- READ MORE: MAFS' Eliot Donovan sensationally QUITS the show
Married At First Sight groom Eliot Donovan has made the bombshell admission he would have preferred to be paired with jilted bride Katie Johnstone over his wife Lauren Hall.
The controversial cast member, who walked out on Lauren during their honeymoon after less than two days together because she was too 'old', has now rushed to Katie's defence after she was brutally rejected by her husband Tim Gromie.
During Tuesday's shock episode of MAFS, primary school teacher Tim pulled a producer aside during their wedding reception and said Katie was not what he was looking for and he wanted a 'petite blonde'.
Eliot said Tim had also made these comments during the bucks party.
'Tim was a bit weird, we didn't really get along at the bucks party. He wants short, petite and blonde. The way he dealt with it was just brutal,' Eliot told the MAFS Funny podcast.
'He wouldn't even hug Katie, like she had some deadly virus. I was like dude, give that f***ing girl a hug.'
Married At First Sight groom Eliot Donovan (left) has admitted he would have preferred to been paired with jilted bride Katie Johnstone (right) over his wife Lauren Hall
Eliot then said he wished he had been paired with Katie, 37, over Lauren on the dating experiment, despite the fact that they are the same age.
'About me being matched with Katie, that's actually something I really love. You know what I loved about Katie? Her parents were so gorgeous, they were really down-to-earth country people that loved her,' Eliot said.
He added he had since contacted Katie to send her his well wishes.
'I reached out to her and said, "Hope you're doing all right. You're going to have so many guys in your DMs now so you've got nothing to worry about".'
It comes after Eliot officially set a new record for the show's shortest-lived marriage after he walked out on his bride Lauren.
Things took a disastrous turn when the pair sat down for dinner, with Eliot determined to get to the bottom of their incompatibility.
However, the conversation quickly turned tense as the couple realised their values and expectations were vastly different.
After their awkward exchange, Eliot made an abrupt decision to leave the experiment altogether, citing Lauren's age, taste in handbags and the fact she doesn't exercise enough as deal-breakers.
The controversial cast member, who walked out on Lauren during their honeymoon after less than two days together, has now come to Katie's defence, after she was brutally rejected by her husband Tim Gromie. Both pictured
'Tim was a bit weird, to be honest, we didn't really get along at the bucks party. He wants short, petite and blonde... The way that he dealt with it was just brutal,' Eliot told the MAFS Funny podcast
'You should be with someone who's like, probably 40s, and that would be a good dynamic in my opinion,' 35-year-old Eliot stated bluntly.
'I want someone younger than me - like, 25,' he said. 'Someone into exercise like me.'
'And I should be with...' he continued, before being cut off by Lauren who sarcastically interjected, 'A 20-year-old.'
The next morning, Eliot followed through with his runaway groom act, packing his bags and leaving Lauren to enjoy the free island honeymoon on her own.
However, it is not the last viewers will see of him as both he and Lauren are set to return to the show as intruders and paired with new partners.
Married At First Sight continues Thursday at 7.30pm on Channel Nine
