Executives for Married at First Sight were well aware of Ryan De Nino’s explosive temper but decided to choose him for the show anyway. Recently, it was revealed that Jessica Castro, one of the cast members of MAFS season two, filed a restraining order on Ryan for alleged threats he made against her life. Reportedly, some of those threats were caught on tape.
According to the New York Post, the court papers show that Ryan stated he would kill Jessica when he returned to Brooklyn. A hot microphone picked up his pledge to murder his bride. “She’s f—ing dead. When I get back to Brooklyn, she’s f—ing dead, this girl,” he reportedly said. Further he allegedly stated “I will break you into f—ing pieces. I will break your dad into pieces. I will make your whole family disappear — and your f—ing dog-ass sister’s boyfriend.”
MAFS execs have released a statement to the media refusing blame for the situation, insisting that they performed “extensive background and psychological checks” and saying “we can’t control how they behave, or govern their actions after production.”
What they could have controlled, though, was the initial casting process, because they did in fact know about Ryan’s rage issues. Dr. Cilona, one of the so-called “experts” on the show, admitted on a fan forum that Ryan’s problems controlling his anger were “carefully considered” before selecting him for MAFS. “There was much discussion and debate about Ryan D’s issues with expressing anger appropriately and having the capacity to be very hot tempered at times,” Cilona wrote, “The potential difficulties posed by this tendency of his in combination with Jessica’s sensitivity were very thoroughly considered.” He did not indicate exactly how many dollar signs popped up in the executives’ eyes during these so-called “debates.”
Jessica has retained a lawyer, who seemed to suggest that MAFS execs chose Ryan despite these known concerns in order to gain better ratings. Jessica is reportedly mulling legal action against A & E for the anguish she has suffered.
Unfortunately, Ryan D’s red-hot temper was not the only mental health problem revealed to executives before the show. One of the cast members, Sean Varricchio, has serious anxiety. He was paired with Davina Kullar, a woman who told the experts she wanted a “strong man.” Presumably, that would mean a man who was extremely self-confident and stable. Obviously, Sean was a terrible match for her. In fact, he once tweeted to Dr. Cilona, one of the four experts on the show, that anxiety can “knock us all down.” Despite knowing of Sean’s issues, MAFS execs paired him with a woman who was expecting the exact opposite of what she got.
In examining all of the matches, in fact, a clear pattern begins to emerge. Jessica had been in bad relationships previously, as she caught one ex cheating and had to break her engagement. According to the FYI network which also airs the show, Jessica told the MAFS experts that she wanted “a man who is humble, open, understanding and loving.” Instead, the experts paired her with a man who is arrogant, abusive, hateful and threatening.
Jessica also revealed that she was “not interested in having traditional gender roles within her marriage and would like more balance when it comes to cooking and cleaning responsibilities.” Instead of finding a man who could respect that request, the experts paired her with a man who wanted a relationship based on the extremely traditional 1950s union of his grandparents. Ryan also admitted that his grandfather, who he strives to emulate, screamed at his grandmother constantly. Ryan also later complained that Jessica did not cook for him enough. So much for Jessica’s up front desire for equality in her marriage.
Jaclyn Methuen wanted someone who was “just as outgoing as she is.” Instead, they paired her with the laid back mama’s boy Ryan Ranellone, who quickly came to realize that Jaclyn’s big personality was much too overwhelming for him. It is pretty clear to see that the MAFS experts and other show executives did not have the best interest of the participants at heart, but instead cast the show for maximum sensationalism and profit. And while these ethical crimes simply resulted in rocky unions for two of the couples, the collusion on the execs’ part has become life-threatening for Jessica.
As the reunion special sets to air tonight, most fans’ thoughts are on the safety of Jessica Castro as well as the participants of upcoming season three, whose lives may be put at risk as well. Those participants’ futures are now in the hands of the Married at First Sight experts and executives, who have behaved as if they were two-bit cock fight organizers raking in profits on a street corner in a slum.