Gay Married at First Sight UK groom opens up about HIV status after season cancellation
Tom Byatt was set to appear in this year's Channel 4 series before it was axed by the broadcaster
By Aaron Sugg
Married at First Sight UK groom Tom Byatt has opened up about his HIV status after his season of the Channel 4 show was cancelled.
Byatt was set to appear in this year’s series of Married at First Sight UK and released a statement on social media following the cancellation announcement late last week.
On 5 November, Channel 4 announced the axing of Married at First Sight UK after 10 years, following an independent investigation into the programme’s handling of contestant welfare.
Married at First Sight UK cancelled after a series of serious allegations
The announcement followed serious allegations made by three former participants in a BBC Panorama investigation. Two women alleged they were raped by their on-screen husbands, while a third alleged sexual misconduct.
The men concerned have denied the allegations, which were not examined as part of the broadcaster’s external review and remain with the relevant authorities.
Byatt began his statement by acknowledging those who had come forward with their experiences on the show, praising their courage.
Groom Tom Byatt acknowledges those who have been affected
“My heart goes out to anyone who has experienced distress or hurt, and I sincerely hope they are receiving the support, care and understanding they deserve,” he wrote.
“Whilst I can only speak from my own personal experience, I recognise that not everyone’s journey will have been the same, and I would never want my positive experience to diminish or invalidate somebody else’s,” he continued.
He described his time on Married at First Sight UK as one of the most “phenomenal” experiences of his life.
Byatt opens up about his HIV status
“But I also went in wanting to share something incredibly personal to me… my journey of living with HIV.”
Byatt said he wanted to show viewers that a diagnosis doesn’t define a person, that “you are still worthy of love” and that there is no shame in being HIV-positive.
He thanked the production and welfare teams for supporting him throughout the process, adding that he had learnt a lot about himself, as well as relationships.
Byatt revealed that he didn’t find love during his time on the show, although he wouldn’t change the experience “for the world”.
LGBTQ+ representation on Married at First Sight UK
The show introduced its first same-sex male couple, Matt Jameson and Daniel McKee, in 2021. The pair stayed together for around two years before splitting. In 2022, Jenna Robinson and Zoe Clifton became the show’s first lesbian couple. The pair got engaged in June 2024 and have since married.
Its 2025 series featured four LGBTQ+ contestants across two same-sex pairings: Davide Anica and Keye-Luke Tortice-Lunn, who split after the experiment, and Leah Marie Tyrer and Leigh Harris, who ended their relationship at the final vows.