Married at First Sight contestant Jono Pittman has drawn criticism for his shallow reaction to meeting his match on the modern dating show.

On Tuesday night’s episode, 28-year-old Pittman shocked some viewers with his comments after meeting 31-year-old Clare Varrell.

After first laying eyes on Varrell when she walked down the aisle, Pittman recalled she was “not what [he] ordered”.

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The tradesman had emphasised earlier in the show that he preferred petite brunettes, and Varrell was a tall blonde.

“She’s basically the opposite of what I expected to walk down the aisle,” he said.

“When you have someone in your mind for such a long time, you’re pretty set that they’re gonna look like that.”

The reality show pairs up contestants but does not let them meet until their wedding day. The contestants are then given a number of weeks to determine whether the marriage will work.

Aside from his aesthetic complaints, Pittman was also criticised for choosing to give Varrell the nickname “woman”, despite other suggestions including “sweetheart” and “babe”.

While Varrell told the cameras she’d be forced to “kick” Pittman if he called her “woman” one more time, the real estate recruiter revealed she had been charmed, saying there was some “chemistry” on her end.

Fortunately, Pittman said he was taken by her humour as the pair cut the cake and danced at the non-traditional event.