Awhina and Adrian's journey on Married At First Sight was anything but smooth-sailing. The couple had a rocky journey throughout the experiment, and even their Final Vows was one of the most shocking in the show's history. While both chose not to continue on in their relationship, in the end they backflipped and agreed to see where things would go in a move that stunned the nation. But how did they end up here? Ahead of Reunion, scroll through to see Awhina and Adrian's relationship timeline – from the moment they met to where they stand today.
Everyone was seeing double when Awhina and Adrian met at the end of the aisle, as they're both identical twins. Awhina, 30, was introduced as a Perth-based aged care worker and proud mother of one. She arrived on MAFS with the hopes of finding a partner that would give her a new lease of life. The experts matched her with Adrian, 30, an E-commerce business owner based in Sydney who rated himself ten out of ten in the looks and personality department. When they met at the end of the aisle, the attraction was instant. "You're actually way too hot, I'm actually not happy," Awhina joked when she saw her husband. The feeling was definitely mutual. "She's exactly my type. She was loud, she was bubbly, she's everything I could've asked for," Adrian told cameras.
In her vows, Awhina made Adrian two key promises: "I will embrace your family as my own, nurturing a home filled with warmth, laughter and unwavering support. If there is a genuine spark between us, I will cherish that fire and vow to never let it burn out." While Adrian's vows had Awhina swooning at first, there was one sentence that stopped her (and her sister) in their tracks. "You should know I'm a package deal. I do come with a beautiful six month old…Aussie Shepherd. Don't worry, I don't have kids," Adrian joked. It was a gag that fell flat for mum-of-one Awhina. Although she hadn't told Adrian about her son yet, she was already worried that it might be a "dealbreaker".
With everyone getting to know each other at the bridal table, Awhina and Adrian hadn't really gotten the chance to chat, let alone Awhina tell Adrian she's a mum. Then came Awhina's mum and step-dad's heartfelt speech. The only problem was they let this slip: "Awhina is an amazing mum and her son is her priority." While the sentiment was truly beautiful, Awhina called time out on her parents' speech. Literally. Awhina stopped the speech and the wedding to pull Adrian outside for a long awaited chat. "I feel like you were blindsided there and I feel guilty because I don't think there's been the right moment to mention it and I'm not trying to hide it," Awhina said. Needing some time to digest the news that his bride is a mum, Adrian only offered Awhina this reply: "I don't know how I feel about that." Later he told cameras, "It's not ideal. If I could have it my way I'd like to have that first with someone." Thankfully, Adrian seemed to get onboard later that day. Speaking to Awhina and her bridesmaids he said: "I'm here with an open mind, I'm not fully closed off. So we'll see. I am 100 percent committed and I'm 100 percent committed to being open and vulnerable."
The pair were inseparable and things were going really well, but a Confessions Week task soon tore them apart. In a brand new challenge called The Ex-files, the pair were asked to dive deep into their romantic past. As Awhina confessed she once cheated, Adrian's reaction caused tensions to boil. What he said later to cameras, however, was an entirely different story. Awhina admitted to kissing a stranger in a bar in her early 20s. She said she told her ex straight away and they moved past it. "No excuses. You shouldn't cheat and there's no excuses," Adrian made his stance clear. "You're not hearing me talk," Awhina defended. "I've done it, I'm admitting it and I just don't feel like a lot of people will." To that, Adrian had one cold response: "A lot of people don't want to realise they were a s--t person." Later in a piece to camera, producers cut to the chase: "Did you answer all the questions honestly, do you think?" "Yeah I definitely did. I have nothing to hide," Adrian smiled.
At the next Dinner Party, talk turned to how their lifestyles might align outside of the experiment with Awhina being a mum. She became upset as he deflected the questioning to Jeff and Rhi, and he went to sit with Sierah instead of talking about their problems. As new brides and grooms arrived to tie the knot, trouble was brewing for Awhina and Adrian. She returned to the apartment to discover Adrian had packed his bags and left, and his wedding ring was left on the counter. Why? Because he hadn't starred in a 30-second promo video for MAFS. "I'm pissed off that I'm not in the promo. It's disrespectful and I'm not going to be treated like that," he explained. As she tried to get him back onside, he added: "The fact that you're pushing me to come back, it's sort of showing colours." He gave an ultimatum; he wouldn't come back until he was in the promo. Being left out is "the lowest of lows, of lows, of lows," he claimed, then hung up on his wife. "I expected him not to be there because I knew he was so upset... but I just didn't expect for his ring to be left and drawers to be pulled out," Awhina told 9Entertainment at the time.
The bride revealed she also offered up her own place in the promo so that Adrian could take her place. "It was so consistent with his behaviours in the experiment where he'd do something wrong and then flip the script and turn it on me somehow," she said. "It just felt like he was hurting me once again." Adrian and Awhina arrived solo to the next Dinner Party, and the whole MAFS promo debacle played out in front of everyone. As everyone gasped in disbelief, Awhina asked him: "Why were you at dinner with Sierah on Saturday night?" Sierah assured her that all they did at dinner was share "a plate of meat" and that Tony was also there, but Sierah's husband Billy was still fuming. Then Adrian let out this clanger to Billy: "What about when you called me and said you wanted to do a wife swap?" Everyone was stunned, and yet again Awhina was left feeling heartbroken by the events that unfolded.
At the following Commitment Ceremony, Adrian faced the experts over what happened. John Aiken called out Adrian's lack of communication after fleeing his wife, his defensiveness at the Dinner Party and again now: "What I'm feeding back to you, Adrian, is that you're not good at saying sorry – and that's a problem." After a large back-and-forth, both Adrian and Awhina agreed to stay and he promised to work hard to fix their relationship. Disaster struck again during Friends and Family Week, with Awhina arriving with twin sister Cleo and Adrian bringing his sisters Elita and Nikola and his friend Jasmin. It did not go well. When the topic of Awhina's son came up and she said she'd open up to Adrian about him when she was ready, his friend Jasmin said: "You would hope so." Cleo was enraged. "How f--king dare you," she scathed. "They are not good enough to be in my life, he is definitely not good enough to be in my nephew's life," Cleo shouted, before pointing at Adrian and adding: "I'll never, ever, EVER let him meet my nephew."
At the next Dinner Party, Awhina and Adrian got ready separately for the second week in a row, after what was supposed to be Adrian's redemption week crashed and burned over the explosive family lunch. After everyone asked if Adrian had showed up for her after last week's Commitment Ceremony, he claimed he asked her to go for a walk, if she wanted to watch a movie and if she wanted to go for dinner. "Have you guys gone out for a nice dinner?" Carina asked. "Yeah course," Adrian replied as Awhina shook her head. "We went to Nando's," he said as the group erupted into laughter. Not exactly the romance anyone had expected!
During Homestays, Awhina made the decision that it still wasn't time for Adrian to meet her son. Speaking to 9Entertainment at the time, Awhina said it was an easy decision and one that Adrian completely understood. "I think everyone can agree that Adrian and I have had a tumultuous journey so far," she said. "We've been on a bit of a roller coaster. There's a lot of uncertainty in our relationship and although we're in a healthy spot for us right now in the experiment, it still wasn't far enough along where I wanted to introduce my child to someone." While Awhina described Homestays Week for her and Adrian as an "overall positive experience", it didn't come without its challenges. The biggest of those hurdles was Awhina's twin sister Cleo and Adrian reuniting after their last meeting during Friends and Family Week ended in a fiery storm-out and plenty of tears.
Despite the speedbump, Cleo and Adrian "agreed to disagree" while Awhina and Adrian looked to see how their relationship could progress. "With me being from Perth and Adrian being from Sydney, at the start of our relationship Adrian and I were both very stubborn on those being our homes but the questions I'd be asking at this stage would be around doing long-distance before we talk about moving," Awhina revealed. Awhina and Adrian also had a beachside picnic at Homestays in Perth and spoke about their future. "Let's see how we go outside this and go from there, and do long-distance for a time, just keep going from here," he told her.
As the show progressed, tensions escalated further. Awhina's twin sister Cleo expressed concern that Awhina looked tired, exhausted, and sad, and deserved someone kind who would support her. Meanwhile, Adrian's friend Jasmine crossed the line when she attacked Awhina's role as a mum, after Awhina expressed her concerns that Adrian hadn't shown any interest in her son the whole experiment. Cleo declared that Adrian and his sisters and friend would never meet her nephew. Fans took to social media following the uncomfortable scenes, slamming both Adrian's sisters and his friend Jasmine. As the drama unfolded, Awhina's frustrations boiled over, leading to Jasmine publicly apologizing for her behavior after the explosive argument.
Ultimately, Adrian and Awhina's relationship culminated in a dramatic Final Vows episode where they revealed their decision to part ways, citing long-distance and multiple fiery clashes as the nail in the coffin of their relationship. However, after a little bit of flirting and a sexy smirk from Adrian, the pair changed their minds and decided to try and make it work outside of the experiment. Awhina said she was "still trying to process" the 180-degree turnaround, leaving fans curious about the future of their relationship. Despite the ups and downs, Awhina is now reportedly dating Billy Belcher, who was married to Sierah, leading to speculation and excitement among fans.
