During the third dinner party on Married at First Sight Australia, groom James Susler was called out for calling bride, Belinda Vickers, “frigid”.
After standing up for herself and Susler’s wife, Jo Russell, Vickers then confronted him asking if “she was a virgin” and if she was “frigid”.
“That word is very offensive and insulting to me,” she said.
Not only was the word incredibly offensive for Vickers, but it also “offended” the experts — not to mention the audience — particularly the new addition, Alessandra Rampolla.
During Sunday’s commitment ceremony, the experts acknowledged Susler’s concerning behaviour while Vickers and her husband Patrick Dwyer were on the couch.
“I hate that word,” Vickers said again. “It felt like it crushed my progress in a way because I was just so insulted and so offended by it.”
“So were we,” Rampolla added.
Even though Susler admitted it to be “a poor choice of words”, the sexologist was adamant to hold him accountable.
“Can you think of anyone who wouldn’t be offended by the choice of word? It’s so outdated, it’s so archaic and it’s so prejudicial,” she said. “It wreaks of sexism and misogyny and the fact that you even came to that word, I think is very telling.
“Do you even realise the impact and the negativity and how demeaning referring to a woman as ‘frigid’ is?”
Susler, obviously shaken, then told Rampolla that he comes from a female dominated family and has “respect for female” rights.
These conversations are so important to be had on national television and we are so thankful that this year, the experts are calling out bad behaviour.
