Channel Nine and Endemol Shine Australia are bracing themselves for a court battle as the father of a Married At First Sight groom considers legal action over a shocking false rumour.
Sydney anesthetist Dr Andrew Pembroke was falsely accused this week of sleeping with his son Mikey Pembroke’s on-screen ‘wife’, Natasha Spencer. The salacious claims will apparently be featured in the upcoming MAFS reunion dinner party.
Mikey, 29, told Yahoo! Lifestyle on Monday that his father is now ‘contemplating legal proceedings’.
Hitting back: Married At First Sight has been plunged into a legal nightmare as Mikey Pembroke’s father, Dr Andrew Pembroke, ‘considers his options’ over Stacey Hampton’s false claims he slept with Natasha Spencer
‘He is a doctor and runs aged-care businesses. This has taken it too far,’ the operations manager added.
It comes after fellow MAFS star Stacey Hampton claimed to New Idea that Mikey had told her during filming he suspected his ‘wife’ had seduced his father.
‘Mikey said, “I’m pretty sure [Natasha] hooked up with my dad or at least I’m pretty sure she’s hooking up with my dad,”‘ Stacey alleged.
Legal drama? ‘My father is contemplating legal proceedings,’ Mikey, 29, told Yahoo! Lifestyle on Monday. Dr Andrew Pembroke is pictured bottom right
Issues: ‘He is a doctor and runs aged-care businesses. This has taken it too far’ Mikey added. Pictured with his father
Allegations: Stacey (pictured) claimed to New Idea that Mikey had told her during filming that he suspected his ‘wife’ had seduced his father
‘He was pretty certain. It wasn’t a joke,’ Stacey added.
According to New Idea, Natasha ‘hit it off’ with Dr Pembroke, a Sydney anesthetist, after meeting him at her and Mikey’s wedding in September.
Dr Pembroke is single, having separated from Mikey’s mother, Mary, years ago.
Wild claims: Natasha has denied these rumours in an official statement. Pictured: Natasha and Mikey at Sunday night’s commitment ceremony
Hitting back: When approached for comment, Natasha insisted the rumours were completely false and said Stacey was a ‘gross individual’ for claiming otherwise
Natasha has denied these rumours in an official statement.
‘The accusation that I slept with Mikey’s dad is completely untrue. I cannot believe that anyone would start such a horrible rumour,’ she said.
‘The only times I’ve met Mr Pembroke was on the show during the wedding and on parents day. I’d ask that the media please respect the Pembroke family and stop spreading this vile and inappropriate gossip. It’s not fair to bring Mikey’s family members into these unfounded stories.’
Setting the record straight: Mikey also weighed in on the scandal, telling Nova 96.9’s Fitzy & Wippa on Monday the speculation was ‘ridiculous’
Mikey also weighed in on the scandal, telling Nova 96.9’s Fitzy & Wippa on Monday the speculation was ‘ridiculous’.
‘My dad would never do something like that, it would be completely weird, but it’s just so far fetched,’ he said.
He clarified that his father had no contact with Natasha outside the experiment.
‘Let me clear his name. I know [with] 100 per cent absolute certainty that he would never, and has never, slept with Natasha or done anything like it, messaged [her] or anything. I completely have his back,’ he said.
Not happy: Mikey confirmed he had spoken to his father about Stacey’s false claims and said Dr Pembroke was ‘not happy’ about the situation
The 29-year-old operations manager confirmed he had spoken to his father about Stacey’s false claims and said Dr Pembroke was ‘not happy’ about the situation.
‘He’s like, ‘Why am I getting involved in this stuff?’ He was against me doing [MAFS] in the first place. The last thing I want to do is get my family involved,’ Mikey said.
The scandal will apparently play out at the upcoming reunion dinner party when Stacey yells at Natasha, ‘You slept with Mike’s dad!’, in front of the whole group.
Married At First Sight continues Monday at 7:30pm on Channel Nine
Bombshell: The scandal will apparently play out at the upcoming reunion dinner party when Stacey yells at Natasha, ‘You slept with Mike’s dad!’, in front of the whole group