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MAFS Australia’s Veronica reveals unaired ‘connection’ she shared with Dave

17 April 2025, 14:58 | Updated: 17 April 2025, 15:33

MAFS Australia's Veronica has revealed the unaired reason why she and Dave got on so well. Picture: Nine

By Jenny Medlicott

MAFS Australia’s Veronica has revealed the unaired reason why she and Dave connected during Partner Swap.

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Married at First Sight Australia doesn’t truly feel like it’s set sail until the show is rocked by at least one cheating scandal and this year there’s been aplenty.

Among the participants to face cheating allegations this year were groom Dave Hand and latecomer Veronica Cloherty, who were matched with Jamie Marinos and Eliot Donovan respectively.

Dave and Veronica were hit by cheating allegations during the show’s Partner Swap Week after they were caught giggling in bed together on the second day of the challenge, leading to some raised eyebrows from fans.

This was only made worse by the fact that Veronica also admitted that she thought she would have been better matched with Dave rather than Eliot.

The pair have both denied cheating allegations repeatedly, but now following some continued suspicion from fans Veronica has revealed the real reason she and Dave bonded so well during their partner swap.

Read more: MAFS Australia's Dave reveals heartbreaking reason his feelings towards Jamie changed

Dave and Veronica on MAFS Australia. . Picture: Nine

Speaking on the MAFS Funny podcast, Veronica insisted that despite the cheating rumours that emerged, things were totally platonic between her and Dave. She told the podcast: “I’ve actually been abstinent for two years, I think everyone’s looking for someone to blame, to be honest.

“Dave and I have never even had those feelings towards each other. I think we both felt under a lot of pressure in our different relationships for different reasons.”

She then explained that the pair actually got on so well because they bonded over their shared experience of having ill parents.

Veronica explained her and Dave bonded over their shared experience of grief on MAFS Australia. Picture: Nine

While Dave was vocal from the very first episode of MAFS about his dad’s ongoing battle with cancer, Veronica's own struggle with her dad's health wasn't mentioned on the show.

She said: “My dad has had multiple strokes in the last year. The connection that everybody’s talking about is actually related to our parents, who are both really sick.

"I think it’s a bit more publicly known what’s going on with Dave’s dad, but I actually came into this with a similar story and background.”

The MAFS bride explained that they both just enjoyed feeling able to “confide in somebody who was going through a similar experience of grief and loss”.

Whereas with her groom Eliot, she hadn't felt able to open up about this "vulnerable" part of her life because they were always arguing.

Dave and Veronica got on very well during partner swap. . Picture: Nine

Both Veronica and Dave have repeatedly denied any allegations of cheating since the show aired, although some have remained unconvinced.

Veronica's husband Eliot has poked fun at the rumours as he made comments and TikToks suggesting he believes something did happen between Dave and his then-wife.