Married At First Sight’s Johnny Balbuziente and Kerry Knight DEFEND ‘villain’ Bryce Ruthven

Married At First Sight’s Johnny Balbuziente and Kerry Knight DEFEND ‘villain’ Bryce Ruthven and insist the controversial groom does treat his wife Melissa Rawson ‘pretty well’

Bryce Ruthven has become one of the most controversial grooms on this season of Married At First Sight.

The 31-year-old has copped backlash and been labelled ‘toxic’ for ‘mistreating’ his wife Melissa Rawson on the show.

But on Wednesday, Bryce’s co-stars Johnny Balbuziente and Kerry Knight defended the reality TV villain, saying he treats Melissa ‘pretty well’.

‘I did see him treat her well’: Married At First Sight’s Johnny Balbuziente and Kerry Knight (pictured) DEFENDED ‘villain’ Bryce Ruthven and insisted the controversial groom does treat his wife Melissa Rawson ‘pretty well’ on Wednesday

‘At the start you want to jump in and rescue Melissa and help her because she looks like she’s in trouble,’ Kerry, 30, told Today Extra.

‘But as we went through she kept reassuring us she wanted to be there and behind the scenes he was a great partner to her and one on one I did actually see him treat her pretty well.’

Kerry added: ‘So my [focus] shifted to just supporting her. If she wanted to leave we were there for her and if she wanted to say, well that’s what friendships all about.’

Johnny also said the other cast members antagonized Bryce but they took ‘a different approach’.

Defence: Kerry told Today Extra: 'As we went through, [Melissa] kept reassuring us she wanted to be there and behind the scenes Bryce (pictured) was a great partner to her and one on one I did actually see him treat her pretty well'

Defence: Kerry told Today Extra: ‘As we went through, [Melissa] kept reassuring us she wanted to be there and behind the scenes Bryce (pictured) was a great partner to her and one on one I did actually see him treat her pretty well’

So far on Married At First Sight, Bryce has humiliated Melissa for her physical appearance, showed little regard for her feelings during arguments, and admitted to ‘hooking up’ with a girl just two months before filming the show.

Many viewers are directing their frustrations towards producers, questioning why they allowed such a toxic relationship to develop.

Tweets flooded in last month, after Melissa told the experts she felt ‘frightened’ and ‘scared’ to rock the boat in her relationship – even though Bryce had treated her with disrespect on multiple occasions.

Leading the backlash against producers was Gogglebox star Yvie Jones, who said she found Melissa’s words ‘troubling’ and felt that producers should intervene.

Australia's most-hated husband: Bryce has become one of the most controversial grooms on this year's season of Married At First Sight. The 31-year-old has copped intense backlash and been labelled 'toxic' for 'mistreating' his wife Melissa Rawson (right) on the show

Australia’s most-hated husband: Bryce has become one of the most controversial grooms on this year’s season of Married At First Sight. The 31-year-old has copped intense backlash and been labelled ‘toxic’ for ‘mistreating’ his wife Melissa Rawson (right) on the show

‘Where is the duty of care from producers to even put her in that position? And if pap shots are correct, they’re still together,’ she tweeted.

She continued: ‘So are they sitting at home watching this together? Is he seeing her say this on TV, alone in their shared home? Is he gaslighting her right now?’

Another Twitter user wrote: ‘It makes me sick watching this insidious relationship unfold… The producers have created a f**king abhorrent narrative between Bryce and Melissa.’

‘Producers only care about the ratings!!’ another added.

Married At First Sight continues Wednesday at 7:30pm on Channel Nine 

'Is he gaslighting her right now?' Tweets flooded in last month, after Melissa told the experts she felt 'frightened' and 'scared' to rock the boat in her relationship with Bryce

‘Is he gaslighting her right now?’ Tweets flooded in last month, after Melissa told the experts she felt ‘frightened’ and ‘scared’ to rock the boat in her relationship with Bryce