Here’s Why Janelle From ‘MAFS’ Was Done Dirty

I’m just gonna say it. Married at First Sight’s Janelle Han was done dirty by the producers. The beauty influencer was paired with Adam Seed(y), and while her storyline made for great TV, she didn’t walk away having found love. 

And, her edit didn’t do her character justice either – while she’s outspoken, energetic and bubbly off camera, on MAFS, she looked serious and uptight. Her entire wedding episode seemed to revolve around the fact that she wanted to know what Adam did for a living, which… is a normal question? Watching him word vomit some vague answers was a giant red flag, and tbh, I would’ve headed straight for the door. 

There’s actually a huge reason why Janelle was desperate to find “stability” in her next partner, but it was conveniently left out of the edit. She suffers from an autoimmune disease called lupus, which Selena Gomez also has. 

We chatted to Janelle about living with the disease, why she was so determined to represent her culture on MAFS, and got the tea on rumours of a feud amongst the cast. 

On living with lupus:

“I have SLE (systemic lupus erythematosus). My main symptoms are kidney failure, arthritis, extreme fatigues and sometimes a rash,” Janelle tells us. “It affects me day to day when I’m stressed or overworked. If my anxiety is high, I usually result into a flare up. That’s when the symptoms come in strong.”

With this missing piece of the puzzle, it’s suddenly crystal clear why the reality TV star was looking for a partner with a stable job. If she’s wanting to raise a family in the future, she needs to feel “safe”, and “take care” of her health. 

“I have no idea why they cut out that I had lupus [from the show]… I remember crying so much because Adam couldn’t understand why I cared about the future, and career prospects, and stability. It is because of my health,” she adds. 

That doesn’t mean Janelle is boring, uptight, or any of the other words thrown at her after Episode 1. She radiates positivity, and says having lupus has made her “stronger”.  

“I think more positively about life, and never take it for granted. You only have one life, so live it to the best of your ability!” she exclaims.

On why she wanted to represent her culture on MAFS: 

The beauty influencer is proud of her Singaporean-Chinese heritage, and wove in elements of her culture throughout the show. She didn’t see herself represented on screen while growing up, so she always felt like “an other”. 

“One of my biggest goals [going on MAFS] was to make sure that I showed that I was proud of my culture, which I think I did,” she says. 

She wore a jade necklace every single day of the experiment, and introduced her family on camera over a game of Mahjong, a traditional Chinese tile game. She also chose to wear a special Chinese dress for the final reunion, something she was honoured to do. 

“I wore my mum’s Cheongsam at the reunion and it really made me feel safe. It made me feel proud of who I am and proud of my identity,” she says.

“I have had countless DMs and people coming up to me saying, ‘Thank you for representing Asians in Australia’. And it really warms my heart.”

On all the rumoured feuds flying around the messy MAFS cast: 

It seems like every week there’s another rumoured feud amongst the MAFS cast, but Janelle swears she’s Switzerland when it comes to the “divide”. 

She speaks to almost everybody in the cast, apart from Adam and Dan Hunjas (for obvious reasons), and doesn’t have any “bad blood” with Claire Nomarhas, even after she kissed Adam. 

“I’m not 100% sure [if there’s any feuds]. I personally am trying to float around like a cloud and be friends with everyone. I’m gonna stay out of drama,” she laughs. “There is a little bit of a divide but I don’t think it’s spiteful, I don’t think it’s hateful.”

“I think different people get along with others, more than others,” she says. “There are still so many people that I speak to that aren’t in my WhatsApp group.”

I’m reading between the lines here, but I think there could be something to these feud rumours. In a group filled with so many big personalities, it’s bound to be hard for everybody to get along. 

But if my holy trinity of Evelyn, Janelle and Melinda could stay solid, that’d be perf. 

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Image credits: Channel 9, MAFS, Instagram/@janellemyh