The REAL reason contestants clamour to be on MAFS - and it's got nothing to do with love: 'Finding a mate... is at the bottom of the list'

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It's billed as a 'social experiment' designed to help lonely singles find their soulmate.

But Married At First Sight has also become a lure for contestants with a different kind of motive in mind - transforming their appearance with free cosmetic work.

MAFS stars past and present are dishing on what really drives many to apply for Channel Nine's hit TV show which begins its audition process several months before filming and sometimes sees producers seeking out singles via their social media accounts.

At the top of the list, says a production insider, is the avalanche of free cosmetic procedures including dentistry and surgery which is offered by companies looking to cash in on the show's massive following.

Current season of MAFS singles (Bronte Schofield, pictured) are only after free cosmetic work, say insiders 

Contestants from the current season of MAFS which has been a ratings smash for Nine

A distant second, they say, is finding love.

'Once they sign their contracts to be on the show, the hustle for free work starts,' says a source close to the current season's batch of singles.

'Companies either approach them or they approach cosmetic companies, asking for free work in exchange for promotion once their profile is established.

'It used to be that the offers came in after the season ended but contestants now are getting savvier and start shopping around before filming starts.

'Word quickly gets around about which surgeons are the best and which ones are open to doing things for free.'  

One of the show's most memorable brides, Ines Basic, says offers of free injectables, dentistry and even fat transfer procedures began flooding in during her stint in 2019.

Ines Basic (right, with 'husband' Bronson) appeared on MAFS in 2019 and was one of the show's most memorable singles

Basic says she was inundated with offers of free cosmetic procedures during and after her time on MAFS

'I was offered so much, especially when we were fresh off the show,' Ines told Daily Mail Australia.

'A few people (from the season) got some pretty serious surgeries. I think there were a couple of people who got rhinoplasty.'

Ines said she was even offered a free fat transfer from one cosmetic surgeon - a high-risk procedure that removes fat from one area of the body and injects it into another.

'I was like "where is there fat where and where do you want to put it?",' Ines laughed. 

'I don't think I had any fat on my body that could be moved. That was probably the most outrageous offer.'

Ines is amongst a number of MAFS contestants who admits to accepting a free set of porcelain dental veneers - normally worth about $40,000-$50,000 - from prominent cosmetic dentist Dr Deepan Duraisamy - aka Dr Dee - after her season wrapped.

Jessica Power (from season six) received free veneers from top cosmetic dentist Dr Dee (left) 

Selin Mengu (MAFS season nine) proudly flashes her new smile 

The self-styled 'dentist to the stars' features dozens of high-profile testimonials on his company website, Vogue Dental Studios, which has clinics in Sydney and Melbourne.

Ines's season six 'partner-in-crime' Jessika Power features in one prominent testimonial, along with fellow MAFS stars Matt Ridley (season nine), Selin Mengu (season nine), Melissa Rawson and partner Bryce Ruthven (season eight).

Bryce, a polarising figure during his appearance in 2021, said cosmetic procedural talk was 'just the norm' amongst many of the contestants during his season. 

'Oh definitely...I would say at least half of the girls would be standing around talking about it,' Bryce told Daily Mail Australia.

'We'd be waiting around at the dinner parties or commitment ceremonies and they'd be talking about getting Botox and fillers.'

Both Bryce and Melissa received free cosmetic dental work after appearing on MAFS in 2021 

Bryce said he accepted a free set of porcelain veneers from Dr Dee but pointed out it was only after he was assaulted during a nightclub appearance and suffered damage to his original teeth.

'A guy pretty much smashed half of my top teeth. Dr Dee called me and said "come in" about a week later and he suggested veneers were probably the best way to go,' he said.

However Bryce, who is preparing to marry Melissa at their 'real' wedding next month, insisted motives of MAFS contestants have changed since his stint, with the hunt for free cosmetic work 'one of the main priorities'.

'The other priority is building a social media following which ties in with getting cosmetic surgery I guess,' he said.

'But the last priority, in my opinion, is finding a mate. That would have to be at the bottom of the list.  

'It's not like the early seasons where people were genuinely looking to meet someone.

'They have ulterior motives now, 100 per cent.' 

'It's not like the early seasons where people were genuinely looking to meet someone,' Ruthven says of the new breed of MAFS singles

Dr Dee seen here with former MAFS star Selin Mengu who has promoted her free veneers on social media

Contacted for comment, Dr Dee declined to discuss terms of his deals with MAFS alumni or how much in free cosmetic dental work he has given away since the show began in 2015.

Nine also declined to comment on contestants accepting free cosmetic procedures. 

However one prominent aesthetic consultant, who asked not to be named as a matter of client confidentiality, noted the success of the show has coincided with a boom in cosmetic procedural practices in the past decade - with young women aged 18-35 the fastest growing market.

And many are prepared to outlay thousands - sometimes tens of thousands of dollars - to attain what she describes as 'the factory look'.

This season's MAFS bride Caitlin flashes her custom nails and plump lips during a tense scene

'We call it the factory look...in that everyone tends to look a certain, similar way,' she told Daily Mail Australia.

'So that means basic cheek filler which is $2,000.

'Then lips which is $1,000. Botox starts at $400 then you start going off-face with (breast augmentation) which starts at around $14,000.

'And then there's teeth which is the biggest expense...that's where you start going up into the $50,000 ball park.

'So it's not surprising that the prospect of free porcelain veneers is such an attractive one.'