Summary
TheMarried at First Sightfranchise would do well to include backup couples in future seasons. The popular Lifetime reality show premiered in 2014, and has 17 complete seasons behind it.Married at First Sightseason 18has already been filmed and will take place for the second time in Chicago. Season 18 will feature five new couples as they meet their future spouses at the altar for the first time sight unseen. TheMarried at First Sightcouples are matched by a panel of expert therapists who not only choose the pairings but also guide the couples on their eight-week-long journeys.
Dr. Pepper Schwartz, Pastor Cal Roberson, and Dr. Pia Holec have been the experts the last three seasons. Dr. Pepper has been an expert since the beginning, while Pastor Cal joined in season 4, and Dr. Pia joined in season 15.Married at First Sighthas been well-received by fans over time, although more complaints have been surfacing aboutthe lack of successful matchesand the experts' inability to help the couples navigate troubled waters. With season 18 likely to premiere in the fall,the network should make a change to ensure that fans continue to be entertained, andmore couples work out.
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Which Has Impacted The Show’s Quality
In the 17 seasons ofMarried at First Sight, there have been 64 couples. Of those couples, only 12 of them are still together, making the show’s success rate only 18.75%. The poor success rate is due to unthoughtful pairings by the experts, who are supposed to take each cast member’s non-negotiables and physical appearance requirements into consideration.The couples that are still together are good examplesof how the show can work and work well, but the vast amount of failed couples speaks louder at this point.
Throughout each season, when a couple calls it quits before Decision Day, the season moves on with the remaining couples. In seasons 1-7, only three couples were featured. Seasons 8 and 9 had four couples take the leap of the faith, and there have been five couples highlighted from season 10 on.TheMAFSproduction teams find some of the participants via dating appsin the cities they take the experiment to, while others apply. The pool of applicants seems to be getting smaller, with more cast members being recruited.
MAFS Season 17’s Runaway Bride Was The Catalyst
It Threw MAFS Season 17 Into Chaos
In season 17, Michael Shiakallis was a hopeful groom excited about meeting his future wife. However, when his mystery bride met him at the altar, she said she wasn’t ready to marry a stranger and ditched Michael and the experience (viaLifetime.) Michael was devastated, and that made the season start out one couple down in aMAFSfirst. In anotherMAFSfirst, the experts asked Michael if he would be willing to be matched a second time, and when he obliged, he was paired and got married to Chloe Brown.
Michael and Chloe began their season when the other couples were already halfway through.By that time, Orion Martzloff and Lauren Goodger had gotten divorced and Clare Kerr and Cameron Frazer had separated. Only Becca Haley and Austin Reed and Emily Balch and Brennan Shoykhet were still together. However, both of those pairs separated before Decision Day also. Becca and Austin said yes to each other on Decision Day, but broke up the next day. From there, viewers still had to watch Michael and Chloe’s journey while follow-up episodes were filmed and shown of the other couples.
Chloe and Michael also ended in divorce. Because of the runaway bride and rematching,Married at First Sightseason 17 ended up being the longest season inMarried at First Sighthistory.The season began in mid-October 2023 and ran until late April 2024including the Reunion episodes and “Where Are They Now” special. Fans were left watching couples that had already broken up, and the show lost a lot of entertainment value in the process.
Having backup couples to replace those who left broken up would have made the season so much better.
How Could Backup MAFS Couples Come Into Play?
How Would That Work?
Future seasons ofMarried at First Sightcould be filmed having six or more couples, and if something disastrous happens like the runaway bride or honeymoon divorces, there would be more couples to highlight. BecauseMAFSseason 17 only had five couples, and two of whom were over within a month,the season had to run unnecessary content featuring the broken up couples.Were the show to include backup couples, there would be more quality content to run forMarried at First Sightviewers.
The season could also be filmed with more couples, and through editing, the show could take the high-value drama and leave out the filler.
More couples also means more opportunity for the couples to develop drama or create good moments between each other, that would also be fun to watch. Having more couples would mean more work for the experts, but the experts need to step up their matching and counseling abilities, and this could throw them in the deep end.
How MAFS Would Benefit From Having Backup Couples
The Experts Can’t Get It Right
By having backup couples, theMarried at First Sightfranchise would have a stronger chance at delivering couples who say yes to each other on Decision Day and stay together. The current number of couples that are featured is not working, andhaving more couples would mean a higher chance to provide viewers with the quality dramathey want to see and the successful matches the show aims for. The show would benefit from having backup couples or more couples in general so that fans do not get bored by the dwindling number of couples each season.
The experts have had a long leash when it comes to keeping their jobs despite having poor matching success, and having more couples for them to match would put them to the test. If they fail, new experts could come in, because the show would need an obvious shakeup.Married at First Sightcould have a bright and more positive future ahead were the franchise to add more couples.
Married At First Sight
Cast
Based on the Danish version of the series, Married at First Sight is a reality show/social experiment that gives singles a chance to find a lifelong partnership with one particular caveat: they must agree to marry a stranger arranged the moment they meet. Experts provide counseling and guidance as they help couples navigate their new marriage with their unknown partner and highlight the journey of the newlyweds from wedding to honeymoon to beginning their new lives together. At the end of eight weeks, couples will decide to stay married or divorce.
