What a crossover!

In a surprising twist, My Kitchen Rules’ (MKR) Tan revealed that his teammate Mark was originally approached to join Married at First Sight (MAFS) before deciding to appear on the cooking show instead.

Tan told Chattr that Mark — who now has a girlfriend — was scouted for the dating show out of the blue.

“He got hit up for MAFS first years ago, then the same casting producer asked him for MKR, then he asked me,” he revealed.

Tan further elaborated about Mark’s MAFS offer in a Facebook group, telling fans that despite the fact that MKR and MAFS are on rival networks, the casting team often overlaps.

“There are casting agents that go around and recruit people. They work for multiple channels. And trust me, they KNOW what they’re doing,” he wrote.

Meanwhile, the news that Tan was only cast on the show because Mark asked him may come as a shock to some viewers, who believed that Tan did all the heavy lifting during their time on MKR.

“Tan, you’re a great cook; unfortunately, you had the wrong person standing next to you. I think Mark would find a way to burn water,” one person wrote on Facebook.
Mark and Tan on MKR. Image: Seven.

Did Mark and Tan know each other well before MKR?

Mark and Tan’s opening segment revealed that they met each other five years ago at a martial arts event and have been friends ever since.

Tan confirmed to Chattr that he and Mark were close friends a while ago, but hadn’t seen each other for a while before MKR started filming, and only reconnected after Mark asked him to join him on the show.

“We partied a lot back in the day,” Tan said. “He moved to Melbourne though, so I didn’t see him for A whole year until MKR.”

Despite joining MKR 2025 as Mark’s plus one, Tan has more than proven himself to Australia as an incredible cook.