Married At First Sight’s Carly calls Ashley’s reaction to her and Troy’s relationship “immature” | WHO (2024)

The final Married At First Sight dinner party was always going to be full of surprises, but no one was expecting to see two brand new couples walk in only six weeks after the experiment ended. Tracey and Sean had tongues wagging when they greeted each other with a series of smooches. But, it was Troy’s former “wife” Ashley who caused the most fuss over Troy and Carly’s new relationship. WHO caught up with Troy and Carly to see just how this coupling came to be.

WHO: So, what everyone really wants to know is: how did this come about?

CARLY: I left the experiment and Troy stayed on for a bit longer than me and when it was over for him and he’d broken up with Ash, he was coming down to Melbourne for work and he contacted me and you know, we just thought we’d catch up for a drink and yeah, I guess, you know, we sort of went into it like friendly but then, I think, by the end of the night we kind of realised that there was a little bit more there than that and it kind of just started from that point.

TROY: Yeah, that’s what happened. Like [at] the first dinner party I did sort of admire Carly from a distance, like [she’s a] very classy girl and she’s like a good friend, [I had] a lot of good friends in the experiment to turn to for advice at different times, but yeah after the experiment, yeah we connected down in Melbs.

WHO: You were both pictured together at dinner parties during the experiment. Were you close at that point or did it come after?

CARLY: Oh yeah, we definitely had a friendship. I think, like we just got along really well, just sort of naturally but also I think we were in similar positions in our relationship. You know, like we both sort of felt like we were putting in a lot more than what our partners were so I think we did sort of connect a bit with that. We’ve always just sort of gotten along really well I suppose and always had a really good time and a bit of a laugh together.

WHO: There was lots of talk about wife swapping during the experiment, but did you ever personally think that you’d be better matched with each other?

CARLY: For me, like I think I got what I wanted on paper with Justin. Like he is sort of what I asked for. I think like what I learnt during the experiment is that, you know, you think you sort of know like what you actually want in someone but you don’t necessarily, like know. I don’t regret being matched with Justin at all because I think it sort of led me to Troy and it made me realise that there are sort of other things that I do need in someone that perhaps I didn’t really realise earlier I guess.

TROY: Look, I understand why I got matched with Ashley. I understand why we got matched together. I may have been a little inarticulate, like at the start talking about Barbie. That was really only the tip of the iceberg in terms of what I was looking for. Yeah, we matched on some levels but of course it led me to Carly so [I’m] very happy.

WHO: How has it been having a second chance at finding love after your first relationships didn’t pan out?

CARLY: Oh, it’s awesome. I mean I was quite disappointed when I left the experiment, you know like, I sort of went into it so, so hopeful that I was going to meet the one and it didn’t happen and I don’t know, like it was really nice to connect with Troy and sort of get that second chance…

TROY: Yeah, I was… going into it, completely committed and thinking that it would be, like my wife forever so yeah it was disappointing coming out of it but at this point in my life, [I] definitely have been actively looking for my soul mate, that person, so yeah, just so lucky that everything came together.

WHO: Were the reactions of Ashley and Justin to your relationship better or worse than you thought they would be?

CARLY: I always kind of thought Justin would be OK with it and he was sort of OK, but I mean Justin is hard to read at the best of times. He was fine, I think, it was kind of what I expected. I didn’t expect Ashley to be so upset, I thought she’d be shocked but I didn’t expect her to be so angry because, you know, I think it was kind of obvious that Troy was putting in so much more to the relationship and I don’t really feel like… I don’t know, like I’m surprised that she was so upset about it, I suppose, because I didn’t think she’d care, really.

TROY: Yeah, I was the same line of thinking. I thought, you know, realistically there’s a very long spectrum of reactions I could have expected from Ashley, it was within the realms of possibility but I was disappointed that it was that angry and wouldn’t really even talk to us, because Carly was so concerned with Ashley’s feelings and Justin’s feelings heading into it, for weeks beforehand. All we did was come in in a very subtle, I thought a humble way and try to talk to the group and within seconds getting shot down like we did was disappointing because we just, like, wanted to have fun and we didn’t want… I want Ash to be happy, we didn’t want it to be like that. I didn’t really see cause for it.

CARLY: Yeah and I think like… we obviously feel terrible that we’ve upset her but I think it would have been nice if we could’ve just had a conversation about it, like a civil conversation instead of being attacked by the group and the way she reacted I think was probably a little bit immature.

WHO: What drew you to each other?

TROY: Well from the very first time I saw Carly, she’s a very beautiful girl. Very beautiful, presents herself so well, she’s very classy, she’s ladylike, she speaks so well. She still knows how to party so that’s good and she’s down to earth, really down to earth girl so I saw really the complete package.

CARLY: I guess for me, like, I just love Troy’s energy and like he’s always just so positive and happy and we just kind of click I suppose and I’m not sure, like, if I would have expected it but it just kind of fits really nicely and we complement each other in a lot of ways.

WHO: What are your plans for the future as a couple, now that the airing of the show is winding down?

CARLY: Thank god (laughs). We can actually like, you know… we can actually be together now which is really exciting and I guess we’re just sort of looking forward to just doing the normal things together I suppose and being able to do them and not be hiding our relationship which is really nice, so that’s awesome. And Troy is moving to Melbourne, which is exciting, so yeah we’re just looking forward to sort of just getting on with it now and just living life.