They were best friends on Married At First Sight, only to suffer a disastrous public falling out after the show went to air.
And now the real reason behind Jules Robinson and Melissa Lucarelli’s feud may have finally been revealed.
In an interview with the Unpopular podcast, their former co-star Jessika Power said that she’d heard rumours that the pair had fallen out over rival endorsement deals.
REVEALED: The truth behind Married At First Sight star Jules Robinson (left) dumping Melissa Lucarelli (right) as a bridesmaid at her wedding has finally been revealed
Jessika mentioned that Jules had signed on to be a Weight Watchers ambassador, while Mel had landed a deal as the face of Celebrity Slim diet shakes.
‘This is just rumours,’ Jess said, before later adding: ‘Apparently there was jealousy between the two.’
The blonde bride then said she’d be frustrated if the rumours were true, given how much Jules judged her during their time on the show together.
‘If that is the truth then I am so mad because Jules used to slam me for only being on the show for Instagram and for followers, and it just seems like she was the one that wanted to get the most influencing deals when she came straight off the show!’ Jess said.
‘Apparently there was jealousy’: Jessika Power said that the pair may have fallen out over rival endorsement deals with weight loss companies
With more than 670,000 followers, Jules is currently the most followed Married At First Sight star on Instagram across all of the seasons.
In addition to landing a sponsorship deal with Weight Watchers, Jules has also been the face of Olay skincare and Always Discreet incontinence pads, in addition to the many other products and brands she flogs on social media.
She also has her own shapewear line called Figur, which is similar to Kim Kardashian’s Skims brand.
‘Jules used to slam me for only being on the show for Instagram and for followers’: Jessika said Jules was a hypocrite for doing more Instagram sponsorship deals than the rest of the cast
Shortly after Married At First Sight’s sixth season ended, Mel landed a deal of her own, becoming the face of Celebrity Slim meal replacement shakes.
The bubbly brunette had previously used the shakes to drop a few dress sizes while filming the show, which caught the attention of the company and led to them making her a brand ambassador.
Jules memorably axed Mel from her wedding party in 2019, despite having asked her to be a bridesmaid at the nuptials on the Married At First Sight season six finale.
Is this the reason? After MAFS finished, Jules went on to become the face of Weight Watchers among many other brands, like Olay and Always Discreet incontinence pads
The flame-haired reality star went on to marry Cam Merchant in a televised wedding special, which included former co-star Heidi Latcham as a bridesmaid.
After the wedding special aired, Melissa revealed the heartbreaking story behind her former best friend’s decision to dump her as a bridesmaid.
The 39-year-old confessed on The Kyle and Jackie O Show she had been cut from the bridal party weeks prior after being kept in the dark about the wedding plans.
Slim: Mel had used the shakes to drop a few dress sizes while filming the show, which caught the attention of the company and led to them making her a brand ambassador
At the same time Mel was being interviewed on KIIS FM, Jules coldly brushed off the drama during an appearance on Channel Nine’s Today show with husband Cam.
When asked about the situation, Mel explained that her friendship with Jules had quickly unravelled after she had enquired about the wedding date.
‘We’d be talking about the bridesmaids plans, but because they were doing it so secretively, I had to email [Jules] and her management to check dates,’ she began.
Axed: Jules memorably axed Mel from her wedding party in 2019, despite having asked her to be a bridesmaid at the nuptials on the Married At First Sight season six finale
After the two women had arranged to meet, Jules supposedly called Melissa and said: ‘You’re not going to be a bridesmaid anymore. I haven’t really seen you this year, it wouldn’t be right to have you standing next to me [at] my real wedding.’
She added: ‘I was so shocked… it didn’t make sense. I have absolutely no idea what happened. I was asked to be a bridesmaid in such a public way [on MAFS].
‘The reason she asked [Heidi Latcham and I to be bridesmaids] was because we had seen them fall in love, and we’d formed a bond in the experiment.’
Melissa then disputed Jules’ claim they had ‘drifted apart’, saying they both live in Sydney and had spent time together at events earlier in the year.
Tres amigas! The flame-haired reality star went on to marry Cam Merchant in a televised wedding special, which included former co-star Heidi Latcham as a bridesmaid
An ‘upset and confused’ Melissa continued: ‘[Her] other bridesmaids live in the UK, and Heidi lives in Queensland. It doesn’t make sense.’
After being dumped over the phone, Melissa revealed that Jules had later texted her to try and explain her decision.
KIIS FM radio host Jackie ‘O’ Henderson then read aloud the message Jules had supposedly sent.
Blindsided: Mel previously confessed on The Kyle and Jackie O Show she had been cut from the bridal party after being kept in the dark about the wedding plans
The text stated: ‘Just cause I said it on a show, doesn’t mean I have to do it. People said a lot of things on that show, but this is real life. I won’t be answering any media questions about this. I just want it to blow over and it will be forgotten about.’
Reflecting on the brutal snub, Melissa added: ‘I told her the reasoning did not make any sense, and she said, “Actually, it’s because you’ve been a s**t friend and said things about me.”
‘Jules then said that for the first five months of our friendship she’d have done anything for me, but then it changed. No one told me our friendship expired in February!’
‘Just cause I said it on a show, doesn’t mean I have to do it’: Mel later read out the cold text message that Jules had sent her
Concluding her interview, Melissa claimed that Jules ‘didn’t want her to say anything’ about their falling out, but she felt compelled to speak publicly.
‘For me to stay quiet and let people assume would make it seem like I’d slept with Cam or something!’ she said.
‘Of course I didn’t, but people were writing that I must have done something really bad.’
Remember this? Jules had famously asked Melissa and Heidi to be her bridesmaids while announcing her engagement to Cam Merchant at the MAFS reunion dinner party (pictured)
Lights, camera, action! Jules and Cam went on to marry in a televised wedding special
After her wedding had aired on A Current Affair the night before, Jules was asked directly about the situation with Melissa on the Today show.
‘You know, when it got to the time, I just felt that it wasn’t… it didn’t feel right [to have her as a bridesmaid], you know,’ she explained.
‘We hadn’t really seen each other and I just really wanted my close friends to be there, to be by my side, and my best friends. So that was my decision.’
‘I just really wanted my close friends to be there’: Sydney-based Jules still included Heidi in her wedding, despite the fact that Heidi is based in Queensland