Married At First Sight's Dean speaks out: 'Men need to be able to be themselves'

He's the most talked about single on Nine's new season of Married At First Sight, but not for all the right reasons.

The 40-year-old creative director faced backlash after he expressed his desire to be the "alpha male" in a relationship in his promotional clip for the upcoming MAFS series.

"It's hard to say without sounding sexist or something, but I like a girl that is a girl and like, she's girly, and knows that I'm the man and I'm in charge," the red-headed groom, who's blindfolded in the clip, tells the camera.

Speaking exclusively to TheFIX ahead of his appearance on the social experiment, the Sydney-native elaborated on his statement, telling us:

"Obviously, all men need to respect women, and I have a lot of respect for women," he says. "I respect everyone around me as equals -- men or women -- but I think men also need to just be able to be themselves."

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Per his promo, that includes his partner respecting him "as the man", what he sees as "a traditional role that still exists in a lot of other countries, and Australia's lost that".

The divorced reality star attempted to give some context to his controversial comments, revealing his belief that his previous relationships have fallen apart due to his inability to step up.

"In my past relationships, we have both tried to be the leader and that has caused some confusion," he tells TheFIX. "It caused the relationship to be a bit lacking direction."

But Dean says it's "not a matter of equality" and reiterates his belief that men and women should be treated equally in a relationship.

"I don't see why men aren't allowed to take a lead role," Dean says. "It seems like that has become you know, a taboo thing, for men to actually have a leading role in a relationship."

Season 5 of Married At First Sight Australia premieres on January 29 on Nine. For all the behind-the-scenes scoop, head to 9Now.