The marriage of a couple who wed as part of TV series Married At First Sight has been drawn to a close after eight months by a judge.

Jason Knowles and Kate Stewart were strangers when they married in February as part of the Channel 4 show.

Judge Yvonne Gibson has now approved the nullification of their marriage at a family court hearing in London.

A couple ready to wed in TV show Married At First Sight
(Ray Burmiston/Channel 4)

Neither Mr Knowles nor Miss Stewart, who are both aged in their 30s, were at the hearing – which lasted less than two minutes.

Court paperwork shown to the judge revealed Ms Stewart wanted nullification on the grounds that Mr Knowles had “wilfully” refused to consummate the marriage, which had taken place on February 22.

Mr Knowles had not contested her application.

Newspapers had already reported that the couple had separated.

Married at First Sight
(Channel 4)

Channel 4 had indicated the reality show was a social experiment, saying couples met for the first time on their wedding day after being “matched by a panel of experts”.

The channel’s chief creative officer Jay Hunt had described the show as “a celebration of marriage”.

Officials said Married At First Sight was based on a Danish show and an experiment to find out if science could produce a stable marriage.