Married at First Sight fans would surely know that the show has full of drama and surprises, from the most toxic weddings so far and shocking police arrests. But many will surely remember Mia Bally as the controversial bride who was arrested while trying to go on her honeymoon with husband Tristan Thompson at the beginning of the season.
The couple were wed for less than 24 hours when Mia was detained by authorities at the airport. Though Mia denied the charges on the warrant for her arrest, she has finally shared the truth about the controversy. Will people believe her side of the story? Here’s what fans really think about her and her arrest.
Here Are The Details of Mia’s Arrest
The MAFS star was detained at the airport on her way to her honeymoon with Tristan. At that time, neither her then-husband and the producers got any answers about it until they received a copy of the warrant that contained one count of credit card fraud and three counts of stalking filed by one of Mia’s exes.
Tristan couldn’t believe what was happening, admitting during the stint that: “I’m sitting here not knowing who I just married. This is a serious test of my faith.” After two days, Mia was released and her charges were dropped. She claimed that it was a mistaken identity and the charges were made by someone else in her name.
Despite the controversy, Tristan leaned into his faith and decided to stay with Mia. As the season progressed, they had fights that further threatened their marriage. They had a lot of deeper issues beyond her arrest that resulted in divorce, even after experts intervened to fix the relationship.
Dr. Jessica Griffin, one of the MAFS experts, weighed in on the split: “I’m disappointed in how two people we’ve had so much admiration for are so hurt…and at the same time, I don’t see this as a failure. I think both of you have learned so much about yourself, you can apply to the relationship you want.”
Mia Tells The Truth About Her Arrest
Since divorcing Tristan, Mia has focused on clearing her name. In March 2020, her ex Jared Evans – the one who filed the charges against Mia – was arrested on charges of domestic abuse and child endangerment in an unrelated incident. The MAFS star took this as an opportunity to reveal her truth.
She claimed in a blog post that she was physically and mentally abused by Jared for years. She found the courage to pack her things, leave him and Louisiana far behind. She further added that he continued to ruin her life, especially when he found out she appeared on the hit Lifetime reality show.
“When Jared found out I was going to be on the TV Show, Married at First Sight, his false allegations were explosive and shocking: Stalking! As the allegations were quickly dismissed, I claimed my innocence, stating this is a clear controlling and abusive tactic an ex-boyfriend would do.”
The beauty also admits that she never spoke out about the abuse as she was ashamed and fearful, claiming it was one of the reasons why she denied knowing Jared when the producer of the show asked her about him. After regretting her denial, she says she decided to come clean and reveal the truth.
Though she had a hard time dealing with the negative backlash, Mia still faced it with the determination to become a voice for those abused and belittled. She wrote on her blog, “There were days where I couldn’t get out of bed, didn’t see hope, felt despair, taken advantage of and used, BUT in those hard times, I found my will to fight, my will to not live in fear, my will to not be silenced.”
Mia became the target of criticisms while on the show, but it is evident that she has moved on from the controversy. She has currently become active in her involvement with a charity called Genesis Women’s Shelter and is now a staunch advocate for women’s rights. Since deciding to keep her Instagram private, it appears she’s not yet ready to go public with any post-MAFS love interests.
But Here’s What Fans Think About Mia And Her Arrest
With her failed marriage to Tristan and the surrounding controversy about her arrest, many fans came to social media to express their thoughts about the MAFS star. One wrote, “Mia's problem was she was rebounding from a bad relationship and rushed into that marriage. She was far too unstable to go through any relationship and Tristan's stupidity and superficiality sickened me.”
A Twitter user also assessed the situation after Pastor Calvin Roberson, a relationship expert, gave a piece of advice to the couple. The tweet reads, “When Pastor Cal said that BS about Mia & Tristan’s situation being a good thing, I wanted to kick him through my TV. Stop giving people f***ed up relationship advice. Staying with a felon is NOT a good thing. Mia had baggage before Tristan. Marriage won’t change that. #mafs”
The MAFS fan continued to explain, “It's not like she had something as simple as unpaid speeding tickets. We're talking multiple counts of stalking and identity theft. Plus, she went from an ex to a rebound now marrying a stranger. Mia is not emotionally healthy enough to be in a relationship, let alone marriage.”
Another wrote, “Who gets arrested for stalking and says next month I’ll apply for MAFS. I don’t think she was f***ing arrested. A warrant does not equal arrest. She was arrested at the airport for the first time! She did not know until then!”
While many think she’s a total liar, other fans are convinced that Mia deserves a second chance. One commented, “Personally Mia I think you can do much better you know what you did make a mistake by the arrest but everyone deserves a second chance.”
Meanwhile, in an interview, Relationship expert Rachel DeAlto explained how they choose a certain candidate for the show: “Each candidate goes through a very thorough background check to determine if they have significant debts or any sort of criminal record.” Whatever be the case, Mia’s controversy should be a lesson learned for the Married at First Sight team.