Poison pen letter against MAFS expert John Aiken forces watchdog to respond after stars were saying the same thing for years: INSIDE MAIL

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Experts from the reality show Married At First Sight are facing scrutiny again. A complaint has been filed with the Psychology Council of New South Wales concerning relationship expert John Aiken.

The Daily Mail reports that Aiken will receive guidance regarding the professional standards outlined in the Psychology Board of Australia’s Code of Conduct.

After receiving a complaint from former contestant Ben Walters last April, the Council launched an investigation into the Channel Nine personality, who first became known as a regular on the Today show and later gained wider recognition through Married At First Sight.

Walters, a former contestant who has spoken out against the show since being on season 11, filed a complaint about how Aiken treated the people involved.

The Daily Mail isn’t saying these claims made by Walters are accurate, just that Walters has stated them.

Okay, so this is hard to explain, but I’m really worried about what I saw from him. I was seeing him for therapy – just four sessions in 2023 – and honestly, some of the things he did and said on camera… it just didn’t sit right with me. As a psychologist, he has a responsibility, and I really think he crossed a line. It’s been bothering me ever since, and I feel like he violated his ethical duties while I was a patient.

As the Daily Mail previously reported, an investigation by the NSW Psychology Council in 2017 resulted in Aiken being prohibited from calling himself a psychologist or practicing psychology on the show.

According to the complaint, Walters alleges that Aiken still shares opinions and guidance based on his professional experience, which is shaping how the public views things.

Walters also worried that Aiken’s participation in a show focused on creating drama and conflict could potentially violate ethical guidelines set by the Australian Psychological Society (APS) and the Psychology Board of Australia, as outlined in their 2007 Code of Ethics.

The Psychology Council of NSW confirmed they discussed the complaint about Aiken late last year, nine months after it was originally filed.

The Council stated in its response that Mr. Aiken will receive guidance on the Psychology Board of Australia’s Code of Conduct. If he completes this guidance, the Council will then close the complaint.

The Council will keep your complaint on record and review it if they receive similar concerns about Mr. Aiken’s health, behavior, or work.

It’s unclear if the Council’s reminder to Aiken about the Code of Conduct will lead to any real reflection or change within the Married at First Sight production team.

This raises a difficult question: are the experts on the show truly there to help the couples, or are they mainly there to create conflict for the sake of entertainment?

Aiken, along with his fellow experts Mel Schilling and Alessandra Rampolla, likely have one opinion, while many participants from the show believe something different.

Back in 2017, during his season of Married at First Sight, groom Andrew Jones criticized fellow participant Aiken for an Instagram post he made before the finale. Jones felt the post focused too much on the show’s drama and not enough on building genuine connections.

Aiken posted a picture of Jones with his co-star Cheryl Maitland, hinting at possible conflict between them on tonight’s show. He captioned the photo with a question about whether Jones might get some ‘payback’.

Jones responded with a post of his own, asking: ‘Does your therapist get excited about conflict? Are they interested in getting even?’

Aiken is safe for the moment, but further complaints could quickly escalate the situation, potentially creating serious problems for Nine.

The network was contacted for comment.

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2026-03-24 06:34