Troy's secret health battle

A serious illness left the Married At First Sight star fearing for his life

He’s known for his perpetually sunny disposition, infectious laugh and furious brushing of his teeth. But behind the smiles, MAFS Grand Reunion star Troy Delmege tells Woman's Day that he's been fighting a secret battle – one which left him fearing for his health and wondering if he’d ever recover.

“It was a real tough 2020,” says the 38-year-old, who appears in the reunion special alongside his series five “wife”, Ashley Irvin. “I had this health issue – a parasite [Blastocystis hominis] which went undiagnosed for about five months and wreaked so much havoc.”

Troy saw several doctors, but none managed to get to the bottom of his drastic weight loss, upset stomach and malaise.

“I had read a lot about parasites over the years, and I had always sort of vaguely heard that weight loss was one of the symptoms. I experienced that full-blown in my case – I lost about 10kg. I am a slender guy – I don’t have much weight to play with – so there were some really tough times.”

Troy stayed quiet about his health issues, refraining from posting on social media during his months of hardship.