LIFE & CULTURE

MAFS’ Booka Released An Emotional Statement In Defence Of Beck After Last Night’s Cheating Scandal

"I know Beck. I know her better than anyone who’s based their opinion of her purely off this show."

If Married At First Sight’s past seasons has taught us anything, it’s that there are always surprises in store and as it would seem, the Channel Nine social experiment had one last bombshell to drop on us before finishing up the 2021 season.

Last night’s dinner party saw Jake Edwards and Beck Zemek take to the experts’ couch, where they revealed a cheating scandal nobody knew about—and it was all caught on tape. 

Viewers were shown a video diary of Beck when she had returned home to Perth to care for her sick dog, Oscar, and while filming herself playing with the pup her phone knocks over and a blurred-out man enters the room, grabs her from behind, and to the shock of the contestants, the pair begin kissing. 

“Hey my baby,” Beck is heard saying on the tape.

When asked by the experts for clarification, Beck tries to claim the man in the footage was her brother, while Jake storms out of the room. 

Following the episode airing, fellow contestant Booka Nile took to Instagram to defend Beck and her actions on the series, claiming the response on social media has been “vile.” 

Tonight those of you who follow MAFS will have seen what was revealed in regards to Beck and the video of the kiss,” she begins her lengthy post. “In response to some of the vile shit I have seen online since the episode aired, I am reaching out to ask those who read this to please PLEASE leave Beck alone. I am by no means saying that Beck didn’t make a mistake here. I am simply asking that you approach this situation with some basic human compassion.”

Booka goes on to say that the edit did “not show” the Beck she knows, the one who “gave myself and others like beth and Alana, unwavering support, love and strength throughout one of the most challenging experiences of our lives.” 

“I am not defending all of the choices Beck made along the way…,” she continues, “but please remember that she is a human being… complex, flawed, jaded, and sentient like all of us. Beck has had to endure a level of cyber-bullying and cruelty from the public that I cannot even comprehend. Too many MAFS participants over the years have had to endure the same vile and often violent online abuse that I’m seeing Beck receive. The lasting impact this cruelty can have on them is utterly fucked. If you’re trying to make a point about morality and core values by posting cruel shit, take a moment to reflect on where your own morals and core values lie.

“What fulfillment do you get from sending messages of hate or posting the most vile, damning shit you can possibly think of about them online? Hold yourselves to the same moral standards that you deem acceptable for those you see on TV. If you believe you are a good person… be a good person. If you consider yourself to be a smart person… BE smart by knowing what you know but more importantly knowing what you DON’T know.

“Remember that no matter how well you think you’ve got a read on a person by watching them on TV, at the end of the day you don’t know them… especially not well enough to justify abusing them, degrading them, and actively subjecting them to horrific online commentary and abuse. I know Beck. I know her better than anyone who’s based their opinion of her purely off this show. I know Beck. I know her better than anyone who’s based their opinion of her purely off this show Thank you for coming to my Ted talk xo.” 

The revelation followed Beck’s assertion that Jake was to blame for the lack of intimacy in their relationship, telling a Hobart radio station last month that she’d tried to seduce her husband, but he wasn’t interested. 

“I would walk around naked and invite him to the shower. And he would reject me, and go for a walk or have to take a random phone call,” she said.

Beck is yet to comment on the backlash, but her most recent Instagram shared a very pointed message to viewers.

“Wishing everyone nothing but the best, in their search for love,” she wrote. 

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