Married at First Sight, followed at first scroll: MAFS stars soar on social

Love them or loathe them MAFS stars are turning reality TV drama into serious digital influence.

Participants from Channel 9’s Married at First Sight dominated Fabulate’s March rankings of the fastest-growing Australian creators across TikTok and Instagram, with several notching up followings in the tens - and even hundreds - of thousands.

On-screen couple Jamie Marinos and Dave Thomas were among the breakout stars of the 2025 season, each establishing six-figure followings across both platforms. Other contestants attracting rapid social growth included brides Awhina Rutene, Rhi Disljenkovic, Carina Mirabile and early-exiter Katie Johnstone, along with groom Billy Belcher, who now has more than 80,000 followers on Instagram.

“MAFS always captures Australia’s attention - and often helps launch participants' careers as creators,” Lucy Ronald, head of strategy & talent at Fabulate, said. “This year, Jamie and Dave both built significant followings, especially across TikTok and Instagram, as have a number of the brides from the season.”

Marinos’ largest and most engaged following is on Instagram, where she connects with a predominantly female audience aged 25–34. Thomas also attracted a large female audience, though with lower engagement.

Not all MAFS contestants had the same traction across platforms. Ronald pointed to grooms Elliott Donovan and Adrian Araz, who struggled to gain momentum on Instagram but still amassed 129,000 and 74,000 followers respectively on TikTok.

Outside of the MAFS bubble, Fabulate’s March rankings showed continued growth across a wide mix of creators spanning beauty, fishing and home improvement content.

Fabulate compiles the monthly rankings using data from its Fabulate Discovery platform. The company recently placed in the top 10 of Deloitte’s Tech Fast 50 and offers agencies and brands tools to identify emerging talent across TikTok, Instagram and YouTube.