MAFS star Thomas Kriaras thought he was 'dying' when he made hospital dash after burning a hole in his stomach

Thomas Kriaras, aged 28, was one of the contestants who married a stranger in last year’s UK version of MAFS. He was paired with Rozz Darlington and though they stayed together throughout pretty much the entire length of the process they ultimately decided to part ways and stay friends.

It was Darlington who declared time on their budding romance, as she realised after taking Kriaras back to her family home that she couldn’t see a future with him. He was heartbroken as he had started to develop feelings for her. However, days after the couple’s journey had come to an end, Kriaras had health issue which was causing him a much bigger problem than his wounded heart.

Speaking to The Sun, the reality TV star opened up about his experiences while filming the show in 2023 - and revealed that a health issue he discovered initially while the cameras were rolling caused him to think he was ‘dying’. Kriaras told the publication he had to rush to hospital weeks after his time on the show came to an end due to "drinking too many energy drinks" and having a bad diet.

He explained that around the time that the MAFS reunion show aired in February of this year, he felt very unwell one evening and decided to called the NHS non-emergency line 111 for advice - however he was soon told he needed urgent treatment.

He said: "They said ‘you have to go to hospital now, we've made you an emergency appointment at A&E' so I was driving on the way to hospital thinking 'I'm going to die'.”

Thankfully, the issue wasn’t what he feared. He continued: "But it wasn’t that bad, it was non-erosive gastritis. It heals on its own and needs a lot of antacids." Since then, Thomas has changed his diet, and has cut back on his caffeine and poor food intake.

Gastritis is when the lining of your stomach becomes irritated or inflamed. It can cause pain, indigestion and feeling sick, according to the NHS. Treatments include antacids, alginates and antibiotics. A specific form of nonerosive gastritis, atrophic gastritis, can cause your stomach lining to react by thinning or wasting away (atrophy). This can cause digestive issues.

The symptoms of gastritis include tummy pain, indigestion, feeling full and bloated, nausea, vomiting, not feeling as hungry as usual and burping and farting. It’s not clear what symptoms Kriaras had.

As part of his interview with The Sun, Kriaras claimed that the prodcucers of the show intervened in his relationship with Darlington many times, including convincing him to stay until the final episode of the series - even though the relationship was already over.

He also cast doubts on the MAFS experts’ matchmaking skills. He said: “They should call the show ‘divorce at second sight’ because everyone splits up except for the lucky, select, chosen ones… Love Island has got a better track record.”

He further claimed that a scene where he was made out to be having a panic attack during his final moments on the show after the breakdown of his relationship was revealed were false. "I was crying because I was sad and saying goodbye to my friends and then they bring on a medic,” he said. "They said I was having an anxiety attack and tried to get me to do these breathing exercises but I was like ‘dude, I'm not having an anxiety attack'.

He alleged: "It was mortifying when that happened. I was like ‘bro get your hands off me’. I don't know why it was so exaggerated and exacerbated, people are allowed to be sad."

After being notified of Kriaras’ claims, a spokesperson for Channel 4 told The Sun: “As Thomas has said, contributors are able to leave the show at any time if they decide to. The show is a fair and accurate reflection of events that happen during filming.”