The reality star’s new look has sparked a debate on social media.

MAFS’ Awhina Rutene.

MAFS’ Awhina Rutene has undergone a major hair transformation. Photo: Channel Nine

In the months since Married At First Sight finished filming late last year, many participants have made some changes to their appearance. Eliot Donovan has added some new tattoos, Carina Mirabile has gotten bangs, and Jake Luik has cut all his hair off.

Awhina Rutene has now jumped on the bandwagon and surprised fans by switching up her look. While she was blonde in the experiment, she debuted a darker hair colour on social media this week.

Rockingham hair salon Scissor & Stone shared a video on Wednesday showcasing Awhina’s makeover, describing it as “the transformation you’ve all been waiting for”.

The video begins with Awhina explaining that she wants longer hair, her weave “needs a refresh”, and she wants to go darker because her hair is “so dead at the moment”.

She also showed reference photos of brunette and caramel blonde hair, with her hairdresser deciding to go in between both colours.

MAFS’ Awhina Rutene before and after her hair transformation.

Awhina’s hair is now much darker and longer. Photos: Instagram/scissorandstone_

Awhina’s WA-based salon Scissor & Stone tells Yahoo Lifestyle that it was “an absolute pleasure” working with the 2025 MAFS bride.

“Our incredible head stylist Aimee and Awhina have a years-long friendship so the salon was filled with laughter and fun all throughout her service,” they share. “Before the main service, we sat and had a thorough and in-depth consultation with Awhina looking at multiple inspiration pictures to ensure we picked the perfect shade for her.”

They add that the main priority was “rebuilding Awhina’s hair integrity and health” after years of bleaching at other salons.

“To create dimension, Aimee meticulously placed lowlights throughout Awhina’s hair, leaving out sections of her existing blonde and used a blend of extension tones to achieve the end result,” they detail. “Awhina is loving her new look and we can’t wait for her next visit to Scissor & Stone.”

Scissor & Stone’s post has racked up over 300,000 views and hundreds of comments from fans complimenting Awhina’s new look.

“Omg that’s amazing! What a transformation,” one person wrote, while another added, “Wow stunning, so much better than the blonde on MAFS”.

“Looks incredible! Such a smart move taking baby steps,” a third shared, followed by someone else who replied, “This is her best hair look. Period”.

“That shade of blonde is so complementary to her skin tone compared to her previous blonde!” another remarked, with a different user writing, “This is her colour!”.

Meanwhile, many people requested that Awhina go darker next time she visits the salon, which would make her look more like her twin sister Cleo.

“Dark like your sister would be amazing,” a fan shared, while someone else said, “Oof! That dark colour would look stunning on her”.

“Darker would be even better,” another commented, to which Scissor & Stone responded, “Overtime we will darken… Awhina has been blonde forEVER! Baby steps”.