There are several paths that Married At First Sight (MAFS) participants can take after leaving the experiment: becoming an influencer, joining OnlyFans, starting a podcast, appearing on another reality show, or simply fading back into obscurity. In rare cases, cast members might be able to tick off all of the above — often in that exact order.
But one person from last year’s season of MAFS has managed to veer off course completely, bypassing the I’m A Celebrity jungle and gruelling SAS course to appear on one of Netflix’s biggest reality shows.
Dave Thomas Hand, the builder and self-proclaimed “friendly giant” who was paired with Jamie Marinos on MAFS 2025, has been announced as a contestant on the fourth season of the popular US series Perfect Match.
“This one’s going to be fun…” he captioned a shirtless snap promoting the show on Instagram.
What is Perfect Match?
Hosted by Nick Lachey, Perfect Match is an all-star dating show where famous singles from other reality shows compete in challenges to find their “perfect match” and gain the power to break up other couples.
The series initially featured only contestants from other Netflix reality shows, including Love Is Blind, Too Hot To Handle, The Circle, The Mole and The Ultimatum, but expanded last year to include people from Love Island and The Bachelor franchise.
Perfect Match has previously cast Aussie stars Harry Jowsey and Georgia Hassarati — who won the first season — but Dave is officially the first contestant who became famous from an Australian TV show to take part. At 38 years old, he’s also the oldest contestant in the show’s history.
Season four will see Dave appear alongside contestants from Vanderpump Rules, Love Island, Love Is Blind, Too Hot To Handle, Age of Attraction, Million Dollar Secret, Temptation Island, Squid Game: The Challenge and Building the Band.
How did Dave end up on Perfect Match?
If you’re thinking Dave’s appearance on a major US reality show sounds random, that’s because it is. The Melbourne-based tradie told PEDESTRIAN.TV that the process of being cast on the show “actually started in a pretty random way”.
“I was sitting in a coffee shop with my dog Willow, eating a quiche, when I got a call from my manager asking if I’d ever heard of Perfect Match and whether I’d be interested. At the time, it felt completely out of the blue,” he explained.
“Later, I found out that someone on the casting team had been watching Married At First Sight in the US and came across me that way. They put my name forward, and things just kind of snowballed from there. It’s funny how something so small can turn into an opportunity like this.”
Dave said he’s feeling “really excited” for the show to premiere on May 13 and is “incredibly grateful” to have been a part of the series. As for what fans can expect, Dave joked that saying “get your popcorn ready” is an “understatement”.
“There’s definitely a mix of nerves and excitement, but overall I’m just keen for people to see it,” he added. “I had such a good time filming, and I think that really comes through. It’s high energy, a bit unpredictable, and there are definitely moments people won’t see coming.”
Dave is officially the first participant on his season of MAFS to land another reality TV gig, although there’s a chance one of them could end up on the upcoming all-star season, which begins filming in the next few months. Meanwhile, 2026 bride Bec Zacharia revealed on P.TV’s podcast Villain Edit last week that her co-star and frenemy Gia Fleur had been cast on a yet-to-be-announced reality show.
Just when you think these MAFS stars have gone away, they’ll keep on popping up when you least expect them.
Obsessed with reality TV? Check out PEDESTRIAN.TV’s new podcast Villain Edit, where we unpack all the wild, chaotic and messy moments from your favourite shows. Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts.
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