Hannah Norburn, 33, said she was ‘so stressed’ from being on Married At First Sight UK (MAFS) in 2024
Hannah Norburn has opened up about the stress of being on Married At First Sight UK (MAFS) and how it caused her to lose ‘nearly a stone’. The 33-year-old caused quite a stir on last year’s season of the E4 show after being paired up with Stephen Nolson, also 33.
While the couple’s Caribbean honeymoon got off to a good start, a blazing row saw Stephen believing that Hannah would reveal a mysterious secret about his family on air. Hannah maintained that she never actually ‘threatened’ to spill the information, but their relationship deteriorated rapidly thereafter.
In the weeks following, Hannah got closer to another groom, Orson Nurse, and was accused of flirting with other husbands on the show, leading to several confrontations. Orson and Hannah did share a kiss in the experiment, but they ultimately decided to remain friends.
“I will never be able to describe the emotions and how hard that was,” she said, reflecting on the first few weeks of entering MAFS in a conversation with FUBAR Radio’s Access All Areas. “I lost nearly a stone weight because I literally just didn’t eat. I was so stressed. For me, I think because I did come in late, I mixed the show up.
“I turned it all on its head. I p***** everyone off. I got it really, really hard, and I think the only thing that makes me feel really proud of myself is I genuinely don’t give a s*** what people think about me.”
Discussing the online backlash she received, Hannah continued: “The weird thing for me was people coming for your appearance, and I was like I can understand you coming from my character and my personality, because that’s on telly, but what I look like is kind of irrelevant.
“I was getting like, everyone was like, ‘Your ears are huge.’ And I’m like, ‘No, they are, they actually are.’ But I’m not bothered if the worst thing about me is my ears are massive. I couldn’t give a s***.”
Despite the impact of online trolls and disputes with co-stars, Hannah emphasised that E4’s team have always looked out for her mental health.
She went on: “I do feel like I got bullied and I got attacked and all the rest of it, but I do feel very, very, very looked after by the show, even up until this day, I could ring someone right now and say, I’m in a pickle.
“I need some help, and that’s amazing that they look after you that well.”
For emotional support, call the Samaritans 24-hour helpline at 116 123, email jo@samaritans.org, visit a Samaritans branch in person, or go to the Samaritans website.
