Why THREE cast members ditched explosive Married At First Sight UK reunion - as shocking finale saw the series come to an end

On Thursday night, the season nine cast of Married At First Sight UK reunited for an explosive finale, which saw emotional feelings be revisited and dramatic feuds get re-ignited.

After almost three months, the Channel 4 dating show came to an end on Tuesday night and the last four couples made their final decisions, before the contestants got together one last time for a catch-up.

While those who did attend the reunion certainly brought the drama, eagle-eyed fans noticed that some cast members were missing from the highly-anticipated episode.

Alex Henry, Eve Reid, and Richelle Cade, were all nowhere to be seen and strangely, their absence was not addressed by the hosts or the other cast members.

Here, MailOnline looks at the potential reasons why the reality stars opted to give the reunion episode a miss... 

Alex Henry

Alex Henry failed to show up to the reunion and is yet to reveal his exact reasoning for the surprising non-attendance.

The 28-year-old aviation operator from Birmingham married 29-year-old beautician Holly Ditchfield on the show. 

A source told The Sun: Alex didn't film either of the two reunion episodes, which seemed really odd to the rest of the cast.

'It was unclear whether it was Channel 4's decision or his own, but there was a lot of chatter about it amongst the brides and grooms who expected him to be there with his ex, Holly.'

Alex and Holly got off to a great start when they met at the altar, both declaring they were happy with the match.

However, their journey became rocky throughout the process, with Alex expressing his preference to marry someone without children and also hinting he'd be open to swapping wives, as well as several explosive rows.

Things came to a head near the end of the experiment after a huge blow-up during a commitment ceremony that led Holly to pack her bags and head home, leaving the programme.

But, in a plot twist, the pair seem to have rekindled and have been posting each other on social media in recent weeks.

This week, they posted on Instagram that they were on a road trip touring the scenic Yorkshire Dales.

According to The Mirror, they were recently pictured getting cosy in Manchester and kissing in the street, seemingly confirming their romance is back on.

It's understood that reunion special was filmed in April 2024, which was before they rekindled their romance.

So, the reality star could have simply been avoiding an awkward situation after previously leaving things on bad terms.

In September Alex was jailed for abandoning his post to go on the Channel 4 dating show.

The RAF airman abandoned his post at an electronic warfare base for love - or fame - and he appeared on TV despite being denied permission by his commanding officer.

He was stationed at RAF Spadeadam in Cumbria and asked for extra leave so he could take part, but this was refused.

He was seized by military police upon his return and served 24 days of his 34 day sentence.

His spokesman told The Sun: 'He returned after filming of his own volition and handed himself into the military authorities.

'He was sentenced to 34 days in a military prison and served 24 as a model inmate.'

Eve Reid

Eve Reid also chose not to disclose why she didn't attend the final dinner party, but insiders have disclosed that she has ghosted the show and cast.

The lifeguard and fitness instructor from Omagh, 31, tied the knot with lettings operations co-ordinator Charlie, 30 from Surrey on the show.

A source told The Sun: 'Producers were really hoping Eve would return for the reunion episodes to give some closure to her rocky relationship with Charlie and reflect on what went wrong.

'But she refused to film and hasn't been in touch with show bosses or the rest of the cast since.

'Eve clearly wants to move on from the show but it's a shame she didn't return to reflect on everything, especially after viewers were invested in her and Charlie's journey.'

Despite being branded fan favourites at the beginning after a successful wedding day, Charlie and Eve were the first couple to leave the experiment - and have both moved on in new relationships. 

Within hours of meeting Charlie made the shocking declaration that she might already be in love with her new wife.

However, after jetting off to Mexico for their honeymoon, things quickly soured as Eve declared she 'needed space' and opted to sleep in the spare room, despite the couple admitting starting off strong and admitting having sex together on the trip.

Then, Eve refused to take part in a letter writing task, which was the final straw for Charlie.

However, both women seem to have happily moved on, with a new girlfriend appearing in Charlie's TikTok videos, and Eve being spotted at the airport with a new partner.

Richelle Cade 

Of the three no-shows, Richelle Cade was perhaps the cast member with the most obvious reasoning for not attending.

Although she hasn't shared the reason why, the 48-year-old Londoner made it clear she wanted nothing to do with her husband Orson Nurse, 41, after the show ended. 

The couple packed their bags and left the experiment in week six after an extremely rocky and explosive marriage.

Things quickly turned sour when Richelle accused Orson of bringing up 'sob stories' when he talked about his ex-girlfriend who cheated on him five years ago.

The drama came to a head when Orson dropped the cheating bombshell, admitting 'On the last night of the retreat me and Hannah were speaking and we shared a kiss. There was a little connection there. I'm not going to lie.'

Richelle then gave her verdict on the marriage, claiming she could sense 'desperation' from Orson and that he wanted to stay in the process by 'any means necessary'.

It also came to light that Orson and Stephen's bride Hannah, 33, had shared a kiss on the last night of the couple's retreat. 

Richelle took to Instagram following her dramatic exit from the show to write: 'As my participation on MAFS comes to its conclusion, I have taken some time to evaluate my experience on the show.

'Sadly, the process was not I had expected or hoped for. Maybe I was naive thinking it would be an equal and fair playing field but in reality that was not the case.

'Fortunately, I have met some genuine people that I have connected with, we understood each other and they took the time to get to know me properly as I did them.

'I will always be grateful to Lacey and Sacha for speaking out during my last cc. Every woman needs a Lacey and Sacha in their life because we should all, as women, have each other's backs.

'Enjoying the process with someone honest and genuine, regardless of the outcome, was what I hoped for. 

'I didn't mentally prepare for a situation where every time the cameras came on I'm caught off guard not knowing what tf is going on. Even supporting actresses are given a script right!'

MailOnline has contacted representatives for Channel 4, Richelle, and Alex for comment.