Sam Pang pulled no punches as he delivered a savage takedown of Married At First Sight during his opening monologue at the 2025 Logie Awards on Sunday night.

The Logies host wasted no time skewering the controversial reality show.

‘Of course, my favourite, Married at First Sight, in its 12th season,’ Pang began. ‘And the big story this year was when Paul punched a hole in a wall after finding out his TV wife slept with a rapper. A story as old as time.’

With his trademark deadpan delivery, Pang added, ‘By the way, a hole in the wall is something most of the contestants would be very familiar with.’

The audience erupted with laughter as Pang kept going, taking aim at the show’s often-criticised casting process.

‘This season MAFS was criticised for breaching ethical standards — producers strongly defended themselves, saying every contestant had to undergo a mental health evaluation, an STI test and an IQ test… and if they failed all of those, they were on the show.’

Sam Pang pulled no punches as he delivered a savage takedown of Married At First Sight during his opening monologue at the 2025 Logie Awards on Sunday night

‘Of course, my favourite, Married at First Sight, in its 12th season,’ Pang began. ‘And the big story this year was when Paul punched a hole in a wall after finding out his TV wife slept with a rapper. A story as old as time.’ (Pictured: Experts John Aiken and Alessandra Rampolla)

And in a final cheeky swipe, Pang referenced one of Australia’s most infamous recent news stories, joking: ‘We all know MAFS is famous for its debaucherous dinner parties — never miss a Sunday night. And I’ve actually got an idea for next season — I think they should cast the mushroom lady as the caterer.’

The cutting remarks were met with roars from the crowd, but cameras caught MAFS relationship expert John Aiken looking less than impressed at one point, his trademark smile slipping during the roast.

It comes after Aiken told Daily Mail this week that he was bracing himself to be in Pang’s firing line.

‘Yeah, look I love that. As I said, people love us, but people hate us,’ Aiken said ahead of the awards.

‘People make fun of us, whatever. It just doesn’t matter. To me, it just means that we are topical and we’re doing something right and people want to target us.

‘That’s fine. When you’re in this industry, you gotta have a thick skin and you also gotta be able to laugh at yourself. So I suspect that when I’m sitting there on Sunday night I’m going to cop it.

I’ll get a little serve from all sorts of people – and that’s just a part of it and it’s a lot of fun.’

With his trademark deadpan delivery, Pang added, ‘By the way, a hole in the wall is something most of the contestants would be very familiar with’

And in a final cheeky swipe, Pang referenced one of Australia’s most infamous recent news stories, joking: ‘We all know MAFS is famous for its debaucherous dinner parties – never miss a Sunday night. And I’ve actually got an idea for next season – I think they should cast the mushroom lady as the caterer’

The MAFS jokes were just one part of Pang’s take-no-prisoners opening, which also saw him skewer the Home and Away cast, poke fun at Nine Network executives, and roast several of the night’s Gold Logie contenders.

This year, like in the past, many MAFS cast members have been left off the official Logies guest list, something Aiken says is out of everyone’s hands.

‘It’s a privilege to be invited, but it’s completely out of my hands and out of the hands of the talent. Every year people are going to miss out, but you have no control over it,’ he explained.

And even if the show did win a Logie, Aiken joked it would be risky to let some of the brides or grooms accept the award.

‘You’d have no idea what they’re going to say,’ he said with a laugh.

‘They’re very brave people who put themselves out there and I’m grateful to them for doing the show, but you never know what they’ll do once filming wraps.’

Aiken says that while the Logies may elude them, the show’s reach is undeniable.

‘It’s now in its 13th season and it just keeps growing. It’s sold into over 120 countries and it’s consistently high in the ratings here. We keep putting out a high-quality product that people respond to,’ John said.

Aiken admitted that despite dominating the ratings every year, the reality series has never been recognised with a win on Australian TV’s night of nights

Aiken admitted that despite dominating the ratings every year, the reality series has never been recognised with a win on Australian TV’s night of nights.

‘We have never won anything at the Logies,’ Aiken admitted.

‘But we’re pretty happy with the ratings that we have. At the end of the day it all comes down to who’s prepared to vote.

‘The shows that win usually have people who get online and vote. With MAFS, while we have a lot of committed viewers, they don’t seem to vote.’

Aiken said the team does not measure success by trophies.

‘We don’t do it to get a Logie, we do it because it’s fun, it’s exciting and a lot of people watch it. The real prize is the huge audience engagement we get every year,’ he said.

65th TV WEEK LOGIE AWARDS WINNERS AND NOMINATIONS

TV WEEK GOLD LOGIE – Most Popular Personality on Australian Television

Ally Langdon – A Current Affair, The Olympic Games Paris 2024, 9Network

Hamish Blake – LEGO Masters Australia, 9Network

Julia Morris – I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!, Network 10

Lisa Millar – Back Roads, ABC News Breakfast, Muster Dogs: Where Are They Now, Muster Dogs: Collies & Kelpies, ABC

Lynne McGranger – Home and Away, Seven Network – WINNER

Poh Ling Yeow – MasterChef Australia, Network 10

Sonia Kruger – The Voice, Dancing With The Stars, Logies Red Carpet Show, Seven Network

Bert Newton Award for Most Popular Presenter

Hamish Blake – LEGO Masters Australia, 9Network

Julia Morris – I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!, Network 10

Ricki-Lee – Australian Idol, Seven Network

Sonia Kruger – The Voice, Dancing With The Stars, Logies Red Carpet Show, Seven Network

Todd Woodbridge – Tipping Point Australia, Australian Open, The Olympic Games Paris 2024, Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, 9Network – WINNER

Zan Rowe – Take 5 With Zan Rowe, ABC New Year’s Eve, ABC

Graham Kennedy Award for Most Popular New Talent

Guy Montgomery – Guy Montgomery’s Guy Mont Spelling Bee, ABC – WINNER

Hailey Pinto – Home and Away, Seven Network

Jenny Tian – Taskmaster Australia, Network 10

Kate Miller-Heidke – The Voice, Seven Network

Kylah Day – Territory, Netflix

Sofia Levin – MasterChef Australia, Network 10

Ray Martin Award for Most Popular News or Public Affairs Presenter

Ally Langdon – A Current Affair, 9Network – WINNER

David Speers – Insiders, ABC

Michael Usher – 7NEWS, 7NEWS Spotlight, Seven Network

Peter Overton – 9News, 9Network

Sarah Ferguson – 7.30, ABC

Tara Brown – 60 Minutes, Dangerous Lies: Unmasking Belle Gibson, 9Network

TV WEEK SILVER LOGIE – Best Lead Actor in a Drama

Lloyd Griffith – Return To Paradise, ABC

Michael Dorman – Territory, Netflix

Robert Taylor – Territory, Netflix

Sam Corlett – Territory, Netflix

Sam Neill – The Twelve, BINGE / FOXTEL – WINNER

Tai Hara – Return To Paradise, ABC

TV WEEK SILVER LOGIE – Best Lead Actress in a Drama

Alycia Debnam-Carey – Apple Cider Vinegar, Netflix

Anna Samson – Return To Paradise, ABC

Anna Torv – Territory, Netflix

Ayesha Madon – Heartbreak High, Netflix

Kaitlyn Dever – Apple Cider Vinegar, Netflix

Lynne McGranger – Home and Away, Seven Network – WINNER

TV WEEK SILVER LOGIE – Best Lead Actor in a Comedy

Aaron Chen – Fisk, ABC – WINNER

Ben Miller – Austin, ABC

Clancy Brown – Good Cop/Bad Cop, Stan

Luke Cook – Good Cop/Bad Cop, Stan

Michael Theo – Austin, ABC

Patrick Brammall – Colin From Accounts, BINGE / FOXTEL

TV WEEK SILVER LOGIE – Best Lead Actress in a Comedy

Harriet Dyer – Colin From Accounts, BINGE / FOXTEL

Jenna Owen – Nugget is Dead: A Christmas Story, Stan

Kitty Flanagan – Fisk, ABC – WINNER

Leighton Meester – Good Cop/Bad Cop, Stan

Sally Phillips, Austin – ABC

Vic Zerbst – Nugget is Dead: A Christmas Story, Stan

TV WEEK SILVER LOGIE – Best Supporting Actor

Ashley Zukerman – Apple Cider Vinegar, Netflix

Darren Gilshenan – Colin From Accounts, BINGE / FOXTEL

Glenn Butcher – Fisk, ABC – WINNER

Mark Coles Smith – Apple Cider Vinegar, Netflix

Matt Nable – Apple Cider Vinegar, Netflix

Sam Delich – Territory, Netflix

TV WEEK SILVER LOGIE – Best Supporting Actress

Aisha Dee – Apple Cider Vinegar, Netflix

Chloé Hayden – Heartbreak High, Netflix

Julia Zemiro – Fisk, ABC – WINNER

Marg Downey – The Newsreader, ABC

Michelle Lim Davidson – The Newsreader, ABC

Tilda Cobham-Hervey – Apple Cider Vinegar, Netflix

Best Drama Program

Bump – Stan

Heartbreak High – Netflix

Return To Paradise – ABC – WINNER

Territory – Netflix

The Newsreader – ABC

The Twelve – BINGE / FOXTEL

Best Miniseries or Telemovie

Apple Cider Vinegar – Netflix – WINNER

Critical Incident – Stan

Fake – Paramount+

How To Make Gravy – BINGE / FOXTEL

Human Error – 9Network

Plum – ABC

Best Entertainment Program

ABC New Year’s Eve – ABC

Australian Idol – Seven Network

Countdown 50 Years On – ABC

Dancing With The Stars – Seven Network

The Voice – Seven Network – WINNER

Vision Australia’s Carols by Candlelight – 9Network

Best Current Affairs Program

60 Minutes – 9Network

7.30 – ABC

7NEWS Spotlight – Seven Network

A Current Affair – 9Network

Australian Story – ABC – WINNER

Four Corners – ABC

Best Scripted Comedy Program

Austin – ABC

Colin From Accounts – BINGE / FOXTEL

Fisk – ABC – WINNER

Good Cop/Bad Cop – Stan

Melbourne International Comedy Festival – ABC

Optics – ABC

Best Comedy Entertainment Program

Gruen – ABC

Hard Quiz – ABC

Have You Been Paying Attention? – Network 10 – WINNER

Sam Pang Tonight – Network 10

Thank God You’re Here – Network 10

The Weekly with Charlie Pickering – ABC

Best Competition Reality Program

Alone Australia – SBS

Australian Survivor: Brains V Brawn II – Network 10

LEGO Masters Australia – 9Network – WINNER

MasterChef Australia – Network 10

My Kitchen Rules – Seven Network

The Block – 9Network

Best Structured Reality Program

Farmer Wants A Wife – Seven Network

Gogglebox Australia – Network 10

Married At First Sight – 9Network

Muster Dogs: Collies & Kelpies – ABC – WINNER

Shark Tank Australia – Network 10

The Real Housewives of Sydney – BINGE / FOXTEL

Best Lifestyle Program

Better Homes and Gardens – Seven Network

Do You Want To Live Forever? – 9Network

Gardening Australia – ABC

Grand Designs Australia – ABC

Restoration Australia – ABC

Travel Guides – 9Network – WINNER

Best News Coverage or Public Affairs Report

Betrayal of Trust, Four Corners – ABC – WINNER

Building Bad, 60 Minutes – 9Network

Courage & Science, A Current Affair – 9Network

Cyclone Alfred, 7NEWS – Seven Network

Melbourne Protests, Sunrise – Seven Network

Trump Assassination Attempt, 7NEWS – Seven Network

Best Factual or Documentary Program

Big Miracles – 9Network

Ego: The Michael Gudinski Story – Seven Network

Miriam Margolyes Impossibly Australian – ABC

The Assembly – ABC

Tsunami: 20 Years On – 9Network

Unbreakable: The Jelena Dokic Story – 9Network – WINNER

Best Sports Coverage

2024 AFL Finals Series – Seven Network

2024 State of Origin – 9Network

2025 Australian Open Finals – 9Network

Australia v India: Border – Gavaskar Trophy – Kayo Sports / FOXTEL

CommBank Matildas V China PR – Network 10

The Olympic Games Paris 2024 – 9Network / Stan Sport – WINNER

Best Children’s Program

Bluey – ABC – WINNER

Ginger and the Vegesaurs – ABC

Hard Quiz Kids – ABC

Little J & Big Cuz – NITV / ABC

Play School – ABC

Rock Island Mysteries – Network 10