Married At First Sight’s greatest mystery solved: Why Michael Goonan speaks like a ‘south London taxi driver’ despite being from Adelaide
It’s the question that has baffled Married At First Sight fans for months: Why does Michael Goonan speak like a south London taxi driver despite being from Adelaide?
Well, it turns out Michael isn’t actually Australian – at least not by birth – hence why he occasionally slips into a foreign accent.
He was instead born in Edinburgh, Scotland, where he spent much of his childhood.
Mystery solved! Married At First Sight’s Michael Goonan speaks with a slightly British accent because he spent the first eight years of his life in Edinburgh, Scotland
The Goonan family migrated from Britain to Australia in the year 2000, when Michael was eight years old.
He would have had a Scottish accent at the time, and it likely took several years for him to acquire an Aussie twang.
His father, Michael Goonan Sr., managed nursing homes in the UK but started an online retailer once he arrived in Australia.
Expat: The Goonan family migrated from Britain to Australia in the year 2000, when Michael was eight years old. He would have had a Scottish accent at the time, and it likely took several years for him to acquire an Aussie twang. Pictured with his girlfriend, KC Osborne
‘Me trying to figure out where Michael’s south London accent suddenly came from’: Michael’s slightly ‘cockney’ accent was often ridiculed by Married At First Sight viewers on Twitter
That’s not very nice! Several fans said he sounded ‘like a convict’ or an English backpacker who had picked up the accent on a working holiday
But this enterprise failed in the dot-com bubble and Michael Sr. later moved into the commercial ice business.
He founded Adelaide Ice, which went on to become South Australia’s largest ice manufacturing and packaging business.
Michael Jr. is now the managing director of the company, which has offices in Victoria, Queensland and the Northern Territory.
Patriarch: Michael’s father, Michael Goonan Sr. (pictured), managed nursing homes in the UK but started an online retailer once he arrived in Australia two decades ago. But this enterprise failed in the dot-com bubble and Michael Sr. later moved into the commercial ice business
Family business: Michael Jr. is now the managing director of Adelaide Ice, South Australia’s largest ice manufacturing and packaging business, which has offices in Victoria, Queensland and the Northern Territory. Pictured with his sister and late grandmother
Michael’s slightly ‘cockney’ accent was often ridiculed by Married At First Sight viewers on Twitter.
One person tweeted during the series: ‘Me trying to figure out where Michael’s south London taxi driver accent suddenly came from.’
Others said he sounded ‘like a convict’ or an English backpacker who had picked up the accent on a working holiday.
Didn’t last! Michael was partnered with single mother Stacey Hampton (right) on Married At First Sight, but they split just hours after the reunion dinner party in mid-January