“I liked her at the start of the series, but she’s showing her true colours now.”

Katie Johnston didn’t have a long run on Married At First Sight (MAFS) 2025, but her storyline stuck out in many people’s minds due to her disastrous wedding and honeymoon with Tim Gromie.

Katie now seems to be one of the few 2025 MAFS cast who managed to get their social media back, and she’s now created an online course to help women recognise toxic traits in potential partners. On her website, Katie says it’s her “mission to inspire and educate people about the psychological tactics that can cause harm in our lives”.

The course is currently being offered for free, with Katie seemingly looking to branch out into a merch line, advertising an $89.95 ‘Peace, Love & Boundaries’ hoodie online for pre-order, calling the invention a “self-love uniform”.

Why are Redditors unhappy with MAFS’ Katie Johnston?

On Reddit, however, MAFS fans have called out the one-time bride for trying too hard to be a ‘Lucinda Light‘-style personality and accused her of ‘setting fans’ on people who have questioned her and her old business in the comments.

“She clearly believes she’s this season’s Lucinda, all the while having failed businesses, owing a load of people money and failing to abide by her obligations to pay supers,” one person said, referencing Katie’s previous business controversy (more on that below).

“She basically set her ‘new TikTok friends’ on someone who has dared to question her in the comments. I liked her at the start of the series, but she’s showing her true colours now,” they continued.

“You can’t message her about supers or paying her staff: you get blocked,” another person said, with someone else saying, “Oh, I got a lot of hate when I commented on her TikTok asking if she was going to be paying her staff now.’

It should also be noted, however, that Katie has uploaded a few videos about being attacked by online trolls who have targeted her looks and weight.

Katie has hit back on TikTok, uploading videos with captions like, “When people whinge about being blocked after their toxic projections and comments” and giving a tongue-in-cheek public apology about some of the drama on her page.

Chattr has reached out to Katie for comment.

What is Katie Johnston’s business controversy?

Katie describes herself as the CEO of a social enterprise group of restaurants that provides emergency food aid, education, housing, and employment opportunities to youth in Peru. However, after Katie’s journey on MAFS, it was reported that the company that owned the restaurants – Wild The Lifestyle Co PTY – went into liquidation in 2023, owing more than $400,000, which included $150,000 of unpaid superannuation.

Katie told The Sunshine Coast Daily that a payment plan was in place to repay the debt, citing Covid as a big factor. “Covid ruined a lot of businesses and continues to ruin people’s lives as we struggle with the cost of living and mass business closures,” she said.