1 week ago
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In one of the most extraordinary behind-the-scenes crises MAFS has faced, an entire bride-and-groom storyline has been quietly erased from the new season.
Filming was well underway when producers made the call to drop Micah Lomu and Ankita Karungalekar from the experiment - leaving them with the tricky task of re-editing hours of footage to make it seem like they were never there.
Micah and Ankita had filmed a full wedding and honeymoon - and also participated in the early stages of the experiment, including group scenes with the other brides and grooms - before they were abruptly pulled from production after damaging allegations about Micah began circulating on TikTok.
Daily Mail has chosen not to publish the allegations and both Micah and Ankita vehemently deny any wrongdoing. We do not suggest otherwise.
Micah, 28, said mental health concerns were the pretext for his dismissal - which angered him because it seemed like the production company and network believed the untested allegations about him.
'They told me it was in my best interest to be dismissed from the show for my mental health,' Micah, 28, told Daily Mail senior reporter Ali Daher.
Filming of MAFS was well underway when producers made the call to drop Micah Lomu and Ankita Karungalekar from the experiment. (They are pictured on their wedding day)
Producers have deleted photos and footage involving Micah and Ankita (pictured together) after the couple were ordered to leave the experiment
'But by doing that, they practically gave validation that I'd done something wrong.
'There was no visual proof, no history of wrongdoing, nothing. I was painted as someone to be scared of.
'It felt like I was made a scapegoat.'
Ankita, 29, said she was blindsided by the decision, and the reasoning she was given.
'We were shocked when Channel Nine said we couldn't handle the backlash,' she said.
'That's not their decision to make. We went through all the psychological checks, hundreds of pages of paperwork, background vetting - and passed everything.
'Suddenly, they decided we weren't strong enough.'
The couple had tied the knot at the historic Lindesay House in Sydney's Darling Point - in what was one of the most visually striking ceremonies of the season.
Micah, 28, said mental health concerns were the pretext for his dismissal - which angered him because it seemed like the producers and network believed the untested allegations about him
'We were shocked when Channel Nine said we couldn't handle the backlash. That's not their decision to make,' Ankita, 29, said
Ankita wore a sage green and gold lehenga embroidered gown with intricate detailing and carried a vibrant bouquet of yellow and peach blooms.
Micah cut a sharp figure in an all-black tailored suit with a matching boutonnière.
Guests cheered as the pair appeared to connect instantly. But the footage will never see the light of day.
'The only thing I was happy about [from the MAFS experience] was [being] matched with him - because we just got along,' Ankita said.
The couple spent three days honeymooning in Cairns, bonding and settling into married life - before everything changed abruptly.
Without warning, they were told by producers they were no longer allowed to 'have any contact' with one another.
'We were not allowed to talk to each other at all,' Ankita said. 'No contact, no meeting. Something's wrong, like something's wrong, you know?'
Ankita said she initially assumed the separation was part of the experiment - until the first dinner party approached and they were still being kept apart.
The rest of the cast was reportedly told to pretend like they'd never met them.
'It was anxiety all day and no one told us what was going on,' Ankita said.
Eventually, Micah told Ankita that he had been called in by producers and told about the untested allegations circulating online.
Micah and Ankita spoke to Daily Mail senior reporter Ali Daher about their ordeal on the show
'I was shook. I cried for hours,' said Micah.
'It was hard to ever think of myself like that, to be painted that way, when it goes against everything I am and everything my culture stands for. It was devastating.
'I come from a very female-dominant Polynesian family. To be accused of that was deeply disrespectful.'
Ankita said the only knowledge she had of the claims was a single anonymous message from a burner account.
'There were no screenshots, no texts, nothing,' she said.
'We were floored that Channel Nine made such a huge decision based on TikTok videos without receipts.'
Micah said he repeatedly asked producers to escalate the matter properly so he could clear his name.
'I said, "Please go to the police so I can fight it,"' he said.
He added that by dismissing him from the experiment, Channel Nine and EndemolShine Australia had 'given validation' to the baseless claims.
'I've never done anything other than a parking ticket,' added Micah.
Without warning, they were told they were no longer allowed any contact with one another
The couple are firmly of the belief they were removed to protect the show's reputation, not because there was any substance to the allegations.
'They've kept people on in previous seasons who had actual proof against them,' Ankita said.
'Those people were given second chances, even rematched. Why weren't we?'
'They didn't want the risk of having us on screen,' added Micah. 'But the right thing would've been to let us stay and clear the air.'
The emotional toll has been severe.
'I walked in on my mum one day scrolling through all the comments,' Micah said.
'She was visibly shaken. As a mother, she just wanted to protect me, but it was eating away at her.'
Ankita revealed that watching the impact on Micah's family was heartbreaking.
'Seeing his mum shake while begging producers to give us a chance was horrible,' she said.
'She couldn't understand why we were being removed when we were genuinely happy together.'
For Ankita, the experience cost her far more than a television opportunity.
'One day you're taking vows, the next you're told you're not even allowed to speak to your husband,' she said.
'I lost the opportunity, but I also lost my marriage. I still feel married - and then they told me to pack my bags and leave. That hurts.'
Ankita is also wounded by the 'ruthless' treatment she received behind the scenes, admitting that even Micah was treated better.
Micah pleaded for Ankita to be allowed to stay in the experiment with a new partner - like what happened with Jessica Seracino in season nine - but the producers refused
'The way they spoke to Micah was sympathetic. To me, it was ruthless,' she said.
'I was polite, respectful, and still got treated like rubbish.'
She said communication from producers 'vanished' once the decision was made.
Micah even pleaded for Ankita to be allowed to stay in the experiment with a new partner - like what happened with Jessica Seracino in season nine.
'I told them: "Don't take her down with me. At least let her continue." But they wouldn't,' he said.
Ankita also revealed she was led down the garden path for weeks with the suggestion she might be rematched.
'They kept dangling carrots, telling me to sit tight, while everyone else already knew I wasn't coming back,' she said.
The financial impact was also significant.
'We quit our jobs. We invested in outfits, in everything,' Ankita said.
'You're mentally stressed, financially stressed, and then told to just leave.'
Despite everything, the pair remain close to this day.
'There's no label on it, but we'll always be in each other's lives,' Micah said. 'If marriage felt like this, I'd get married every day.'
With the dust settled on the sorry saga, the couple want viewers to understand the human cost of online pile-ons and spreading unsubstantiated allegations.
'It's easier to make a TikTok than to go to police,' Micah said. 'But the consequences are real.'
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