PHPmailer – preg_match() expects parameter 2 to be string, array given – Nginx

The code below used to work fine a while ago, sending emails with images to Blogger’s email; or sending emails to any provided email address. Unfortunately I have no idea when it stopped working and how to fix it. The error given is

Array ( [type] => 2 [message] => preg_match() expects parameter 2 to be string, array given [file] => /var/www/html/PHPMailer.php [line] => 4533 )

Below is the page, I appreciate if someone could fix it.

<?php
// error_reporting(0);
// ini_set('display_errors', 0);
var_dump($_POST["name"]); 
var_dump($_POST["age"]);
var_dump($_FILES);
    use PHPMailerPHPMailerPHPMailer;
    use PHPMailerPHPMailerException;

$error = '';
$name = '';
$age = '';
$email = '';
$subject = '';
$country = '';
$message = '';
$msg = '';
$youtube = '';

function clean_text($string)
{
 $string = trim($string);
 $string = stripslashes($string);
 $string = htmlspecialchars($string);
 return $string;
}

if(isset($_POST["submit"]))
{
 if(empty($_POST["name"]))
 {
  $error .= '<p><label class="text-danger">Please Enter your Name</label></p>';
 }
 else
 {
  $name = clean_text($_POST["name"]);
  if(!preg_match("/^[a-zA-Z ]*$/",$name))
  {
   $error .= '<p><label class="text-danger">Only letters and white space allowed</label></p>';
  }
 }
 //age
 if(empty($_POST["age"]))
 {
  $error .= '<p><label class="text-danger">Please Enter your Age</label></p>';
 }
 else
 {
  $age = clean_text($_POST["age"]);
  if(!preg_match("/^[0-9]*$/",$age))
  {
   $error .= '<p><label class="text-danger">Only numbers allowed</label></p>';
  }
 }
 //age
 //i am
 if(empty($_POST['formGender'])) 
{
  $error .= '<p><label class="text-danger">Select your gender</label></p>';
}
 //i am
  //looking for
 if(empty($_POST['formGender2'])) 
{
  $error .= '<p><label class="text-danger">Select your Partner</label></p>';
}
  //looking for
    //for
 if(empty($_POST['formGender3'])) 
{
  $error .= '<p><label class="text-danger">Select your preferences</label></p>';
}
  //for
 if(empty($_POST["email"]))
 {
  $error .= '<p><label class="text-danger">Please Enter your Email</label></p>';
 }
 else
 {
  $email = clean_text($_POST["email"]);
  if(!filter_var($email, FILTER_VALIDATE_EMAIL))
  {
   $error .= '<p><label class="text-danger">Invalid email format</label></p>';
  }
 }
 if(empty($_POST["subject"]))
 {
  $error .= '<p><label class="text-danger">City/Town is required</label></p>';
 }
 else
 {
  $subject = clean_text($_POST["subject"]);
 }
 //country 
 if(empty($_POST["country"]))
 {
  $error .= '<p><label class="text-danger">Country is required</label></p>';
 }
 else
 {
  $subject = clean_text($_POST["country"]);
 }
 //country
 if(empty($_POST["youtube"]))
 {
 // $error .= '<p><label class="text-danger">Please Enter your Name</label></p>';
 }
 else
 {
  $youtube = clean_text($_POST["youtube"]);
 }
 if(empty($_POST["message"]))
 {
  $error .= '<p><label class="text-danger">Message is required</label></p>';
 }
 else
 {
  $message = clean_text($_POST["message"]);
 }
 if(empty($_POST["phone"]))
 {
 // $error .= '<p><label class="text-danger">Message is required</label></p>';
 }
 else
 {
  $phone = clean_text($_POST["phone"]);
 }
 
 
 if($error == '')
 {
if (array_key_exists('userfile', $_FILES)) {
if (isset($_SERVER["HTTP_CF_CONNECTING_IP"])) {
  $_SERVER['REMOTE_ADDR'] = $_SERVER["HTTP_CF_CONNECTING_IP"];
}
$ip = $_SERVER['REMOTE_ADDR'];
    require 'Exception.php';
    require 'PHPMailer.php';
    require 'SMTP.php';
    $mail = new PHPMailer;
  $mail->IsSMTP();        //Sets Mailer to send message using SMTP
  $mail->Host = 'smtp.gmail.com';  //Sets the SMTP hosts
  $mail->Port = '465';        //Sets the default SMTP server port
  $mail->SMTPAuth = true;       //Sets SMTP authentication. Utilizes the Username and Password variables
  $mail->Username = 'asdfdfgndfbgasdf';     //Sets SMTP username
  $mail->Password = 'asdfsgdbfsfg';     //Sets SMTP password
  $mail->SMTPSecure = 'ssl';       //Sets connection prefix. Options are "", "ssl" or "tls"
  $mail->From = $_POST["email"];     //Sets the From email address for the message
  $mail->FromName = $_POST["name"];    //Sets the From name of the message
  $mail->AddAddress('[email protected]', 'Name');//Adds a "To" address
  $mail->AddCC($_POST["email"], $_POST["name"]); //Adds a "Cc" address
  $mail->WordWrap = 1000;       //Sets word wrapping on the body of the message to a given number of characters
  $mail->IsHTML(true);       //Sets message type to HTML    
  $mail->Subject = $_POST["name"] . ', ' . $_POST['formGender'] . ' (' . $_POST["age"] . ') looking to ' . $_POST["formGender3"] . ' in ' . $_POST["subject"] . ' ' . $_POST["country"];    //Sets the Subject of the message
 if(empty($_POST["youtube"]))
 {
  $mail->Body = '<div id="intro"> Meet <span style="text-transform: capitalize;">' . $_POST["name"] . '</span>, a ' . $_POST["age"] . ' yo ' . $_POST["formGender"] . ' looking for ' . $_POST["formGender2"] . ' to ' . $_POST["formGender3"] . ' in ' . $_POST["subject"] . ' ' . $_POST["country"] . '. If you want to ' . $_POST["formGender3"] . ' in ' . $_POST["subject"] . ', ' . $_POST["country"] . ', leave a message for ' . $_POST["name"] . ' on this page or use the contact details below.<br/><br/><strong>Email</strong> ' . $_POST["email"] . ' <br/><strong>Phone</strong> ' .  $_POST["phone"] . '.</div><div id="beforeblock">... more about ' . $_POST["name"] . ' below, in their own words: </div><div style="clear:both;"></div><blockquote>' . $_POST["message"] . '</blockquote><div id="regip">Profile registered from IP <strong><a href="https://href.li/?https://whatismyipaddress.com/ip/' . $ip . '" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">' . $ip . '</a></strong></div><iframe width="600" height="500" id="gmap_canvas" src="https://maps.google.com/maps?q=' . $_POST['subject'] . ',' . $_POST['country'] . '&t=&z=10&ie=UTF8&iwloc=&output=embed" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" loading="lazy" style="width:100%;max-width:100%;height:auto;min-height:315px;"></iframe><br/><span id="tags">' . $_POST['formGender'] . ', ' . $_POST['subject'] . ', ' . $_POST['country'] . '</span>';     //An HTML or plain text message body
 }
 if($_POST["youtube"])
 {
  $mail->Body = '<div id="intro"> Meet <span style="text-transform: capitalize;">' . $_POST["name"] . '</span>, a ' . $_POST["age"] . ' yo ' . $_POST["formGender"] . ' looking for ' . $_POST["formGender2"] . ' to ' . $_POST["formGender3"] . ' in ' . $_POST["subject"] . ' ' . $_POST["country"] . '. If you want to ' . $_POST["formGender3"] . ' in ' . $_POST["subject"] . ', ' . $_POST["country"] . ', leave a message for ' . $_POST["name"] . ' on this page or use the contact details below.<br/><br/><strong>Email</strong> ' . $_POST["email"] . ' <br/><strong>Phone</strong> ' .  $_POST["phone"] . '.</div><div id="beforeblock">... more about ' . $_POST["name"] . ' below, in their own words: </div><div style="clear:both;"></div><blockquote>' . $_POST["message"] . '</blockquote><iframe loading="lazy" style="width:100%;min-height:315px;height:auto;margin:0 5px;" width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/' . $_POST["youtube"] . '" title="Video" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" id="youtubeframe" allowfullscreen></iframe><div id="regip">Profile registered from IP <strong><a href="https://href.li/?https://whatismyipaddress.com/ip/' . $ip . '" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">' . $ip . '</a></strong></div><iframe width="600" height="500" id="gmap_canvas" src="https://maps.google.com/maps?q=' . $_POST['subject'] . ',' . $_POST['country'] . '&t=&z=10&ie=UTF8&iwloc=&output=embed" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" loading="lazy" style="width:100%;max-width:100%;height:auto;min-height:200px;"></iframe><br/><span id="tags">' . $_POST['formGender'] . ', ' . $_POST['subject'] . ', ' . $_POST['country'] . '</span>';    //An HTML or plain text message body
}
  $mail->set('X-Priority', '3'); //Priority 1 = High, 3 = Normal, 5 = low

//photo 

    //Attach multiple files one by one
    for ($ct = 0, $ctMax = count($_FILES['userfile']['tmp_name']); $ct < $ctMax; $ct++) {
        //Extract an extension from the provided filename
        $ext = PHPMailer::mb_pathinfo($_FILES['userfile']['name'], PATHINFO_EXTENSION);
        //Define a safe location to move the uploaded file to, preserving the extension
        $uploadfile = tempnam(sys_get_temp_dir(), hash('sha256', $_FILES['userfile']['name'][$ct])) . '.' . $ext;
        $filename = $_FILES['userfile']['name'][$ct];
        if (move_uploaded_file($_FILES['userfile']['tmp_name'][$ct], $uploadfile)) {
            if (!$mail->addAttachment($uploadfile, $filename)) {
                $msg .= 'Failed to upload the photos ' . $filename;
            }
        } else {
            $msg .= 'Failed to move photo to ' . $uploadfile;
        }
    }

// $mail->AddAttachment($image_location);
//photos
  
  if($mail->Send())        //Send an Email. Return true on success or false on error
  {
   $error = '<label class="text-success">Thank you for registering your profile. It will be visible soon after aproval.</label><style>.form-container {display:none!important;}</style>';
  }
  else
  {
   $error = '<label class="text-danger">Your profile was not registered. Please try again!</label>';
//   $errorMessage = error_get_last()['message'];
//    echo $errorMessage;
//   var_dump($_FILES);
print_r(error_get_last());
  }
  $name = '';
  $age = '';
  $email = '';
  $subject = '';
  $country = '';
  $message = '';
  $msg = '';
  $youtube = '';
  } //if img check ends
 } //if error ends
 
}

?>
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
 <head>
  <style>
.form-container{width:96%;MAX-WIDTH:96%;margin:0 2%;}
.form-group{margin-bottom:10px}
.btn{background:#1c94ff;padding:4px 8px;border:none;box-shadow:2px 1px 1px #d3d3d3;color:#fff;outline:0;font-size:17px;cursor:pointer;width:100%}
label{display:block;margin-bottom:2px}
.form-group .form-control{width:100%;outline:0;padding:5px;border:none;background:#d1d1d1;border-bottom:2px solid #1c94ff;font-size:16px}
.has-success .form-control{border-bottom:2px solid #168b3f}
.has-danger .form-control{border-bottom:2px solid #dc1d34}
.form-group .text-help{color:#dc1d34}
.inline-label label{display:inline}
.pristine-error{display:table}
  </style>

<script src="//ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/3.6.0/jquery.min.js"></script>
  <script type="text/javascript">
if (typeof jQuery == 'undefined'){
    document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='//cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/jquery/3.6.0/jquery.slim.min.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E"));
}
</script>
 </head>
 <body>
     <?php echo $error; ?>
     <div style="float:right;font-style: italic;"><span style="color:red;font-style: normal;">!</span> = mandatory</div>

<div class="form-container">
     <form method="post" enctype="multipart/form-data" id="registercafebar">
     <div class="form-group">
       <label><span style="color:red">!</span> Name</label>
       <input type="text" name="name" required minlength="3" maxlength="20" placeholder="Enter Your Name" class="form-control" value="<?php echo $name; ?>" />
     </div>
     <div class="form-group">
       <label><span style="color:red">!</span> Age</label>
       <input required type="number" minlength="2" maxlength="2" min="16" max="99" name="age" placeholder="Enter your real age" class="form-control" value="<?php echo $age; ?>" />
     </div>
     <div class="form-group">
       <label><span style="color:red">!</span> I am a</label>
<select required name="formGender" class="form-control">
    <option value="">Select your gender at birth</option>
    <option value="woman">Woman</option>
    <option value="man">Man</option>
</select>
     </div>
     <div class="form-group">
       <label><span style="color:red">!</span> Looking for a</label>
<select name="formGender2" required class="form-control">
  <option value="">Select who you are looking for</option>
  <option value="man">Man</option>
  <option value="woman">Woman</option>
  <option value="couples">Couple</option>
</select>
     </div>
     <div class="form-group">
       <label><span style="color:red">!</span> For</label>
<select name="formGender3" required class="form-control">
  <option value="">Select what your intentions are</option>
  <option value="date">Dating</option>
  <option value="chat">Chat</option>
  <option value="marry">Marriage</option>
  <option value="have sex">Sex</option>
</select>
     </div> 
      
     <div class="form-group">
       <label><span style="color:red">!</span> City</label>
       <input type="text" name="subject" required class="form-control" minlength="2" maxlength="25" placeholder="Enter your City/Town" value="<?php echo $subject; ?>" />
     </div>
     <div class="form-group">
       <label><span style="color:red">!</span> Country</label>
       <input type="text" name="country" required class="form-control" minlength="2" maxlength="20" placeholder="Enter your Country" value="<?php echo $country; ?>" />
     </div>
     <div class="form-group">
       <label><span style="color:red">!</span> About me </label>
       <textarea name="message" cols="30" rows="5" minlength="200" maxlength="1000" required class="form-control" placeholder="Describe who you are and what you are looking for, write about the things you like or dislike or talk about your hobbies, but keep it spam free."><?php echo $message; ?></textarea>
     </div>
     <div class="form-group">
       <label><span style="color:red">!</span> Email</label>
       <input type="email" name="email" class="form-control" minlength="6" maxlength="30" required placeholder="Enter Your Email" value="<?php echo $email; ?>" />
     </div>
     <div class="form-group">
       <label>Phone</label>
       <input type="number" name="phone" class="form-control" minlength="4" maxlength="25" placeholder="Enter Your Phone" value="<?php echo $phone; ?>" />
     </div>
     
     <div class="form-group">
       <label>Youtube video ID <br/><span style="text-decoration: line-through;">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=</span><strong style="padding:0 5px;border:1px solid gray;">fhgnfyhfth</strong></label>
       <input type="text" name="video" class="form-control" minlength="5" maxlength="15" placeholder="Enter Your Youtube video" value="<?php echo $youtube; ?>" />
     </div>
     
     <div class="form-group">
     <input type="hidden" name="MAX_FILE_SIZE" value="10000000">
        <span style="color:red">!</span> Photos:
        <input name="userfile[]" required type="file" multiple="multiple" accept="image/*">
</div>
    <div id="message"><span style="color:red">!</span> Please verify:</div>
            <div id="success">Perfect ✓</div>
            <div id="fail"><span style="color:red">!</span> Try again</div>
<p id="question"></p> <input id="ans" type="text">

<p><span style="color:red">!</span> Are you human?<br/> No <input type="checkbox" name="no"> Yes <input type="checkbox" name="yes" required></p>
<script>
function setCookie(cname, cvalue, exdays) {
    var d = new Date();
    d.setTime(d.getTime() + (exdays*24*60*60*1000));
    var expires = "expires="+d.toUTCString();
    document.cookie = cname + "=" + cvalue + "; " + expires;
}
</script>
<div class="form-group inline-label">
          <span style="color:red">!</span>  <input id="ch1" type="checkbox" name="future" required data-pristine-required-message="You must accept the terms and conditions"/>
          <label for="ch1">I accept the terms  and conditions</label><br/>
      </div>
      <div class="form-group">
       <input type="submit" name="submit" value="Register" class="btn btn-info" disabled="disabled"  /><!--disabled="disabled"-->
      </div>
     </form>
</div>
<div class="timer" onload="timer(1800)">
  <div class="time">
    <strong>Time until the page will refresh: <span id="time">Loading...</span></strong>
  </div>
</div>
<br/>
<script>
     var total;
function getRandom() {
  return Math.ceil(Math.random() * 20);
}
function createSum() {
  var randomNum1 = getRandom(),
    randomNum2 = getRandom();
  total = randomNum1 + randomNum2;
  jQuery("#question").text(randomNum1 + " + " + randomNum2 + "=");
  jQuery("#ans").val('');
  checkInput();
}

function checkInput() {
  var input = jQuery("#ans").val(),
    slideSpeed = 200,
    hasInput = !!input,
    valid = hasInput && input == total;
  jQuery('#message').toggle(!hasInput);
  jQuery('input[type=submit]').prop('disabled', !valid);
  jQuery('#success').toggle(valid);
  jQuery('#fail').toggle(hasInput && !valid);
}

jQuery(document).ready(function() {
  //create initial sum
  createSum();
  // On "reset button" click, generate new random sum
  jQuery('input[type=reset]').click(createSum);
  // On user input, check value
  jQuery("#ans").keyup(checkInput);
  //cookie registered
});
     </script>
   
 </body>
</html>

If it matters, I am using PHP 7.3, NginX. From my knowledge, same config as when the script used to work.

Also tried this:

Adding the following right after <?php, following the comments

var_dump($_POST["name"]); 
var_dump($_POST["age"]);
var_dump($_FILES);

Returns this before submitting the form:

NULL NULL array(0) { }

And this after submitting the form:

string(14) "Johny macaroni" string(2) "22" array(1) { ["userfile"]=> array(5) { ["name"]=> array(1) { [0]=> string(8) "oslo.png" } ["type"]=> array(1) { [0]=> string(9) "image/png" } ["tmp_name"]=> array(1) { [0]=> string(14) "/tmp/phpen1nVm" } ["error"]=> array(1) { [0]=> int(0) } ["size"]=> array(1) { [0]=> int(28358) } } }