‘MAFS’ Alum Ryan De Nino Dies; Ex-Wife Jessica Castro Responds
Married at First Sight alum Ryan De Nino has died at age 40.
In 2015, De Nino appeared on the second season of the reality series about couples who agree to marry an expert-picked partner whom they’ve never met.
Ryan De Nino from ‘Married at First Sight’ Season 2 dies at 40
According to TMZ, De Nino died suddenly earlier this week at his home in New Jersey. His family has not shared any details about his death. In an online tribute, his sister, Melissa De Nino, remembered him as “fiercely loyal” and having “a huge heart.”
“I can’t explain what it’s like to lose a sibling … No matter what he was going through, I love him immensely,” she wrote on social media.
On Married at First Sight, the experts matched De Nino, then 29, with Jessica Castro. The pair said “I do” moments after meeting at the altar. Despite a rocky start to their marriage, they agreed to stay together on Decision Day. However, they divorced not long after the show stopped filming. (At the time, the show aired on FYI and A&E; it later moved to Lifetime, then Peacock.)
Castro eventually sought a restraining order against her ex, claiming that he made death threats against her and her family, the New York Post reported at the time.
Jessica Castro offers ‘sincerest condolences’ to Ryan De Nino’s family
Shortly after De Nino’s death was reported, Castro spoke out on social media. In a slide on her Instagram Story, she responded to a person who thought it was “odd” she had not mentioned his passing.
“Was never my place to say anything, even though I knew about it prior to it being out in the public,” she wrote. “I’m giving his family the respect and privacy they deserve.”
In a statement to Page Six, Castro stressed that her relationship with De Nino was long over.
“I have not had contact with Ryan in years so I have/had no idea what his life entailed,” she said. “However, I do send my sincerest condolences to his family during this very difficult time. I can not imagine what they are going through. May he rest peacefully.”
Castro, who has since welcomed a son, has not spoken in detail about her time on Married at First Sight. But she referenced her stint on the show in a July 2026 Instagram post, where she jumped on a social media trend of users pretending to sit down for a documentary interview about a dramatic moment in their life.
“Me preparing for my Netflix documentary about my Married at First Sight experience,” she wrote over a video of her appearing to sit down to film a tell-all.
“Oh the storiesssss in my vault!” she captioned the post.
One commenter wondered if MAFS had deliberately mismatched people in Castro’s season in order to increase the potential for drama and conflict.
“That is quite possible,” she replied. “As long as they kept the drama, they kept the paycheck.”
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