Married At First Sight groom Dave Hand has broken his silence on his dramatic return to reality TV. Sitting down with Daily Mail, Dave, 38, revealed he nearly quit the Channel Nine dating experiment before signing on for Netflix's Perfect Match.
The Melbourne tradie, who was paired with bride Jamie Marinos in 2025, confessed that he was pushed to breaking point during filming and even attempted to leave during one of the show's most emotionally charged moments.
'I'd never really spoken about this, but during homestays I told Jamie, "This isn't going to work. We're two different people,"' Dave revealed. 'We'd already had that conversation off-camera, but then when it happened on camera, production said, "You're colluding. You can't do that."'
Dave claimed he was then pressured to stay. 'They sat me in a room for six hours saying, "You're staying. You're the main storyline."' The reality star said the experience left him emotionally exhausted. 'The anxiety was unbelievable. I'd wake up with my heart pumping. You're not just dealing with your relationship - you've got production in your room first thing in the morning.'
Following his MAFS stint, Dave largely disappeared from the spotlight while many of his co-stars pursued media opportunities. 'I pulled back because post-show was intimidating,' he said. 'I didn't want to go on podcasts and talk s**t about everyone else. I wanted to protect my peace.'
But after spending over a year out of the dating scene, Dave received a life-changing call inviting him to join Netflix's Perfect Match for its fourth season. 'My manager called and said, "What are your thoughts on Perfect Match?" And I was like, "F**k yeah."' Dave admitted he had barely watched the series before accepting, with Netflix keeping much of the process under wraps. 'They're so secretive. I had 22 hours to pack my bags and get to Mexico.'
Once inside the villa, Dave said the experience was worlds apart from MAFS. 'Perfect Match was fun. You're in Mexico, on the beach, drinking in the sun. It wasn't sitting at a dinner party being emotionally tortured.' He added: 'No one pigeonholed me. I got to actually be myself.'
Dave also hinted his confident new approach may shock fans. 'After MAFS, I learnt to speak my mind more and not hold back.' While he remained tight-lipped on key details, Dave teased viewers can expect plenty of surprises. 'Get your popcorn out,' he said. 'People think they know me from one edit on MAFS, but they've got no idea.'
The star also opened up about the emotional motivation behind his return to TV, revealing his father - who is currently undergoing ongoing chemotherapy - encouraged him to embrace the opportunity. 'My dad told me, "Go on, go for it." He gets to live through me now.'
As Dave prepares for his Netflix debut, he says his days of dating shows may finally be behind him. 'I think this old bull's done with the dating shows,' he joked. But with multiple international opportunities already on the table, Dave's reality TV journey appears far from over.
On Wednesday, Dave hosted a viewing party for his Netflix debut at Bondi's Italo House with a bevy of reality stars. The tattooed star was all smiles posing alongside his MAFS co-star Paul Antoine and Love Island Australia's Josh Moss, Maddy Gillbanks and Stella Hutcheon.
