disturbing issues” that have now been made public.
In response to the BBC investigation, Channel 9 and Endemol Shine Australia stated that “the health, well-being and safety of participants are taken seriously.”.
“There is a structured process of verification in several stages that each participant must complete and be approved,” they said, which includes the verification of criminal and police records in each country of declared residence, clinical psychological evaluation and medical examinations.
The BBC even spoke to some of the brides and these gave details of the fear they felt during the recordings.
Sierah Swepstone, for example from the 2025 edition, said she was disappointed in the production of the program. The young woman married Billy Belcher, who was arrested and convicted in 2014 for several drug-related crimes in the city of Perth. Sierah said he wasn't informed about his partner's conviction and only discovered it after the recording was over.
“ You shouldn’t be left alone with a stranger with a criminal record,” Swepstone said. “At least there should be informed consent. They should warn us. We should have the right of choice”, he said.
This scandal arises about a month after the BBC program, “Panorama”, informed that two women claimed to have been raped during the recordings and a third was subjected to an unconsensual sexual act by their husbands in the British version of “Married to First View”.
At the time, Channel 4 (the channel issuing the format) removed all episodes of streaming and television services as well as social networks.
In the complaint in the “Panorama” program these women said that production did not do enough to protect them.