Johnathan Wileman has opened up about his health condition for the first time in an exclusive chat with The Mirror.
The Married At First Sight star, who was a late-comer to the series, was diagnosed with Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS) at the end of 2018, which turned his world upside down.
Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome is caused by the use of hand power tools and causes changes in the sensation of the fingers.
It can lead to permanent numbness of fingers, muscle weakness and, in some cases, bouts of Raynaud's – which affects your blood circulation – and is permanent.
Johnathan's diagnosis caused him to lose his job as a joiner as he could no longer work with power tools – turning his world upside down.
He was then invited by a close pal to stay in Switzerland, where he stayed with his friend's parents before turning his life around and returning to the UK.
Later Johnathan, who was introduced as a joiner on the show, was later approached by Married At First Sight, where he had hoped to find love after a difficult few years.
During filming Johnathan, 32, claimed he opened up to the cameras about his struggle with HAVS and how it impacted his life and career – but it wasn't included in the final edit.
In an exclusive interview with the Mirror, Johnathan candidly opened up about his diagnosis and how being on the show landed him back in the negative place he had worked hard at pulling himself out of.
Speaking for the first time about his condition, Johnathan told the Mirror: "I got diagnosed with HAVS in Christmas 2018."
After losing his job, girlfriend and flat, Johnathan said he ended up depressed and "not knowing where to go".
"Luckily, I've got a very, very nice family in Switzerland – it was my best friend's parents – who said: 'Come over here, we'll look after you and make sure you've got a roof over your head and you're fed'."
He explained his diagnosis and experience in Switzerland spurred his desire to travel the world – which he expressed to Sophie Brown during their marriage on the show.
"So that's when my whole travelling situation started and the feelings of, 'I don't have a career, I don't have any dreams,' because I was back at square one," he said.
"That's why I took upon myself to go travelling and try and enjoy just what I had rather than sit at home moping."
After being approached for MAFS, Johnathan decided to take the plunge in a bid to find love and was open about his difficult time during filming – but only shared his story during filming for his backstory and to his wife Sophie.
Johnathan didn't discuss it with the rest of the cast apart from George Roberts and Matt Murray as he "didn't want to be judged".
He revealed: "I told MAFS this in my backstory. I sat there and told them on camera my situation and I also told Sophie on our wedding night."
However, Johnathan's story and HAVS diagnosis wasn't included in the final edit.
"I thought they were going to use the HAVS section; the whole backstory about my life and why I'm like what I’m like but, they ended up taking all that out and leaving the work side of things in," he said. "I don't know if there's crossed wires or something."
A Channel 4 spokesperson said: "Married at First Sight UK films vast numbers of hours of the contributors’ lives and no guarantees are ever given as to what will or won’t be included in the final episodes, but the programmes are carefully put together to ensure they are an accurate depiction of the events that took place.
"Johnathan was happy to be described as a joiner by profession, throughout."
However, Johnathan said he felt was he was "made out to be this guy who doesn't have any dreams and wants to be a stay at home dad".
He added: "The reason why I wanted to be a stay at home dad is because everything that I worked on has been taken away."
The reality star said he had used the past three years to figure out "where he fit in life" and "pulled himself out" of a "really low point" after his diagnosis.
But, an issue he faced with Sophie on the show after making a joke about his preferences saw him face conflict.
During filming, Sophie told the fellow MAFS contestants how Johnathan expressed he didn't want a woman with "horse legs" when she revealed she was heading to the gym with Matt Murray.
The comment sparked fury amongst the fellow MAFS cast, who slammed Johnathan and he has since apologised.
Johnathan explained: "I could have used better words obviously in hindsight. In that moment I wish 1000% I'd said things more subtly. But, it came from my jokey personality."
He added: "It left a joke and became very controversial – with everyone saying body positivity and things like that – the way it was then taken and thrown into that sort of environment, it's obviously going to get a massive negative reaction.
"And [it] sort of went completely away from the context that it was said."
During his time on the show, he received a lot of criticism over the comment, despite apologising for the remark.
But, since his time on the show, he has revealed feelings of being in a "negative place" and brought back difficult feelings from his HAVS diagnosis.
He said: "I've just done this whole MAFS experience and it's just sort of, for me... it was such a negative place to be and put myself in, it just obviously regurgitated a lot of those feelings of inadequacy and not knowing where I am again."
Johnathan insisted he went into the experience with a positive mindset and hopes to find love, but after moving into the apartments, things turned "negative".
The MAFS star explained: "It was a negative, toxic environment and I was completely judged and based upon what I saw the time as a joke that massively got taken out of context and out of hand to a point where apparently I was body shaming women."
He added: "It was it was a difficult time."
